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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.
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.
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...
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...
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.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 22, 2026

Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations
06:34

Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations

Published on: July 1, 2015

Tuning up the developing auditory CNS.

Dan H Sanes1, Shaowen Bao

  • 1Center for Neural Science, New York University, 4 Washington Place, New York, NY 10003, United States. sanes@cns.nyu.edu

Current Opinion in Neurobiology
|June 19, 2009
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

The developing auditory system specializes through experience, showing plasticity in response to sound. Hearing loss causes changes in neural pathways, impacting speech perception.

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Last Updated: Jun 22, 2026

Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations
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Published on: July 1, 2015

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

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

Published on: October 11, 2017

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10:53

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Published on: October 8, 2014

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Auditory system plasticity
  • Sensory processing

Background:

  • The auditory system must adapt to a variable acoustic environment.
  • Experience-dependent mechanisms shape the developing central auditory system during sensitive periods.
  • Cellular and synaptic plasticity are crucial for auditory processing.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how experience shapes the auditory system.
  • To understand the neural basis of auditory plasticity.
  • To explore the effects of hearing loss on auditory pathways.

Main Methods:

  • Acoustic-rearing experiments to manipulate auditory experience.
  • Analysis of cellular and synaptic plasticity in the central auditory pathway (midbrain, cortex).
  • In vivo measurements of neural excitability and in vitro synaptic gain.

Main Results:

  • Acoustic rearing leads to frequency-specific over-representation and altered frequency discrimination.
  • Hearing loss induces significant re-weighting of synaptic gain (excitatory/inhibitory) in the auditory CNS.
  • Observed over-excitability in the auditory system following hearing loss.

Conclusions:

  • Experience-driven plasticity is fundamental to auditory system development.
  • Neural plasticity in the auditory pathway underlies adaptation to acoustic environments.
  • Understanding these plasticity mechanisms is key to explaining cognitive functions like speech perception.