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Related Concept Videos

Hair Cells01:22

Hair Cells

36.0K
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.
36.0K
The Cochlea01:13

The Cochlea

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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.
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Auditory Pathway01:15

Auditory Pathway

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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...
7.0K
Equilibrium and Balance01:15

Equilibrium and Balance

6.0K
The inner ear assumes dual functionalities of auditory perception and equilibrium maintenance. The vestibule is the organ responsible for balance. This organ contains mechanoreceptors, specifically hair cells, endowed with stereocilia, which aid in deciphering information regarding the position and motion of our heads. Two intrinsic components, the utricle and saccule, help perceive head position, while the semicircular canals track head movement. Neurological messages initiated in the...
6.0K
Auditory Perception01:17

Auditory Perception

1.5K
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...
1.5K
Hearing01:31

Hearing

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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.
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 22, 2026

Auditory Brainstem Response and Outer Hair Cell Whole-cell Patch Clamp Recording in Postnatal Rats
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Interaural attention modulates outer hair cell function.

Sridhar Srinivasan1, Andreas Keil, Kyle Stratis

  • 1Program in Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA.

The European Journal of Neuroscience
|October 11, 2014
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Selective attention impacts hearing. Focusing on one ear alters the other ear's cochlear response, likely via the uncrossed medial olivocochlear (MOC) pathway. This demonstrates cross-ear attention effects.

Keywords:
corticofugal pathwaysdistortion product otoacoustic emissionhumaninteraural selective auditory attentionmedial olivocochlear efferents

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Auditory Neuroscience
  • Psychoacoustics

Background:

  • Auditory attention modulates cochlear sensitivity via corticofugal and medial olivocochlear (MOC) pathways.
  • The role of the 'uncrossed' MOC pathway in inter-aural selective attention is not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the involvement of the uncrossed MOC pathway in mediating inter-aural selective attention.
  • To determine how attention directed to auditory or visual stimuli affects cochlear responses.

Main Methods:

  • Distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) were measured in one ear while participants performed an intermodal target detection task.
  • Participants reported auditory targets in the ipsilateral or contralateral ear, or visual targets.
  • DPOAEs were compared across conditions with varying attentional focus.

Main Results:

  • DPOAE levels were highest when participants attended to visual stimuli and lowest when attending to the ipsilateral ear.
  • Attention directed to the contralateral ear resulted in intermediate DPOAE levels.
  • These findings indicate that attention significantly alters cochlear physiological responses, even in the unattended ear.

Conclusions:

  • Top-down mechanisms, involving corticofugal and medial efferent pathways, mediate cochlear responses during attention.
  • Attending to one ear can physiologically alter the response of the contralateral, unattended ear.
  • The uncrossed-medial olivocochlear efferent fibers likely play a crucial role in these inter-aural attention effects.