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.
Anatomy of the Ear01:16

Anatomy of the Ear

Auditory sensation, commonly called hearing, involves the transformation of sonic waves into neural impulses facilitated by the structures of the auditory organ. The prominent, flesh-like structure on the side of the head, called the auricle, directs sound waves towards the auditory canal. The auricle is often mislabeled as the pinna, a term more aligned with mobile structures like a feline's external ear. The auditory canal penetrates the cranium via the external auditory meatus of the...
Echo01:06

Echo

The human ear cannot distinguish between two sources of sound if they happen to reach within a specific time interval, typically 0.1 seconds apart. More than this, and they are perceived as separate sources.
Imagine the sound is reflected back to the ears. Assuming that the source is very close to the human, the difference between hearing the two sounds—the emitted sound and the reflected sound—may be more than the minimum time for perceiving distinct sounds. If this is the case, then the...
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...
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...
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.

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Signatures of adaptive memory search: How early linguistic input shapes strategic use of lexical information.

Journal of experimental psychology. General·2026
Same author

Elliptical speech reveals the use of broad phonetic categories aids noise-degraded speech perception.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026
Same author

Understanding Variability in Long-Term Psychological Adjustment of Prelingually Deaf Young Adults Implanted During Childhood.

Otology & neurotology : official publication of the American Otological Society, American Neurotology Society [and] European Academy of Otology and Neurotology·2025
Same author

Evolving perspectives on speech perception assessment in adults with cochlear implants: Are we using the right tests?

Frontiers in neuroscience·2025
Same author

Externalizing Behaviors in Preschool-Aged Children With Cochlear Implants.

Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR·2025
Same author

Parents Do Understand: Agreement Between Self- and Parent-Reported Psychosocial Adjustment in Adolescents With Cochlear Implants.

Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR·2025

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 16, 2026

Mapping Cortical Dynamics Using Simultaneous MEG/EEG and Anatomically-constrained Minimum-norm Estimates: an Auditory Attention Example
08:45

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

Published on: October 24, 2012

Is Attention Shared Between the Ears?

Richard M Shiffrin1, David B Pisoni, Kicab Castaneda-Mendez

  • 1Indiana University.

Cognitive Psychology
|December 11, 2012
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

This study investigated selective listening for speech sounds. Findings suggest attention does not affect perceptual processing in either ear but influences short-term memory after listening.

More Related Videos

Recording Brain Activity with Ear-Electroencephalography
09:58

Recording Brain Activity with Ear-Electroencephalography

Published on: March 31, 2023

Measurement of Neurophysiological Signals of Ignoring and Attending Processes in Attention Control
09:37

Measurement of Neurophysiological Signals of Ignoring and Attending Processes in Attention Control

Published on: July 5, 2015

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 16, 2026

Mapping Cortical Dynamics Using Simultaneous MEG/EEG and Anatomically-constrained Minimum-norm Estimates: an Auditory Attention Example
08:45

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

Published on: October 24, 2012

Recording Brain Activity with Ear-Electroencephalography
09:58

Recording Brain Activity with Ear-Electroencephalography

Published on: March 31, 2023

Measurement of Neurophysiological Signals of Ignoring and Attending Processes in Attention Control
09:37

Measurement of Neurophysiological Signals of Ignoring and Attending Processes in Attention Control

Published on: July 5, 2015

Area of Science:

  • Auditory perception
  • Cognitive psychology
  • Neuroscience

Background:

  • Selective listening research explores how individuals focus on specific auditory stimuli.
  • Understanding the locus of attention is crucial for auditory processing models.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine if attention can be selectively allocated to one ear during dichotic listening.
  • To investigate the role of attention in the perceptual processing of speech sounds.

Main Methods:

  • Two listening conditions were employed: simultaneous (stimuli to both ears) and sequential (stimuli to one ear at a time).
  • Participants identified target stop-consonants presented to attended or unattended ears, with and without distractors.

Main Results:

  • Performance in simultaneous and sequential conditions was comparable.
  • Attention sharing between ears in the simultaneous condition did not yield different results.

Conclusions:

  • Selective attention does not influence the perceptual processing of speech sounds presented to either ear.
  • Attentive effects appear to emerge in short-term memory after auditory processing.