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Related Concept Videos

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...
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...
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.
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.
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 3, 2026

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

Predictive coding and pitch processing in the auditory cortex.

Sukhbinder Kumar1, William Sedley, Kirill V Nourski

  • 1Newcastle University Medical School, UK. sukhbinder.kumar@ncl.ac.uk

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience
|April 2, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Pitch perception involves distributed brain activity across auditory cortex, with connections changing based on pitch strength. This suggests predictive coding in auditory processing.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Auditory Neuroscience
  • Computational Neuroscience

Background:

  • Pitch perception is a fundamental auditory capability.
  • The neural basis of pitch processing involves complex interactions within the auditory system.
  • Understanding the hierarchical organization and connectivity of auditory cortical sources is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the neural mechanisms underlying pitch perception.
  • To determine if effective connectivity between auditory cortical sources is modulated by pitch strength.
  • To test the role of predictive coding in auditory cortex.

Main Methods:

  • Recording local field potentials (LFPs) from primary and adjacent auditory cortex along Heschl's gyrus (HG).
  • Utilizing dynamic causal modeling (DCM) to analyze neural activity and connectivity.
  • Analyzing electrophysiological responses to auditory stimuli with varying pitch strength.

Main Results:

  • Electrophysiological responses are best explained by distributed activity in a hierarchy of cortical sources.
  • Effective connectivity between these sources is significantly modulated by pitch strength.
  • Pitch representation necessitates interaction between nonprimary and primary auditory cortex along HG.

Conclusions:

  • Auditory pitch perception relies on a hierarchical network of cortical sources.
  • The dynamic modulation of effective connectivity supports pitch processing.
  • Findings are consistent with predictive coding principles in the auditory cortex.