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

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 cochlea, a...

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...

Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language

Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language

Language is a system of communication that allows the expression of thoughts, ideas, and feelings. The brain processes language in both hemispheres.
Language formation and comprehension take place in the dominant hemisphere. The dominant hemisphere is responsible for understanding the meaning of spoken, written, or sign language, as well as the ability to communicate. For most people, the left hemisphere is the dominant one. The right hemisphere, then, gives tone and emotional context to the...

Brain Imaging

Brain Imaging

Brain imaging technologies provide critical insights into both the structure and function of the human brain, enabling medical professionals and researchers to diagnose, study, and treat neurological disorders or psychiatric disorders more effectively.
These technologies include computerized axial tomography (CAT or CT scans), positron-emission tomography (PET scans), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS).

Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex

Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex

The cerebral cortex, the brain's outermost layer, is pivotal in processing complex cognitive tasks, emotions, and various sensory inputs and executing voluntary motor activities. This intricate structure is divided into three primary functional areas: the motor areas, sensory areas, and association areas.
Motor Areas
The motor areas located in the frontal lobe are central to controlling voluntary movements. This region is further subdivided into the primary motor cortex and the premotor cortex.

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by

Same author

Discovering the acoustic cue for target ranging by bats.

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America·2026

Same author

The Simons Collaboration on Ecological Neuroscience: Studying how the brain interacts with the world.

Neuron·2026

Same author

Sparse-to-dense coding transformation between hippocampal areas CA3 and CA1.

Nature·2026

Same author

A general mechanism of airborne hearing in recent and early non-tympanate tetrapods.

The Journal of experimental biology·2026

Same author

Vomeronasal organ of the North American river otter (Lontra canadensis): Morphological and evolutionary insights based on iodine-enhanced computed tomography.

Anatomical record (Hoboken, N.J. : 2007)·2026

Same author

Bat eye movements resolve a long-standing question in gaze control.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 4, 2026

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

Natural auditory behaviors invoke cognitive brain networks.

Aditya Krishna¹, Grace Capshaw², Cynthia F Moss³

¹Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.

Current Opinion in Neurobiology

|June 2, 2026

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Auditory perception in complex environments relies on more than just the auditory pathway. Integrating cognitive functions like attention and memory is key, with bats offering a unique model for studying natural sound processing.

More Related Videos

Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations

Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations

Published on: July 1, 2015

Electroencephalography Measurements in Awake Marmosets Listening to Conspecific Vocalizations

Electroencephalography Measurements in Awake Marmosets Listening to Conspecific Vocalizations

Published on: July 26, 2024

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 4, 2026

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

Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations

Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations

Published on: July 1, 2015

Electroencephalography Measurements in Awake Marmosets Listening to Conspecific Vocalizations

Electroencephalography Measurements in Awake Marmosets Listening to Conspecific Vocalizations

Published on: July 26, 2024

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Auditory Neuroscience
Cognitive Neuroscience

Background:

Auditory processing is traditionally viewed as a hierarchical system.
Real-world listening involves complex cognitive processes beyond simple acoustic feature extraction.
Challenging listening situations require integration of auditory information with attention, memory, and action selection.

Purpose of the Study:

To propose a new framework for understanding auditory perception.
To highlight the importance of cognitive-sensorimotor interactions in auditory processing.
To advocate for the use of echolocating bats as a model system for natural sound processing.

Main Methods:

This is a review article, synthesizing existing research.
It proposes a theoretical framework integrating canonical auditory pathways with distributed cognitive networks.
It uses the echolocating bat as a case study for natural sound processing.

Main Results:

Auditory perception in complex environments is an emergent property of integrated neural systems.
Cognitive processes are crucial for segregating sound sources, suppressing self-generated sounds, and sensorimotor adaptation.
Echolocating bats provide a valuable model due to their complex auditory behaviors and conserved neural architecture.

Conclusions:

Auditory perception is not solely reliant on the canonical auditory pathway.
Effective listening in natural environments requires dynamic interactions between auditory and cognitive-sensorimotor networks.
Further research using model systems like bats can elucidate general principles of natural sound processing.