Audition, Mechanical Senses, and Chemical Senses
Audition, Mechanical Senses, and Chemical Senses
Audition, Mechanical Senses, and Chemical Senses
Amplitude
Amplitudeis the intensity of
the soundwave (physical)
Frequency
Frequencyis the number of
compressions per second
Measured in hertz (Hz)
Psychological dimensions of sound
Loudness
Loudness is inherently psychological in nature
Two people talking at the same amplitude (loudness) can sound very different
People who talk faster are normally perceived to be louder
Pitch
Pitch is the psychological perception of frequency
Sound waves higher in frequency tend to sound more high-pitched
Children are able to hear higher frequencies than adults
Structures of the ear
According to this theory, each frequency of sound activates only one place on the
basilar membrane, and we perceive pitch depending on which part of the basilar
membrane is activated
E.g. like individual strings on a guitar – each string that’s activated only produces a
certain pitch or note
Criticism:
1. The different parts of the basilar membrane are too close together for any part to
resonate individually without affecting the others
Frequency theory
Information from the ears eventually reach the primary auditory cortex in the
brain
Auditory system has a pathway sensitive to the “what” (anterior temporal cortex)
and another sensitive to the “where” (posterior temporal cortex)
Superior temporal cortex is important for the detection of visual motion and
auditory motion
Damage to this region of the brain results in people being able to hear, but unable to
locate where the sound is from
Hearing loss
Causes:
1. Exposure of mother to toxins or rubella during pregnancy
2. Inadequate oxygen to the brain during birth
3. Deficient activity of the thyroid gland
4. Diseases (meningitis, multiple sclerosis)
5. Childhood reactions to certain drugs
6. Repeated exposure to loud noises
Sound localisation – how do you
know where a sound came
from?
Brain actively compares responses obtained from both ears
Possible cues that help the brain determine location:
1. Difference in intensity between the ears
2. Difference in time of arrival at the two ears
Even at just 600 microseconds difference
3. Phase difference
If a sound comes from the side, the waves are out of
phase with each other
Mechanical Senses: Vestibular Sensation
Class activity
Mechanical Senses: Vestibular Sensation
Opioid mechanisms
Opiates bind o receptors foind in the spinal cord and periaqueductal gray area of the
midbrain
Endorphins
A neurotransmitter that decreases pain
Also released during sex, or listening to music, or doing something you enjoy
Placebos
Placebos are drugs or other procedures that actually have no effects
The power in a placebo is in expectation
Some doctors will prescribe “painkillers” to patients that are actually just vitamin pills
Patients who take these pills believe that it will help them take away the pain, and actually report less
pain as a result
Brain scans of patients who receive placebos also show decrease in activity related to pain – mind over
matter debate?
Ethics
Is it right to lie to patients using placebos?
Where do we draw the line?
Cannabinoids and Capsaicin
The gate control theory theorizes that stimulus goes through “gates” in the
conscious brain
When we feel pain, it’s because the brain is conscious of it
One way to decrease pain would be to focus on other things, causing other
stimulus to go through the “gate” in the brain, and keeping pain stimulus out
This is why sometimes you the best way to forget pain is to distract yourself from it
This is also why doctors sometimes tell patients to cough when taking an injection –
focusing on the cough reduces the pain
Sensitization of pain
Information from the front 2/3 of the tongue is sent to the brain through the facial
nerve (7th cranial nerve)
Taste from the back 1/3 of the tongue is sent through the 9th and 10th cranial nerves
Taste nerves link to the nucleus of the tractus solitarius (NTS), in the medulla
From Medulla > pons > lateral hypothalamus > amygdala > ventral-posterior
hypothalamus > somatosensory cortex + insula (primary taste cortex)
Individual differences in taste
Olfactory cells line the epithelium at the rear of the nasal air canals
Humans have a few hundred olfactory receptors that react to different proteins
Rats have about a thousand different types
We have more different types of olfactory than visual receptors because there are
a lot more chemicals that are not on a scale
Messages to the brain
Smell stimulates the olfactory nerve > axon carries impulses to olfactory bulb
Olfactory receptors are vulnerable to damage because it is exposed to air
New ones are made every month or so to replace them
Individual differences in olfaction