Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

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...

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...

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.

Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex

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.

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by

Same author

Intermittent theta burst stimulation with synchronised transcranial alternating current stimulation leads to enhanced frontal theta oscillations and a positive shift in emotional bias.

Imaging neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.)·2025

Same author

Opportunities and challenges to delivering a trial for depressive symptoms in primary care during the COVID-19 pandemic: insights from the Alpha-Stim-D randomised controlled trial.

Trials·2025

Same author

Acceptability, tolerability and safety of the BRIGhTMIND trial: Connectivity-guided intermittent theta-burst stimulation versus F3- repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for treatment-resistant depression.

Comprehensive psychiatry·2024

Same author

Connectivity-guided intermittent theta burst versus repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for treatment-resistant depression: a randomized controlled trial.

Nature medicine·2024

Same author

Clinical effectiveness of active Alpha-Stim AID versus sham Alpha-Stim AID in major depression in primary care in England (Alpha-Stim-D): a multicentre, parallel group, double-blind, randomised controlled trial.

The lancet. Psychiatry·2023

Same author

Could Tailored Chirp Stimuli Benefit Measurement of the Supra-threshold Auditory Brainstem Wave-I Response?

Journal of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology : JARO·2022

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 19, 2026

Multiscale Investigations of Cortical Processing by Integrating Laminar Polytrodes and Optogenetics with Micro Electrocorticography in Rodents

Multiscale Investigations of Cortical Processing by Integrating Laminar Polytrodes and Optogenetics with Micro Electrocorticography in Rodents

Published on: May 23, 2025

Evidence for pitch chroma mapping in human auditory cortex.

Paul M Briley¹, Charlotte Breakey, Katrin Krumbholz

¹MRC Institute of Hearing Research, Nottingham, UK.

Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)

|August 25, 2012

Summary

This study reveals that the human auditory cortex represents pitch chroma, a perceptual dimension of sound, rather than just its physical properties. This finding suggests a more complex neural encoding of pitch in the brain.

Keywords:

Heschl's gyrus electroencephalography musical pitch octave similarity stimulus-specific adaptation

More Related Videos

Functional Imaging of Auditory Cortex in Adult Cats using High-field fMRI

Functional Imaging of Auditory Cortex in Adult Cats using High-field fMRI

Published on: February 19, 2014

Mapping Cortical Dynamics Using Simultaneous MEG/EEG and Anatomically-constrained Minimum-norm Estimates: an Auditory Attention Example

Mapping Cortical Dynamics Using Simultaneous MEG/EEG and Anatomically-constrained Minimum-norm Estimates: an Auditory Attention Example

Published on: October 24, 2012

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 19, 2026

Multiscale Investigations of Cortical Processing by Integrating Laminar Polytrodes and Optogenetics with Micro Electrocorticography in Rodents

Multiscale Investigations of Cortical Processing by Integrating Laminar Polytrodes and Optogenetics with Micro Electrocorticography in Rodents

Published on: May 23, 2025

Functional Imaging of Auditory Cortex in Adult Cats using High-field fMRI

Functional Imaging of Auditory Cortex in Adult Cats using High-field fMRI

Published on: February 19, 2014

Mapping Cortical Dynamics Using Simultaneous MEG/EEG and Anatomically-constrained Minimum-norm Estimates: an Auditory Attention Example

Mapping Cortical Dynamics Using Simultaneous MEG/EEG and Anatomically-constrained Minimum-norm Estimates: an Auditory Attention Example

Published on: October 24, 2012

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Auditory Perception
Psychoacoustics

Background:

Certain auditory cortex regions respond to pitch-eliciting sounds like music and speech.
Pitch perception is complex, involving both physical (waveform repetition rate) and perceptual dimensions (pitch height and chroma).

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate how the auditory cortex represents pitch.
To determine if this representation aligns with physical or perceptual pitch dimensions.

Main Methods:

Utilized human electroencephalography (EEG) with an adaptation paradigm.
Analyzed EEG adaptation effects in response to pitch stimuli.

Main Results:

The observed EEG adaptation effect mirrored the cyclical nature of pitch chroma.
Source analysis localized the pitch chroma representation anterior and lateral to primary auditory cortex.

Conclusions:

The auditory cortex appears to encode the perceptual pitch chroma dimension.
This suggests a sophisticated neural representation of pitch beyond its basic physical characteristics.