Hearing, Touch & Chemical Senses

Frequency

The number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time (ex. Per second)

Pitch

A tone’s experienced highness or lowness; depends on frequency

Middle Ear

The chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing three tiny bones that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea’s oval window

Cochlea

A coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear; sound waves traveling through the cochlear fluid trigger nerve impulses.

Inner Ear

The innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs

Sensorineural Hearing Loss

The most common form of hearing loss, caused by damage to the cochlea’s receptor cells or to the auditory nerve; also called nerve deafness.

Conduction Hearing Loss

A less common form of hearing loss, caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea.

Cochlear Implant

A device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea.

Place Theory

In hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea’s membrane is stimulated (also called place coding)

Frequency Theory

In hearing, the theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense its pitch (also called temporal coding)

Gate Control Theory

The theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological “gate” that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain. The “gate” is opened by the activity of pain signals traveling up small nerve fibers and is closed by activity in larger fibers or by information coming from the brain.

Gustation

Our sense of taste.

Olfaction

Our sense of smell.

Kinesthesis

Our movement sense– our system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts.

Vestibular Sense

Our balance sense: our sense of body movement and position that enables our sense of balance.

Sensory Interaction

The principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste.

Embodied Cognition

The influence of bodily sensations, gestures, and other states on cognitive preferences and judgments.