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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.
Sound Intensity Level00:53

Sound Intensity Level

Humans perceive sound by hearing. The human ear helps sound waves reach the brain, which then interprets the waves and creates the perception of hearing. The loudness of the environment in which a person is located determines whether they can distinguish between different sound sources.
The human ear can perceive an extensive range of sound intensity, necessitating the use of the logarithmic scale to define a physical quantity—the intensity level. It is a ratio of two intensities and hence 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...
Language Development01:22

Language Development

Children master language quickly and with relative ease, supported by both biological predisposition and reinforcement. B. F. Skinner (1957) proposed that language is learned through reinforcement, while Noam Chomsky (1965) argued that language acquisition mechanisms are biologically determined.
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 30, 2026

Behavioral Assessment of Hearing in 2 to 4 Year-old Children: A Two-interval, Observer-based Procedure Using Conditioned Play-based Responses
14:05

Behavioral Assessment of Hearing in 2 to 4 Year-old Children: A Two-interval, Observer-based Procedure Using Conditioned Play-based Responses

Published on: January 23, 2017

Attention modifies sound level detection in young children.

Elyse S Sussman1, Mitchell Steinschneider

  • 1Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY 10461, United States. elyse.sussman@einstein.yu.edu

Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
|August 3, 2011
PubMed
Summary

Young children better process pitch changes than loudness changes when distracted. Physiological responses to pitch are automatic, while loudness responses require behavioral relevance, impacting sound perception.

Keywords:
AttentionDevelopmentEvent-related potentials (ERPs)Mismatch Negativity (MMN)Sound FrequencySound Intensity

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Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 30, 2026

Behavioral Assessment of Hearing in 2 to 4 Year-old Children: A Two-interval, Observer-based Procedure Using Conditioned Play-based Responses
14:05

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P50 Sensory Gating in Infants
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Published on: December 26, 2013

Area of Science:

  • Child development
  • Auditory processing
  • Cognitive neuroscience

Background:

  • Children's ability to process auditory information is crucial for development.
  • Understanding how children attend to sounds while engaged in tasks is important.
  • Previous research has not fully elucidated age-related differences in processing sound intensity versus frequency.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how young children process changes in sound loudness (intensity) versus pitch (frequency) when engaged in a task.
  • To compare physiological responses to auditory changes in younger versus older children.
  • To explore the developmental trajectories of auditory processing for different acoustic features.

Main Methods:

  • Electrophysiological recordings (e.g., EEG) were used to measure physiological responses.
  • Children watched a video while auditory stimuli with varying intensity and frequency changes were presented.
  • Behavioral relevance of auditory stimuli was manipulated.

Main Results:

  • Physiological detection of loudness changes occurred only when behaviorally relevant for younger children.
  • Physiological detection of pitch changes occurred regardless of behavioral relevance in younger children.
  • Auditory processing, particularly for intensity, continues to mature throughout childhood.

Conclusions:

  • Pitch changes may be more effective than loudness changes in capturing children's attention when sounds are unexpected.
  • Attention-based physiological responses differ from automatic physiological processes in children.
  • Distinct developmental timelines exist for the maturation of processing sound pitch and intensity.