Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Perception of Sound Waves

Perception of Sound Waves

The human ear is not equally sensitive to all frequencies in the audible range. It may perceive sound waves with the same pressure but different frequencies as having different loudness. Moreover, the perception of sound waves depends on the health of an individual's ears, which decays with age. The health of one's ears may also be affected by regular exposure to loud noises.
The pitch of a sound depends on the frequency and the pressure amplitude of the source. Two sounds of the same frequency...

Hearing

Hearing

When we hear a sound, our nervous system is detecting sound waves—pressure waves of mechanical energy traveling through a medium. The frequency of the wave is perceived as pitch, while the amplitude is perceived as loudness.

Auditory Perception

Auditory Perception

The auditory system is essential for sound perception, utilizing various critical structures. When sound waves enter the outer ear, they travel through the ear canal and cause the eardrum to vibrate. These vibrations are then transmitted to the middle ear, where three tiny bones – the malleus, incus, and stapes – amplify the sound. This amplification is crucial, as it ensures that the sound vibrations are strong enough to be conveyed to the inner ear. These vibrations then reach the cochlea, a...

Perceiving Loudness, Pitch, and Location

Perceiving Loudness, Pitch, and Location

The human brain perceives pitch through two primary mechanisms reflected in place theory and frequency theory. Each mechanism describes how sound waves are interpreted as specific pitches by the brain, offering insights into the intricate processes of auditory perception.
Place theory, or place coding, suggests that different pitches are heard because various sound waves activate specific locations along the cochlea's basilar membrane. The brain determines the pitch of a sound by identifying...

Auditory Pathway

Auditory Pathway

Auditory pathways constitute the complex neural circuits responsible for transmitting and interpreting auditory information from the peripheral auditory system to the brain. Sound waves are initially captured by the outer ear, funneled through the ear canal, and reach the tympanic membrane (eardrum). These vibrations are transmitted via the middle ear's ossicles to the inner ear's cochlea.
When viewed cross-sectionally, the cochlea reveals the scala vestibuli and scala tympani flanking the...

The Cochlea

The Cochlea

The cochlea is a coiled structure in the inner ear that contains hair cells—the sensory receptors of the auditory system. Sound waves are transmitted to the cochlea by small bones attached to the eardrum called the ossicles, which vibrate the oval window that leads to the inner ear. This causes fluid in the chambers of the cochlea to move, vibrating the basilar membrane.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Cortical auditory dysfunction in benign rolandic epilepsy.

Epilepsia·2008

Same author

A pilot study transitioning children onto levetiracetam monotherapy to improve language dysfunction associated with benign rolandic epilepsy.

Epilepsy & behavior : E&B·2007

Same author

'Auditory verbal impairment in a child with Rasmussen encephalopathy and recurrent seizures'.

Developmental medicine and child neurology·2007

Same author

Speech recognition impairments in patients with intractable right temporal lobe epilepsy.

Epilepsia·2006

Same author

Cortical auditory systems: speech and other complex sounds.

Epilepsy & behavior : E&B·2006

Same author

Cortical sites critical for speech discrimination in normal and impaired listeners.

The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience·2005

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 11, 2026

Foreign Accent and Forensic Speaker Identification in Voice Lineups: The Influence of Acoustic Features Based on Prosody

Foreign Accent and Forensic Speaker Identification in Voice Lineups: The Influence of Acoustic Features Based on Prosody

Published on: September 27, 2024

Variability in cortical representations of speech sound perception.

Dana F Boatman¹

¹Departments of Neurology and Otolaryngology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. dboatma@jhmi.edu

Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics

|September 14, 2007

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Electrocortical stimulation mapping (ESM) reveals new details about brain systems for speech perception. These findings highlight how individual listening differences are represented in the brain, with clinical implications for neurosurgery.

More Related Videos

Memorization-Based Training and Testing Paradigm for Robust Vocal Identity Recognition in Expressive Speech Using Event-Related Potentials Analysis

Memorization-Based Training and Testing Paradigm for Robust Vocal Identity Recognition in Expressive Speech Using Event-Related Potentials Analysis

Published on: August 9, 2024

Stimulus-specific Cortical Visual Evoked Potential Morphological Patterns

Stimulus-specific Cortical Visual Evoked Potential Morphological Patterns

Published on: May 12, 2019

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 11, 2026

Foreign Accent and Forensic Speaker Identification in Voice Lineups: The Influence of Acoustic Features Based on Prosody

Foreign Accent and Forensic Speaker Identification in Voice Lineups: The Influence of Acoustic Features Based on Prosody

Published on: September 27, 2024

Memorization-Based Training and Testing Paradigm for Robust Vocal Identity Recognition in Expressive Speech Using Event-Related Potentials Analysis

Memorization-Based Training and Testing Paradigm for Robust Vocal Identity Recognition in Expressive Speech Using Event-Related Potentials Analysis

Published on: August 9, 2024

Stimulus-specific Cortical Visual Evoked Potential Morphological Patterns

Stimulus-specific Cortical Visual Evoked Potential Morphological Patterns

Published on: May 12, 2019

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cognitive Science
Neurosurgery

Background:

Human speech perception relies on complex cortical systems.
Electrocortical stimulation mapping (ESM) is a clinical tool for localizing brain functions.
Individual differences in speech perception are not fully understood in terms of neural representation.

Purpose of the Study:

To review recent insights into cortical speech perception systems using ESM.
To explore how individual differences influence these neural systems.
To discuss the clinical relevance of ESM findings for understanding listening abilities.

Main Methods:

Electrocortical stimulation mapping (ESM) was employed to study speech perception.
ESM was used in neurosurgical patients to map cortical functions.
Analysis focused on identifying speech perception networks and their variability.

Main Results:

Recent ESM studies have provided novel information on the cortical networks involved in speech perception.
Significant variations in these speech perception systems were observed across individuals.
The study links individual listening abilities to specific cortical representations.

Conclusions:

ESM offers valuable insights into the neural basis of human speech perception.
Understanding individual differences in cortical speech perception has important clinical applications.
ESM findings contribute to a better comprehension of how listening abilities are mapped in the brain.