Ch. 9-12 Flashcards

1
Q

amplitude (intensity)

A

in reference to sound, the magnitude of displacement (increase or decrease) of a pressure wave; perceived as loudness; magnitude of pressure change in a sound wave

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2
Q

frequency

A

in reference to sound, the number of times per second that a pattern of pressure change repeats; perceived as pitch

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3
Q

Hertz (Hz)

A

a unit of measure for frequency; 1 Hz = 1 cycle per second

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4
Q

loudness

A

the psychological aspect of sound related to perceived intensity (amplitude)

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5
Q

pitch

A

the psychological aspect of sound related to perceived intensity (amplitude)

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6
Q

decibel (dB)

A

a unit of measure for the physical intensity of sound; define the difference between two sounds as the ratio between two sound pressures

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7
Q

sine wave (pure tone)

A

the single waveform for which variation as a function of time is a sine function

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8
Q

all sounds can be described as…

A

combinations of sine waves

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9
Q

spectrum

A

a representation of the relative energy (intensity) present at each frequency

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10
Q

harmonic spectra

A

the spectrum of a complex sound in which energy is at integer multiples of the fundamental frequency

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11
Q

fundamental frequency

A

the lowest-frequency component of a complex periodic sound; the first harmonic

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12
Q

timbre

A

the psychological sensation by which a listener can judge that two sounds with the same loudness and pitch are dissimilar

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13
Q

pinna

A

the outer, funnel-like part of the ear; sounds first collected from the environment by this

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14
Q

ear canal

A

the canal that conducts sound vibrations from the pinna to the tympanic membrane and prevents damage to the tympanic membrane

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15
Q

outer ear

A

the external sound-gathering portion of the ear, consisting of the pinna and the ear canal

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16
Q

tympanic membrane

A

the eardrum; a thin sheet of skin at the end of the outer ear canal; vibrates in response to sound; border between the outer ear and middle ear

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17
Q

ossicle

A

any of the three bones of the middle ear: malleus, incus, stapes

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18
Q

malleus

A

the most exterior of the three ossicles; receives vibration from the tympanic membrane and is attached to the incus

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19
Q

incus

A

the middle of the three ossicles, connecting the malleus and the stapes

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20
Q

stapes

A

the most interior of the three ossicles; connected to the incus on one end, presses against the oval window of the cochlea on the other end

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21
Q

oval window

A

the flexible opening to the cochlea through which the stapes transmits vibration to the fluid inside; border between the middle ear and inner ear

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22
Q

inner ear

A

a hollow cavity in the temporal bone of the skull, and the structures within this cavity: the cochlea and the semicircular canals of the vestibular system

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23
Q

ossicles are the smallest bones in the human body and they amplify sound vibrations in two ways

A

1) the joints between the bones are hinged in ways that make them work like levers: a modem amount of energy on one side of the fulcrum (joint) becomes larger on the other; this lever action increases the amount of pressure change by about a third
2) concentrate energy from a larger to a smaller surface area

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24
Q

middle ear has two muscles

A

tensor tympani and stapedius

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25
Q

tensor tympani

A

the muscle attached to the malleus; tensing this muscle decreases vibration

26
Q

stapedius

A

attached to the stapes; tensing this muscle decreases vibration

27
Q

purpose of the tensor tympani and stapedius

A
  • to tense when sounds are very loud
  • restrict movement of the ossicles and thus muffle pressure changes that might be large enough to damage the delicate structures in the inner ear
28
Q

acoustic reflex

A

a reflex that protects the ear from intense sounds, via contraction of the stapedius and tensor tympani muscles
- also tensed during swallowing, talking, and general body movement, helping to keep the auditory system from being overwhelmed by sounds generated by our own bodies

29
Q

cochlea

A

a spiral structure of the inner ear containing the organ of Corti

30
Q

three parallel canals of the cochlea

A

tympanic canal, vestibular canal, middle canal

31
Q

tympanic canal

A

one of the three fluid-filled passages in the cochlea; extends from the round window at the base of the cochlea to the helicotrema at the apex; filled with the fluid perilymph

32
Q

vestibular canal

A

one of the three fluid-filled passages in the cochlea; extends from the oval window at the base of the cochlea to the helicotrema at the apex; filled with the fluid perilymph

33
Q

middle canal

A

one of the three fluid-filled passages in the cochlea; sandwiched between the tympanic and vestibular canals and contains the cochlear partition; filled with the fluid endolymph

34
Q

helicotrema

A

the opening that connects the tympanic and vestibular canals at the apex of the cochlea

