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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.

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...

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...

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.

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...

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.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 2, 2025

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging fMRI with Auditory Stimulation in Songbirds

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging fMRI with Auditory Stimulation in Songbirds

Published on: June 3, 2013

A neural population selective for song in human auditory cortex.

Sam V Norman-Haignere¹, Jenelle Feather², Dana Boebinger³

¹Zuckerman Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA; HHMI Fellow of the Life Sciences Research Foundation, Chevy Chase, MD, USA; Laboratoire des Sytèmes Perceptifs, Département d'Études Cognitives, ENS, PSL University, CNRS, Paris, France; Department of Biostatistics & Computational Biology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA; Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA; Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.

Current Biology : CB

|February 23, 2022

Summary

Scientists found specific brain regions that process music. A novel brain response component was identified, showing specialization for analyzing song, suggesting music representation is fractionated in the human auditory cortex.

Keywords:

ECoG auditory cortex component electrocorticography fMRI music natural sounds song speech voice

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Last Updated: Oct 2, 2025

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging fMRI with Auditory Stimulation in Songbirds

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Published on: June 3, 2013

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Published on: November 26, 2012

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Auditory Perception
Brain Imaging

Background:

Neuroimaging shows spatial segregation for music vs. other sounds in the brain.
The neural code for music processing remains largely unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate how music is represented in the human brain.
To identify neural components selective for music, particularly song.

Main Methods:

Developed a method to infer canonical response components of the human auditory cortex using intracranial responses.
Utilized functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to map the spatial distribution of these components.

Main Results:

Replicated prior findings of distinct neural selectivity for speech and music.
Discovered a novel component almost exclusively responding to music with singing (song).
Song selectivity was independent of acoustic features and located near speech/music-selective areas.

Conclusions:

Music representation in the brain is fractionated into subpopulations selective for different music types.
A specific subpopulation in the auditory cortex is specialized for analyzing song.