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Related Concept Videos

The Cochlea01:13

The Cochlea

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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.
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Auditory Pathway01:15

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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.
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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.
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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...
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Hair Cells01:22

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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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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.
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Updated: Mar 14, 2026

Activity of Posterior Lateral Line Afferent Neurons during Swimming in Zebrafish
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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

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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.