35
Q

stria vascularis

A

specialized tissue lines one side of the middle canal and maintains the right balance of charged ions in the endolymph to keep hair cells working at their best

36
Q

three canals of the cochlea are separated by two membranes

A

Reissner’s membrane and basilar membrane

37
Q

Reissner’s membrane

A

a thin sheath of tissue separating the vestibular and middle canals in the cochlea

38
Q

basilar membrane

A

a plate of fibers that forms the base of the cochlear partition and separates the middle and tympanic canals in the cochlea

39
Q

cochlear partition

A

the combined basilar membrane, tectorial membrane, and organ of Corti, which are together responsible for the transduction of sound waves into neural signals

40
Q

traveling waves

A

movement of the oval window by vibrations transmitted through the tympanic membrane and middle-ear bones causes waves of pressure changes to flow through the fluid in the vestibular canal

41
Q

round window

A

a soft area of tissue at the base of the tympanic canal that releases excess pressure remaining from extremely intense sounds

42
Q

organ of Corti

A

a structure on the basilar membrane of the cochlea that is composed of hair cells and dendrites and auditory nerve fibers

43
Q

hair cell

A

any cell that has stereocilia for transducing mechanical movement in the inner ear into neural activity sent to the brain; some also receive inputs from the brain

44
Q

auditory nerve (AN)

A

a collection of neurons that convey information from hair cells in the cochlea to the brainstem (afferent neurons) and from the brainstem to the hair cells (efferent neurons)

45
Q

stereocilium

A

any of hairlike extensions on the tips of hair cells in the cochlea that, when flexed, initiate the release of neurotransmitters

46
Q

tectorial membrane

A

a gelatinous structure, attached on one end, that extends into the middle canal of the cochlea, floating above inner hair cells and touching outer hair cells; stimulates the hair cells

47
Q

tip link

A

a tiny filament that stretches from the tip of a stereocilium to the side of its neighbor

48
Q

mechanoelectrical transduction

A

when a stereocilium deflects, the tip link pulls on the taller stereocilium in a way that opens an ion pore for just a tiny fraction of a second –> permits potassium ions to flow rapidly into the hair cell, causing rapid depolarization –> depolarization leads to a rapid influx of calcium ions and initiation of the release of neurotransmitters from the base of the hair cell to stimulate dendrites of the auditory nerve

49
Q

brief summary of the process of sound transmission

A
  • air pressure wave is funneled by the pinna through the external ear canal to the tympanic membrane, which vibrates back and forth in time with the sound wave
  • tympanic membrane vibrates the malleus, which vibrates the incus, which vibrates the stapes, which pushes and pulls on the oval window
  • movement of the oval window causes pressure bulges to move down the length of the vestibular canal, and these bulges in the vestibular canal move the middle canal up and down
  • this up-and-down motion forces the tectorial membrane to shear across the organ of Corti, moving the stereocilia atop hair cells back and forth
  • pivoting of stereocilia initiates rapid depolarization that results in spurts of neurotransmitter released into synaptic clefts between the hair cells and dendrites of auditory nerve fibers
  • these neurotransmitters initiate action potentials in the auditory nerve fibers and these signals are carried to the brain
50
Q

depending on the frequencies of a sound…

A

the cochlear partition is displaced up and down in different places along the length of the cochlea

51
Q

place code

A

tuning of different parts of the cochlea to different frequencies, in which information about the particular frequency of an incoming sound wave is coded by the place along the cochlear partition that has the greatest mechanical displacement

52
Q

cochlear tuning to frequency caused by…

A

differences in the structure of the basilar membrane along the length of the cochlea
- higher frequencies affect the narrower, stiffer regions of the basilar membrane near the base more
- lower frequencies cause greater displacements in the wider, more flexible regions near the apex

53
Q

afferent fiber

A

a neuron that carries sensory information to the central nervous system

54
Q

efferent fiber

A

a neuron that carries information from the central nervous system to the periphery

55
Q

threshold tuning curves

A

a graph plotting the thresholds of a neuron in response to sine waves with varying frequencies at the lowest intensity that will give rise to a response

56
Q

characteristic frequency (CF)

A

the frequency to which a particular auditory nerve fiber is most sensitive

57
Q

electromotility

A

the ability of outer hair cells to extend and contract which changes the stiffness and sensitivity of the cochlear partition

58
Q

otoacoustic emissions

A

activity of outer hair cells create these sounds

59
Q

two-tone suppression

A

a decrease in the response (firing rate) of one auditory nerve fiber to one tone when a second tone is presented at the same time

60
Q
A