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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.

Perception of Sound Waves

Perception of Sound Waves

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 frequency...

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...

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...

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Response adaptation in the barn owl's auditory space map.

Roland Ferger¹, Kerstin Pawlowsky¹, Martin Singheiser¹

¹Institute of Biology II, RWTH Aachen University , Aachen , Germany.

Journal of Neurophysiology

|January 24, 2018

Summary

Response adaptation in barn owl midbrain neurons enhances sound localization precision. Recovery from adaptation is rapid, suggesting improved neural representation of auditory space.

Keywords:

adaptation inferior colliculus interaural time difference midbrain sound localization

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Auditory System Research
Animal Behavior

Background:

Response adaptation, a change in neural firing rate post-stimulus, occurs widely in sensory systems.
The external nucleus of the inferior colliculus (ICX) in barn owls is crucial for sound localization using interaural time and level differences (ITD and ILD).

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate and characterize response adaptation in barn owl ICX neurons.
To understand how adaptation affects the neural representation of auditory space, particularly ITD.

Main Methods:

Extracellular recordings of neuronal responses in anesthetized barn owls.
Utilized three acoustic double-stimulation paradigms with varying stimulus parameters (level, interstimulus interval (ISI), ITD).

Main Results:

Response adaptation was observed and characterized, with a 5 dB level increase compensating for the effect.
Full recovery from adaptation occurred after a 50 ms ISI; recovery was faster than in upstream auditory nuclei.
Adaptation improved ITD representation precision and selectivity, with effects persisting longer than recovery time.

Conclusions:

Response adaptation is present and functionally significant in the barn owl's auditory space map.
Adaptation enhances the precision and selectivity of interaural time difference representation.
The rapid recovery suggests efficient neural processing in the ICX for sound localization.