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

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...

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...

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.

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.

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by

Same author

Auditory Motion Perception by Bilateral Cochlear Implant Users With a Sound Coding Strategy that Synchronizes Peak-Picking Across the Ears.

Trends in hearing·2026

Same author

Binaural sensitivity and processing of envelope-based interaural difference cues by bilateral cochlear implant users with perilingual and postlingual onset of deafness.

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America·2026

Same author

Best cochlear locations for delivering interaural timing cues in electric hearing.

Communications medicine·2026

Same author

Spatial separation enhances speech intelligibility but increases listening effort with session-dependent variability in pupillometric measures.

Frontiers in neuroscience·2025

Same author

Asymmetric temporal envelope encoding: Lateralization with varying envelope shape and spectral mismatch.

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America·2025

Same author

Gender Identity Shapes Professional Experiences in Communication Sciences and Disorders.

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

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 16, 2025

Behavioral Determination of Stimulus Pair Discrimination of Auditory Acoustic and Electrical Stimuli Using a Classical Conditioning and Heart-rate Approach

Behavioral Determination of Stimulus Pair Discrimination of Auditory Acoustic and Electrical Stimuli Using a Classical Conditioning and Heart-rate Approach

Published on: June 6, 2012

Best Cochlear Locations for Delivering Interaural Timing Cues in Electric Hearing.

Agudemu Borjigin¹, Stephen Dennison², Tanvi Thakkar³

¹University of Wisconsin - Madison.

Research Square

|April 1, 2025

Summary

Bilateral cochlear implants (BiCIs) improve hearing but not sound localization. Effective ITD perception with BiCIs requires stimulating specific cochlear locations, which may differ from acoustic hearing frequency maps.

Keywords:

bilateral cochlear implants deafness interaural time difference lateralization novel stimulation

More Related Videos

Performing Intracochlear Electrocochleography During Cochlear Implantation

Performing Intracochlear Electrocochleography During Cochlear Implantation

Published on: March 8, 2022

A Comparative Study of Drug Delivery Methods Targeted to the Mouse Inner Ear: Bullostomy Versus Transtympanic Injection

A Comparative Study of Drug Delivery Methods Targeted to the Mouse Inner Ear: Bullostomy Versus Transtympanic Injection

Published on: March 8, 2017

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 16, 2025

Behavioral Determination of Stimulus Pair Discrimination of Auditory Acoustic and Electrical Stimuli Using a Classical Conditioning and Heart-rate Approach

Behavioral Determination of Stimulus Pair Discrimination of Auditory Acoustic and Electrical Stimuli Using a Classical Conditioning and Heart-rate Approach

Published on: June 6, 2012

Performing Intracochlear Electrocochleography During Cochlear Implantation

Performing Intracochlear Electrocochleography During Cochlear Implantation

Published on: March 8, 2022

A Comparative Study of Drug Delivery Methods Targeted to the Mouse Inner Ear: Bullostomy Versus Transtympanic Injection

A Comparative Study of Drug Delivery Methods Targeted to the Mouse Inner Ear: Bullostomy Versus Transtympanic Injection

Published on: March 8, 2017

Area of Science:

Auditory Neuroscience
Audiology
Biomedical Engineering

Background:

Cochlear implants (CI) offer sound access to deaf individuals.
Bilateral CIs (BiCIs) are increasingly standard but have limitations in sound localization.
Restoring interaural time differences (ITDs) is crucial for effective sound localization.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the optimal cochlear stimulation sites for restoring ITD perception in bilateral CI users.
To challenge the traditional frequency mapping for ITD encoding in electrical hearing.

Main Methods:

Investigated the relationship between cochlear stimulation location and ITD perception.
Analyzed how electrical stimulation targets specific cochlear regions for ITD processing.

Main Results:

Effective ITD perception via electrical stimulation depends on targeting specific cochlear locations.
These optimal locations for ITD transmission can vary and are not fixed to the traditional low-frequency apical region.

Conclusions:

Current bilateral CI strategies may not optimally target cochlear regions for ITD perception.
Further research into individualized cochlear stimulation mapping is needed for improved sound localization in CI users.