Eye of Horus

Psyc/Biol 240 - Psychology and Biology of Perception
Outline of Section 5 Lecture Topics


Below is an outline of the topics covered in lecture before Exam 5. The outline is not split into different
lectures. It is not a substitute for class lectures, but is intended only to help you organize your notes.

  1. Hearing/Audition
    1. The Nature of Sound - The Acoustic Stimulus
      1. Pure Tones (Sine wave) vs. Complex Tones
      2. Physical Characteristics of Sound
        1. Frequency (Hertz)
        2. Amplitude/Intensity (Decibels)
        3. Complexity
        4. Phase
        5. Fundamental vs. Harmonics
      3. Psychological Attributes of Sound
        1. Pitch
        2. Loudness
        3. Timbre
        4. Chroma
    2. Anatomy of the Ear
      1. Outer Ear
        1. Pinna
        2. Auditory Canal
        3. Eardrum (Tympanic Membrane)
      2. Middle Ear
        1. Ossicles
        2. Muscles
        3. Eustachian Tube
      3. Inner Ear
        1. Osseous Labyrinth
        2. Cochlea
          1. Oval Window
          2. Round Window
          3. Vestibular Canal
          4. Tympanic Canal
          5. Cochlear Duct
          6. Reissner's Membrane
          7. Basilar Membrane
          8. Organ of Corti
          9. Tectorial Membrane
          10. Inner Hair Cells
          11. Outer Hair Cells
    3. Higher Auditory Pathways
      1. Cochlear Nucleus
      2. Superior Olivary Complex
      3. Inferior Colliculus
      4. Medial Geniculate Nucleus
      5. Auditory Cortex
    4. How Frequency and Intensity are Encoded By the Auditory System
      1. Place Coding - Von Bekesy
        1. Helmholtz - Early version of theory
        2. Traveling Wave
        3. Response of system to different frequencies
        4. Response of system to different intensities
        5. Evidence for Place Coding - Masking, Auditory tuning
          curves, Tonotopic organization of basilar membrane
      2. Time Coding - Wever & Bray
        1. Rutherford - Early version of theory
        2. Volley principle
        3. Response of system to different frequencies
        4. Response of system to different intensities
        5. Evidence for Time Coding - electrophysiology
      3. Function of Outer Hair Cells
    5. Things that Determine the Perception of Pitch
    6. Things that Determine the Perception of Loudness
    7. Hearing Loss
      1. Conductive Hearing Loss
        1. Outer Ear
          1. Ear Wax
          2. Infection - Swimmer's Ear
          3. Punctured Eardrum
        2. Middle Ear
          1. Otitis Media
          2. Otosclerosis
      2. Sensorineural Hearing Loss
        1. Presbycusis
        2. Noise-induced hearing loss
        3. Drug effects
        4. Tinnitus
        5. Meniere's disease
    8. Auditory Space Perception - Sound Localization
      1. Direction Cues
        1. Binaural Cues
          1. Interaural Time/Phase differences
          2. Interaural Intensity/Level differences
        2. Monaural Cue
          1. Spectral Cues (Pinna and Head)
      2. Distance Cues (Mostly Monaural)
        1. Intensity
        2. Frequency
        3. Movement Parallax (Binaural)
        4. Reverberation
    9. Auditory Scene Analysis - Identification, Grouping Principles
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Updated January 2, 2004.