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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...

Auditory Perception

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...

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.

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.

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...

Anatomy of the Ear

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...

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Related Experiment Video

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A Protocol for the Administration of Real-Time fMRI Neurofeedback Training

A Protocol for the Administration of Real-Time fMRI Neurofeedback Training

Published on: August 24, 2017

Illusory auditory continuity despite neural evidence to the contrary.

Lars Riecke¹, Christophe Micheyl, Andrew J Oxenham

¹Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands. l.riecke@maastrichtuniversity.nl

Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology

|May 30, 2013

Summary

The continuity illusion makes interrupted sounds seem continuous. This study shows the illusion persists even when the brain

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Area of Science:

Auditory Perception
Psychoacoustics
Computational Neuroscience

Background:

The continuity illusion describes the perception of a continuous sound despite a brief interruption, often masked by noise.
Previous theories proposed this illusion only occurs when peripheral auditory processing shows no evidence of the interruption.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate if the continuity illusion can occur even when peripheral neural responses indicate a signal interruption.
To explore the underlying mechanisms of the auditory continuity illusion.

Main Methods:

Employed psychophysical measurements to assess auditory perception.
Utilized computational simulations to model peripheral auditory neural responses.
Tested conditions where peripheral evidence of interruption was present.

Main Results:

Demonstrated a salient continuity illusion under conditions where peripheral auditory responses clearly indicated an interruption.
The illusion was observed despite neural evidence of the signal discontinuity.

Conclusions:

The continuity illusion may not solely rely on the absence of peripheral interruption evidence.
Global acoustic features, like long-term loudness, might be more critical for the illusion than fine temporal details.