PSY 260 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Tensor Tympani Muscle, Basilar Membrane, Oval Window
Document Summary
Waves: amplitude: height of the wave, amount of air compressed, frequency: wavelength, how fast air is compressed. Height of the wave: perceived as loudness, measured in decibels (db) Length of the wave: perceived as pitch, hertz, pure tone: a tone with a single frequency of vibration. Most sound is more complex than this. Fundamental: basic frequency: why instruments sound different gives them timbre, timbre: characteristic of sound quality of an instrument, determined by the intensities of its harmonics. Tuesday, march 8, 2016: sound is a mechanical force is transduced into neural activity. Ears do the transducing: outer ears have been shaped through evolution. Parts & roles: external ear funnels in sound, and modi es the character of frequencies. Pinna: outside (large part of funnel: distinction of just mammals many other mammals can move this part of ear. Adapted from their own ecological niches: hills and valleys modify sound before it reaches middle ear. Increases perception of 2,000 - 5,000 hz.
