Neuroscience Notes

10/8/15

Auditory system to Cortex

o Transduction
Outer ear
Middle ear
Inner ear
Organ of Corti
o Transmission
Spiral Ganglia Brainstem Cochlear Nuclei Medulla
Superior Olivary Complex Decussation of Some Fibers
Inferior Colliculi MGN (thalamus) Auditory Cortex
Sound Compressions and Rarefactions of Air
o Frequency (Hz) our perception of pitch
o Amplitude (dB) our perception of loudness
o Timbre complexity of sound (ex: harmonic content)
o Speech signals are combination of frequency chords and
amplitude changes that contribute to intonation and prosody
Human Auditory Range
o 20 Hz to 20 kHz
The Ear
o Divided into three regions
Outer
Middle
Inner
o Each has functional
significance to the
transduction of air waves
sound
Problem to Be Solved:
o Impedance matching
o Moving from air fluid
o Fluid is less compressible than air
Solution: Need to Amplify Signal
o Middle Ear Ossicles: Malleus, Incus and Stapes
o Oval Window <<< than tympanic membrane
Force
Pressure =
Area
Conductive vs. Sensorineural Hearing Loss
o Rinnes Test
With a 512 Hz tuning fork press against the mastoid bone
and then hold it 1 cm away from ear.

Ask, Which is louder, behind the ear or in front?

Conductive Problems
o Outer ear
Earwax
Swimmers Ear
Ruptured Eardrum
o Middle Ear
Sensorineural Problems
o Presbycusis
Progressive loss of higher frequencies
30-35% aged 65-75, 40-50% 75+
Loss of outer hair cells starting at base to apex thickening
of narrow base
o Noise-induced
One time, v loud >190 dB; recovery possible
Prolonged >85 dB; no recovery
The Cochlea
o Snail shell
Cochlear Chambers
o Scala vestibule and tympani are filled with perilymph
o Scala media is filled with endolymph which is high in K+ and low
in Na+
o Special composition means that current flowing into the hair cells
is carried via K+ channels in the tips of hair cells
Hair Cells
o Inner
Carry 90% of the auditory signal
o Outer
Have modulatory/amplifying role
Hair cells release more or less glutamate depending upon whether they
bend toward the kinocilium (ky-no-sil-e-um) or away from it,
respectively.
They cannot fire action potentials, but the receptor potential alters NT
release onto the auditory nerves
Transmitter receptors in the membrane of the auditory nerves
which join the spiral ganglia leaving the cochlea.
How is frequency coded in the auditory system?
o Organ of Corti
o Physical properties of basilar membrane
o Tonotopic Mapping

 Von Bekesy: Place coding

o Basilar membrane is not uniform: wide floppy apex and narrow
rigid base
o Different places along membrane will show maximal vibration
depending on the frequency = Tonotopic membrane (base: high
frequency, apex: low frequency)

Cochlear Implants
o External: Microphone to pick up sound, speech processor (with
filter to prioritize speech sounds) divides sound into channels;
transmitter which transmits power and the processed sound
signals to internal device
o Internal: Receiver and stimulator convert signals into electric
impulses and sends via cable to electrodes; electrode array of up
to 24 electrodes wound through the cochlea to stimulate spiral
ganglion
How is amplitude (intensity) coded?
o Firing rate of spiral ganglia
o Spread of firing of axons (more intense sound will maximally shift
a larger area of basilar membrane)
How is location coded?
o Two components: Distance and Direction
o Distance intensity attenuates with distance; also high
frequencies attenuate more than low
o Direction
Vertical Plane
Horizontal Plane
Horizontal Sound Localization
o Interaural Intensity Cues: head forms sound shadow sound is
louder in ear that is closest to; used for high frequency sounds >
1400 Hz
o Interaural Timing Cues: relative phase will reach each ear at a
different point depending on its locations used for low frequency
sounds
Input from both ears integrated at the superior olive (medulla); timing
differences thought to map out locations in space.