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Related Concept Videos

Hearing01:31

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 Pathway01:15

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 Cochlea01:13

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.
Perceiving Loudness, Pitch, and Location01:21

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...
Hair Cells01:22

Hair Cells

Hair cells are the sensory receptors of the auditory system—they transduce mechanical sound waves into electrical energy that the nervous system can understand. Hair cells are located in the organ of Corti within the cochlea of the inner ear, between the basilar and tectorial membranes. The actual sensory receptors are called inner hair cells. The outer hair cells serve other functions, such as sound amplification in the cochlea, and are not discussed in detail here.
Auditory Perception01:17

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...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 4, 2026

Functional Imaging of Auditory Cortex in Adult Cats using High-field fMRI
10:50

Functional Imaging of Auditory Cortex in Adult Cats using High-field fMRI

Published on: February 19, 2014

Spectro-temporal sound density-dependent long-term adaptation in cat primary auditory cortex.

Boris Gourévitch1, Jos J Eggermont

  • 1Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

The European Journal of Neuroscience
|July 5, 2008
PubMed
Summary

Auditory cortex adapts over tens of minutes to low-rate sounds, showing response recovery. This long-term adaptation differs from short-term synaptic changes and is influenced by sound complexity.

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Last Updated: Jul 4, 2026

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Stereotactically-guided Ablation of the Rat Auditory Cortex, and Localization of the Lesion in the Brain
09:29

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Auditory System Research
  • Sensory Adaptation

Background:

  • Sensory systems adapt to environmental changes across various timescales.
  • Adaptation mechanisms include synaptic suppression (short-term), habituation (long-term), and cortical plasticity (very long-term).

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate long-term auditory adaptation in the adult cat auditory cortex.
  • To characterize the time course and influencing factors of this adaptation.

Main Methods:

  • Recording neuronal responses (spikes and local field potentials) in anesthetized adult cat auditory cortex.
  • Presenting random-frequency tone pips at low rates (four pips/octave/second) for 15 minutes.
  • Varying the spectro-temporal density of the auditory stimuli.

Main Results:

  • A slow recovery of neuronal response strength was observed during low-rate sound stimulation, reaching initial levels after 15 minutes.
  • This adaptation effect was more pronounced for lower spectro-temporal densities of sound.
  • The recovery was evident in both neuronal firing rates and local field potentials.

Conclusions:

  • The primary auditory cortex exhibits long-term adaptation (tens of minutes) to low-rate auditory stimuli.
  • Spectro-temporal density is a key factor influencing this adaptation.
  • Low stimulus rates create a unique acoustic environment that shapes auditory cortex processing differently than dense sounds.