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

Sound Intensity Level00:53

Sound Intensity Level

5.2K
Humans perceive sound by hearing. The human ear helps sound waves reach the brain, which then interprets the waves and creates the perception of hearing. The loudness of the environment in which a person is located determines whether they can distinguish between different sound sources.
The human ear can perceive an extensive range of sound intensity, necessitating the use of the logarithmic scale to define a physical quantity—the intensity level. It is a ratio of two intensities and...
5.2K
Perceiving Loudness, Pitch, and Location01:21

Perceiving Loudness, Pitch, and Location

1.4K
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...
1.4K
Hearing01:31

Hearing

59.1K
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.
59.1K
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
Auditory Pathway01:15

Auditory Pathway

9.2K
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...
9.2K
Perception of Sound Waves01:01

Perception of Sound Waves

6.1K
The human ear is not equally sensitive to all frequencies in the audible range. It may perceive sound waves with the same pressure but different frequencies as having different loudness. Moreover, the perception of sound waves depends on the health of an individual's ears, which decays with age. The health of one's ears may also be affected by regular exposure to loud noises.
The pitch of a sound depends on the frequency and the pressure amplitude of the source. Two sounds of the same...
6.1K

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Cultural Differences in Listening Environments Between Hispanic and White Non-Hispanic Cochlear Implant Users.

Ear and hearing·2026
Same author

Weeklong Noise Exposure of 100 College Students Who Participate in Music Activities.

Ear and hearing·2026
Same author

Childhood Electroencephalographic Signatures Predict Distinct Developmental Trajectories to Adolescent Anxiety and Depression.

Biological psychiatry·2026
Same author

Environmentally dependent developmental induction as a potential driver of heart evolution.

The Journal of experimental biology·2026
Same author

Elevation of Serum Prestin in Patients With Tinnitus: Pathophysiological Implications and Biomarker Potential.

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

Ongoing Development of Online Tone and Intonation Recognition in Mandarin During Late Childhood.

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

Comparison of slow-paced breathing interventions with and without an inhalation-hold on physiological outcomes: A randomized cross-over pilot study.

International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology·2026
Same journal

The role of inferior frontal gyrus in emotion regulation: Evidence from fMRI and tDCS investigation.

International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology·2026
Same journal

Trait anxiety in young adults is more consistently associated with resting-state EEG microstate transitions than with stationary spectral power.

International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology·2026
Same journal

Neural modulation of emotional-word processing during the attentional blink under varying T1 task demands: An ERP study.

International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology·2026
Same journal

Attentional resource allocation in the early stages of motor skill learning.

International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology·2026
Same journal

Operation-specific ERP dynamics of arithmetic processing in children with developmental dyscalculia.

International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 18, 2026

Semi-Automated Analysis of Peak Amplitude and Latency for Auditory Brainstem Response Waveforms Using R
06:01

Semi-Automated Analysis of Peak Amplitude and Latency for Auditory Brainstem Response Waveforms Using R

Published on: December 9, 2022

3.0K

Auditory brainstem's sensitivity to human voices.

Yun Nan1, Erika Skoe2, Trent Nicol3

  • 1State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, 100875, China.

International Journal of Psychophysiology : Official Journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology
|January 27, 2015
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

The human auditory brainstem can distinguish between different voices, especially in complex auditory environments. This study shows enhanced brainstem responses to voice harmonics when multiple talkers are present.

Keywords:
Auditory brainstemFrequency following responseVoice

More Related Videos

Evaluation of Auditory Brainstem Response in Chicken Hatchlings
09:32

Evaluation of Auditory Brainstem Response in Chicken Hatchlings

Published on: April 1, 2022

3.7K
Data Acquisition and Analysis In Brainstem Evoked Response Audiometry In Mice
08:51

Data Acquisition and Analysis In Brainstem Evoked Response Audiometry In Mice

Published on: May 10, 2019

12.6K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Apr 18, 2026

Semi-Automated Analysis of Peak Amplitude and Latency for Auditory Brainstem Response Waveforms Using R
06:01

Semi-Automated Analysis of Peak Amplitude and Latency for Auditory Brainstem Response Waveforms Using R

Published on: December 9, 2022

3.0K
Evaluation of Auditory Brainstem Response in Chicken Hatchlings
09:32

Evaluation of Auditory Brainstem Response in Chicken Hatchlings

Published on: April 1, 2022

3.7K
Data Acquisition and Analysis In Brainstem Evoked Response Audiometry In Mice
08:51

Data Acquisition and Analysis In Brainstem Evoked Response Audiometry In Mice

Published on: May 10, 2019

12.6K

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Auditory Neuroscience
  • Speech Processing

Background:

  • Voice differentiation is a fundamental human social skill.
  • Understanding subcortical processing of voice is crucial for auditory neuroscience.
  • Key acoustic features of voice include fundamental frequency (F0) and harmonics.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the subcortical neural mechanisms underlying voice processing.
  • To examine the role of F0 and harmonics in voice perception.
  • To determine the auditory brainstem's sensitivity to different talkers.

Main Methods:

  • Measured frequency following responses (FFRs) in young adults.
  • Presented naturally produced speech syllables in same-syllable and multiple-syllable contexts.
  • Analyzed FFRs to F0 and harmonics under same-talker and multiple-talker conditions.

Main Results:

  • The auditory brainstem showed enhanced harmonic responses in the multiple-talker condition compared to the same-talker condition.
  • This enhancement was observed specifically within the multiple-syllable linguistic context.
  • No significant differences were found in F0 responses between same-talker and multiple-talker conditions.

Conclusions:

  • The human auditory brainstem is sensitive to talker variability.
  • Electrophysiological evidence supports the brainstem's role in early voice processing.
  • Linguistic context influences the brainstem's ability to differentiate voices.