Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Tonotopic organization in the cochlea forms throughout pre- and post-natal development through a series of changes that occur in response to auditory stimuli. [7] Research suggests that the pre-natal establishment of tonotopic organization is partially guided by synaptic reorganization; however, more recent studies have shown that the early changes and refinements occur at both the circuit and ...
The tonotopic layout of sound information begins in the cochlea where the basilar membrane vibrates at different positions along its length depending upon the frequency of the sound. Higher frequency sounds are at the base of the cochlea, if it were unrolled, and low frequency sounds are at the apex.
This attribute of the physiology of the basilar membrane can be illustrated in the form of a place–frequency map: [12] Simplified schematic of the basilar membrane, showing the change in characteristic frequency from base to apex. The basilar membrane supports the organ of Corti, which sits within the scala media. [4]
A sensory map is an area of the brain which responds to sensory stimulation, and are spatially organized according to some feature of the sensory stimulation. In some cases the sensory map is simply a topographic representation of a sensory surface such as the skin , cochlea , or retina .
Tonotopic mapping is preserved throughout most of the audition circuit. The primary auditory cortex receives direct input from the medial geniculate nucleus of the thalamus and thus is thought to identify the fundamental elements of music, such as pitch and loudness.
In the auditory system, spontaneous activity is thought to be involved in tonotopic map formation by segregating cochlear neuron axons tuned to high and low frequencies. [59] In the motor system, periodic bursts of spontaneous activity are driven by excitatory GABA and glutamate during the early stages and by acetylcholine and glutamate at ...
The basilar membrane is a pseudo-resonant structure [1] that, like the strings on an instrument, varies in width and stiffness. But unlike the parallel strings of a guitar, the basilar membrane is not a discrete set of resonant structures, but a single structure with varying width, stiffness, mass, damping, and duct dimensions along its length.
This spatial arrangement of sounds and their respective frequencies being processed in the basilar membrane is known as tonotopy. When the hair cells on the basilar membrane move back and forth due to the vibrating sound waves, they release neurotransmitters and cause action potentials to occur down the auditory nerve.