Auditory System and Sound Localization

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts related to the auditory system, including sound localization, mechanotransduction in hair cells, and the perception of sound.

Mechanoelectric Transduction

The process in which hair cells convert mechanical action of cilia into an electrical signal.

Tonotopy

The spatial arrangement of where sounds of different frequency are processed in the auditory system.

Interaural Time Difference (ITD)

The difference in arrival time of a sound between the two ears, important for determining sound location.

Interaural Level Difference (ILD)

The difference in sound level reaching each ear, used to locate sounds in the horizontal plane.

Place Code

The concept that hair cells encode frequency based on their position on the basilar membrane.

Frequency Code

The idea that hair cells convey frequency information through their firing rates.

Head Related Transfer Function (HRTF)

The way in which the shape of the ear and head influence how sound is perceived, especially elevation.

Natural Sounds

Complex sounds that consist of multiple frequencies, including a fundamental frequency (f0) and harmonics.

Harmonics

Higher frequency sound waves that occur at integer multiples of a fundamental frequency.

Room Reverberation

The phenomenon where sound reflects off surfaces in a room, creating multiple echoes of the original sound.

Precedence Effect

The auditory system's tendency to perceive the first wavefront of a sound as the source location, overriding echoes.

Cochlear Nerve

The auditory nerve that carries signals from the hair cells in the cochlea to the brain.

Basilar Membrane

A structure in the cochlea that plays a key role in hearing, as it contains hair cells that respond to different frequencies.