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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.

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...

Somatosensation

Somatosensation

The somatosensory system relays sensory information from the skin, mucous membranes, limbs, and joints. Somatosensation is more familiarly known as the sense of touch. A typical somatosensory pathway includes three types of long neurons: primary, secondary, and tertiary. Primary neurons have cell bodies located near the spinal cord in groups of neurons called dorsal root ganglia. The sensory neurons of ganglia innervate designated areas of skin called dermatomes.

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.

Hair Cells

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.

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...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 2, 2026

A Method to Study Adaptation to Left-Right Reversed Audition

A Method to Study Adaptation to Left-Right Reversed Audition

Published on: October 29, 2018

Binaural sensitivity changes between cortical on and off responses.

Douglas E H Hartley¹, Johannes C Dahmen, Andrew J King

¹Department of Physiology, Anatomy, and Genetics, Oxford University, Oxford, United Kingdom. douglas.hartley@dpag.ox.ac.uk

Journal of Neurophysiology

|May 13, 2011

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Auditory cortex neurons show distinct on and off responses to sound localization cues. These differences in interaural level differences (ILDs) and interaural time delays (ITDs) suggest off responses are crucial for encoding sound source location.

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

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Last Updated: Jun 2, 2026

A Method to Study Adaptation to Left-Right Reversed Audition

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Published on: October 29, 2018

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

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

Published on: October 11, 2017

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Auditory System Research
Sensory Processing

Background:

Primary auditory cortex (A1) neurons exhibit distinct on and off responses.
Previous research has focused on frequency tuning differences, but sensitivity to binaural localization cues remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate whether sensitivity to binaural localization cues differs between on and off responses in A1 neurons.
To determine the functional significance of binaural off responses in auditory processing.

Main Methods:

Electrophysiological recordings from anesthetized ferret A1.
Stimuli included broadband noise with varying interaural level differences (ILDs) and amplitude-modulated noise with varying interaural time delays (ITDs).
Pure tones were used to assess fine-structure ITD sensitivity and frequency tuning.

Main Results:

Nearly a quarter of binaurally sensitive units showed sensitivity in both on and off responses.
In ~97% of these units, on and off response binaural tuning differed significantly.
Population analysis revealed distinct sensitivity patterns for on and off responses to ILDs and ITDs.

Conclusions:

Binaural sensitivity in A1 neurons is not uniform between on and off responses.
The distinct tuning of off responses suggests they play a significant role in the cortical encoding of sound-source location.
Binaural off responses may represent more than just a release from inhibition, holding functional importance.