Auditory System CSD 40400

Flashcards covering vocabulary related to the auditory system, including anatomy, function, and types of hearing disorders.

Cochlea

A spiral-shaped organ in the inner ear responsible for converting sound vibrations into neural signals.

Aurae (Pinna)

The external part of the ear that helps direct sound waves into the ear.

Tympanic membrane

Also known as the eardrum, it vibrates in response to sound waves and transmits the vibrations to the ossicles.

Auditory ossicles

Three small bones in the middle ear (malleus, incus, stapes) that transmit sound from the tympanic membrane to the inner ear.

Tonotopic organization

The spatial arrangement of where sounds of different frequencies are processed in the cochlea.

Organ of Corti

Located in the cochlea, it contains hair cells that convert hydraulic energy into electrical signals.

Conductive hearing loss

A type of hearing loss caused by interrupted sound transmission through the outer or middle ear.

Sensorineural hearing loss

Hearing loss resulting from damage to the hair cells or the auditory nerve.

Pure Word Deafness

Impaired auditory language comprehension despite intact hearing, caused by bilateral temporal lesions.

Cortical Deafness

The inability to hear and perceive sound due to bilateral damage to Heschl's gyrus.

Medial geniculate nucleus

A principal relay station in the auditory pathway that processes sound information before it reaches the auditory cortex.

Basilar membrane

A structure in the cochlea that plays a crucial role in the auditory transduction process.

Vestibulocochlear nerve (CN VIII)

The cranial nerve responsible for transmitting sound and balance information from the inner ear to the brain.

Auditory pathway

The route taken by auditory information from the cochlea to the auditory cortex in the brain.

Wernicke’s area

A region in the left hemisphere involved in the comprehension of speech.

Meniere’s disease

A disorder of the inner ear that can lead to hearing loss, vertigo, and tinnitus.

unilateral cortical lesion

normal hearing thresholds with impaired speech perception and discrimination

bilateral cortical lesion

profound hearing impairment

BA 41 or 42 lesion

impaired speech sound discrimination

pure word deafness

bilateral temporal lesions, impaired auditory language comprehension, other language abilities preserved

cortical deafness

bilateral heshl’s gyrus damage, inability to hear and perceive sound despite intact peripheral structures of ear