PSYCH 1XX3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Basilar Membrane, Ear Canal, Oval Window
17 Nov 2017
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Document Summary
Unit 2: the auditory mechanisms of different species. Auditory mechanisms vary across species according to specific needs: Species vary in the range of frequencies they can detect. Auditory system structures determine the range of frequency perception. Key structure: basilar membrane (contains hearing receptors) Sounds of different frequencies are processed along different areas of the basilar membrane. The basilar membrane varies in length across species. Shortest in amphibians and reptiles, longer in birds, longest in mammals. Long = processing of a wider range of frequencies: so, mammals can discriminate the widest range of frequencies while most other species cannot discriminate frequencies over 10,000 hz. Sound travels in waves, which are much slower than light waves. Sound requires a medium to travel through. Sound waves are initiated a vibrating object or a sudden burst of air. Condensed bands of air particles ripple away from the source of a sound.
