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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...

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.

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.

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...

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.

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

Updated: May 10, 2026

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

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Published on: May 23, 2025

Hierarchical neural encoding of temporal regularity in the human auditory cortex.

Sumru Keceli¹, Hidehiko Okamoto, Ryusuke Kakigi

¹Department of Integrative Physiology, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Nishigoh-naka 38, Myodaiji, Okazaki, Aichi, 444-8585, Japan, sumru@nips.ac.jp.

Brain Topography

|June 25, 2013

Summary

This study reveals how the brain processes temporal regularity in sounds using auditory evoked magnetic fields. Enhanced sustained fields (SF) and auditory steady-state responses (ASSR) indicate distinct neural pathways for regularity detection.

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

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Published on: February 19, 2014

Area of Science:

Auditory Neuroscience
Neurophysiology
Signal Processing

Background:

Temporal regularity is crucial for identifying natural sounds.
The auditory system processes temporal patterns beyond tonotopic representation.
Understanding neural mechanisms of temporal regularity is key to auditory perception.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the neural processing of temporal regularity in sounds.
To analyze auditory evoked cortical magnetic fields, specifically auditory steady-state responses (ASSR) and sustained fields (SF).
To compare responses to periodic and non-periodic auditory stimuli.

Main Methods:

Measured auditory evoked cortical magnetic fields in response to amplitude-modulated periodic and non-periodic noises.
Utilized periodic noises with repetition rates of 5 Hz, 20 Hz, and 40 Hz.
Analyzed ASSR and SF amplitudes across different hemispheres.

Main Results:

Periodic noises significantly increased SF amplitudes in both hemispheres compared to non-periodic noise.
ASSR amplitudes were significantly enhanced for 20 Hz and 40 Hz periodic noises, primarily in the right hemisphere.
The left hemisphere showed no significant ASSR enhancement for periodic noises.

Conclusions:

Sustained fields (SF) and auditory steady-state responses (ASSR) reflect distinct neural processing of temporal regularity.
Hemispheric differences in ASSR suggest specialized roles for the right and left auditory pathways in processing temporal regularity.
Variations in evoked response components and hemispheres may indicate differing temporal integration windows.