Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

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...
Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex01:14

Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex

The cerebral cortex, the brain's outermost layer, is pivotal in processing complex cognitive tasks, emotions, and various sensory inputs and executing voluntary motor activities. This intricate structure is divided into three primary functional areas: the motor areas, sensory areas, and association areas.
Motor Areas
The motor areas located in the frontal lobe are central to controlling voluntary movements. This region is further subdivided into the primary motor cortex and the premotor cortex.
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...

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Cross-modal attentional allocation in individuals with listening difficulties: evidence from a complex dual-task paradigm.

International journal of audiology·2026
Same author

Dynamic Interaction Between Structural Asymmetry and Attention in the Right-Ear Advantage Revealed by MEG-Based ASSRs.

Brain sciences·2026
Same author

Hemispheric laterality in neural processing of speech and non-speech temporal information on multiple timescales.

Neuropsychologia·2025
Same author

Traits of Developmental Disorders in Adults With Listening Difficulties Without Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder And/or Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

Journal of clinical medicine·2024
Same author

Effect of background noise and memory load on listening effort of young adults with and without hearing loss.

Auris, nasus, larynx·2024
Same author

Open Data governance at the Canadian Open Neuroscience Platform (CONP): From the Walled Garden to the Arboretum.

GigaScience·2024

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 12, 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

Sound processing hierarchy within human auditory cortex.

Hidehiko Okamoto1, Henning Stracke, Patrick Bermudez

  • 1Institute for Biomagnetismand Biosignal Analysis, University of Muenster, Malmedyweg 15, 48149 Muenster, Germany. okamotoh@uni-muenster.de

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience
|June 5, 2010
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Auditory steady-state response reflects sound intensity, while sustained field reflects attention. The N1m component is influenced by both, revealing a sensory processing pathway in the auditory cortex.

More Related Videos

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

Combined Shuttle-Box Training with Electrophysiological Cortex Recording and Stimulation as a Tool to Study Perception and Learning
08:43

Combined Shuttle-Box Training with Electrophysiological Cortex Recording and Stimulation as a Tool to Study Perception and Learning

Published on: October 22, 2015

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 12, 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

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

Combined Shuttle-Box Training with Electrophysiological Cortex Recording and Stimulation as a Tool to Study Perception and Learning
08:43

Combined Shuttle-Box Training with Electrophysiological Cortex Recording and Stimulation as a Tool to Study Perception and Learning

Published on: October 22, 2015

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Auditory Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Neuroscience

Background:

  • Auditory perception is modulated by both external sound properties and internal attentional states.
  • Understanding how the brain processes sound under varying conditions is crucial for deciphering auditory perception.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the distinct effects of auditory attention and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) on specific auditory evoked field components.
  • To differentiate bottom-up (stimulus-driven) and top-down (attention-driven) processing within the human auditory cortex.

Main Methods:

  • Magnetoencephalography (MEG) was employed to measure auditory evoked field components.
  • Three components were analyzed: auditory steady-state response (ASSR), N1m, and sustained field (SF).
  • Participants' auditory-focused attention and the SNR of sound stimuli were systematically varied.

Main Results:

  • The auditory steady-state response (ASSR) primarily reflected the SNR (bottom-up), originating in the primary auditory cortex.
  • The sustained field (SF) primarily reflected attentional state (top-down), originating in the nonprimary auditory cortex.
  • The N1m component showed sensitivity to both bottom-up (SNR) and top-down (attention) processes.

Conclusions:

  • Auditory evoked field components exhibit differential sensitivity to stimulus-driven and attention-driven neural processes.
  • This suggests a hierarchical processing stream within the auditory cortex, from sensory input to perceptual interpretation.
  • The findings provide insights into the neural mechanisms underlying auditory attention and signal detection.