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

The Cochlea01:13

The Cochlea

52.2K
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.
52.2K
Auditory Pathway01:15

Auditory Pathway

8.5K
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...
8.5K
Hearing01:31

Hearing

58.4K
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.
58.4K
Anatomy of the Ear01:16

Anatomy of the Ear

13.1K
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...
13.1K
Hair Cells01:22

Hair Cells

46.2K
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.
46.2K
Perceiving Loudness, Pitch, and Location01:21

Perceiving Loudness, Pitch, and Location

1.3K
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...
1.3K

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Convergent thyroid-ATPase interactions regulate collective behavior in Danionella.

Cell reports·2025
Same author

Imaging cellular activity simultaneously across all organs of a vertebrate reveals body-wide circuits.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2025
Same author

Feeding-induced olfactory cortex suppression reduces satiation.

Neuron·2025
Same author

Fast and light-efficient remote focusing for volumetric voltage imaging.

Nature communications·2024
Same author

Development of sound production in Danionella cerebrum.

The Journal of experimental biology·2024
Same author

The mechanism for directional hearing in fish.

Nature·2024
Same journal

Pitch selectivity in ferret auditory cortex.

Current biology : CB·2026
Same journal

A cell size-dependent competition between geometry and polarity governs nuclear and spindle positioning in early embryos.

Current biology : CB·2026
Same journal

Trophic cascades drive sustainability in the agricultural heritage rice-fish coculture system.

Current biology : CB·2026
Same journal

Tracking Satb2-positive retinal ganglion cells in zebrafish unveils developmental functional reorganization.

Current biology : CB·2026
Same journal

RhoGAP54D promotes cell size asymmetry and inhibits pulsatile myosin activity in Drosophila neural stem cells.

Current biology : CB·2026
Same journal

Increased rates of hybridization in swordtails are associated with water pollution.

Current biology : CB·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 14, 2026

Activity of Posterior Lateral Line Afferent Neurons during Swimming in Zebrafish
10:34

Activity of Posterior Lateral Line Afferent Neurons during Swimming in Zebrafish

Published on: February 10, 2021

4.3K

An algorithm underlying directional hearing in fish.

Johannes Veith1, Ana Svanidze2, Benjamin Judkewitz2

  • 1Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany; Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institut für Biologie, 10099 Berlin, Germany.

Current Biology : CB
|March 12, 2026
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Fish can determine sound direction underwater by comparing sound pressure and particle motion phases. This study reveals fish startle responses depend on sound frequency and phase, offering a new model for directional hearing.

Keywords:
Danionella cerebrumSchuijf modeldirectional hearingsound source localizationstartle response

More Related Videos

Long-term Behavioral Tracking of Freely Swimming Weakly Electric Fish
10:56

Long-term Behavioral Tracking of Freely Swimming Weakly Electric Fish

Published on: March 6, 2014

13.1K
Morphological and Functional Evaluation of Ribbon Synapses at Specific Frequency Regions of the Mouse Cochlea
09:54

Morphological and Functional Evaluation of Ribbon Synapses at Specific Frequency Regions of the Mouse Cochlea

Published on: May 10, 2019

12.8K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Mar 14, 2026

Activity of Posterior Lateral Line Afferent Neurons during Swimming in Zebrafish
10:34

Activity of Posterior Lateral Line Afferent Neurons during Swimming in Zebrafish

Published on: February 10, 2021

4.3K
Long-term Behavioral Tracking of Freely Swimming Weakly Electric Fish
10:56

Long-term Behavioral Tracking of Freely Swimming Weakly Electric Fish

Published on: March 6, 2014

13.1K
Morphological and Functional Evaluation of Ribbon Synapses at Specific Frequency Regions of the Mouse Cochlea
09:54

Morphological and Functional Evaluation of Ribbon Synapses at Specific Frequency Regions of the Mouse Cochlea

Published on: May 10, 2019

12.8K

Area of Science:

  • Acoustics
  • Bioacoustics
  • Sensory Neuroscience

Background:

  • Land vertebrates use binaural cues for sound localization, but these are absent underwater.
  • Fish can determine sound direction despite limited interaural differences, possibly via phase comparison.
  • Previous work confirmed phase comparison for near-field sounds, but natural soundscapes present complexities.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how fish (Danionella cerebrum) achieve directional hearing in complex sound environments.
  • To quantify the directional tuning of startle responses based on sound phase and frequency.
  • To develop a model predicting sensorimotor transformation in fish hearing.

Main Methods:

  • Systematically manipulated phase differences between particle motion and pressure components of sound pulses.
  • Quantified directional tuning of startle responses in Danionella cerebrum.
  • Developed and validated a predictive model for sensorimotor transformation.

Main Results:

  • Fish startle behavior is significantly dependent on both sound frequency and phase.
  • Introduced a novel model that accurately predicts fish directional hearing across various stimuli.
  • Demonstrated that the phase relationship between motion and pressure is crucial for directional hearing.

Conclusions:

  • The study provides the first model and experimental data for fish directional hearing in complex acoustic environments.
  • The findings suggest a conserved mechanism for directional hearing in otophysan fishes, a large group of vertebrates.
  • This research advances our understanding of auditory processing and sensorimotor transformations in aquatic animals.