Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

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 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.

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.

Neural Circuits

Neural Circuits

Neural circuits and neuronal pools are two of the main structures found in the nervous system. Neural circuits are networks of neurons that work together to carry out a specific task or process. They consist of interconnected neurons and glial cells, which provide structural and metabolic support.
Neuronal pools are collections of nerve cells with similar functions and interact through chemical and electrical signals. These pools include both interneurons (the central neural circuit nodes that...

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.

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...

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by

Same author

Pre-treatment audiological and vestibular assessment in adults starting platinum-based chemotherapy.

Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer·2026

Same author

Evaluation of deep neural network-based strategies for the compensation of sensorineural hearing loss.

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America·2026

Same author

Predicting Cochlear Synaptopathy in Mice with Varying Degrees of Outer Hair Cell Dysfunction Using Auditory Evoked Potentials.

Journal of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology : JARO·2025

Same author

The Search for a Diagnostic Indicator of Cochlear Deafferentation: Predicting Age and Veteran Status from Auditory Evoked Potential Measures.

medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences·2025

Same author

Modelling neural coding in the auditory midbrain with high resolution and accuracy.

Nature machine intelligence·2025

Same author

Deciphering Compromised Speech-in-Noise Intelligibility in Older Listeners: The Role of Cochlear Synaptopathy.

eNeuro·2025

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 30, 2025

Computational Modeling of Retinal Neurons for Visual Prosthesis Research - Fundamental Approaches

Computational Modeling of Retinal Neurons for Visual Prosthesis Research - Fundamental Approaches

Published on: June 21, 2022

A convolutional neural-network framework for modelling auditory sensory cells and synapses.

Fotios Drakopoulos¹, Deepak Baby², Sarah Verhulst²

¹Department of Information Technology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium. fotios.drakopoulos@ugent.be.

Communications Biology

|July 2, 2021

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

This study introduces a hybrid machine learning and computational neuroscience method to create faster deep neural network (DNN) neuronal models. These models retain biophysical accuracy, accelerating large-scale brain simulations and DNN applications.

More Related Videos

In Vitro Wedge Slice Preparation for Mimicking In Vivo Neuronal Circuit Connectivity

In Vitro Wedge Slice Preparation for Mimicking In Vivo Neuronal Circuit Connectivity

Published on: August 18, 2020

Slicing the Embryonic Chicken Auditory Brainstem to Evaluate Tonotopic Gradients and Microcircuits

Slicing the Embryonic Chicken Auditory Brainstem to Evaluate Tonotopic Gradients and Microcircuits

Published on: July 12, 2022

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Oct 30, 2025

Computational Modeling of Retinal Neurons for Visual Prosthesis Research - Fundamental Approaches

Computational Modeling of Retinal Neurons for Visual Prosthesis Research - Fundamental Approaches

Published on: June 21, 2022

In Vitro Wedge Slice Preparation for Mimicking In Vivo Neuronal Circuit Connectivity

In Vitro Wedge Slice Preparation for Mimicking In Vivo Neuronal Circuit Connectivity

Published on: August 18, 2020

Slicing the Embryonic Chicken Auditory Brainstem to Evaluate Tonotopic Gradients and Microcircuits

Slicing the Embryonic Chicken Auditory Brainstem to Evaluate Tonotopic Gradients and Microcircuits

Published on: July 12, 2022

Area of Science:

Computational Neuroscience
Machine Learning
Neuro-engineering

Background:

Classical computational neuroscience models are computationally intensive and difficult to integrate into large-scale simulations.
Existing analytical neuronal models lack the speed required for complex, real-time applications.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop a hybrid approach combining machine learning and computational neuroscience to create efficient and biophysically accurate neuronal models.
To accelerate the development of large-scale brain network simulations and DNN-based therapeutic applications.

Main Methods:

Transformed analytical models of sensory neurons and synapses into deep neural network (DNN) neuronal units.
Developed a DNN model architecture with parallel and differentiable equations suitable for backpropagation.
Focused initial development on auditory neurons and synapses.

Main Results:

Achieved significant simulation run-time improvements: 70x on CPU and 280x on GPU.
Demonstrated that the DNN model architecture can be extended to various analytical models.
Validated the approach for auditory neurons and synapses.

Conclusions:

The hybrid DNN approach offers a substantial speed-up for neuronal simulations while preserving biophysical properties.
This method can be generalized to diverse neuron and synapse types, facilitating large-scale brain network research.
Accelerates the development of DNN-based treatments for neurological disorders.