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The Outer ear consists of the pinna or auricle (visible parts including ear lobes and concha), and the auditory meatus (the passageway for sound). The fundamental function of this part of the ear is to gather sound energy and deliver it to the eardrum. Resonances of the external ear selectively boost sound pressure with frequency in the range 2 ...
This synapse has been described as the largest in the brain. [10] The related endbulb of Held is also a large axon terminal synapse (15–30 μm in diameter) found in another auditory brainstem structure, namely the anteroventral cochlear nucleus (AVCN). [11] As with the calyces, these synapses promote fast, efficient information transfer.
Synapses are essential for the transmission of neuronal impulses from one neuron to the next, [9] playing a key role in enabling rapid and direct communication by creating circuits. In addition, a synapse serves as a junction where both the transmission and processing of information occur, making it a vital means of communication between ...
The neural pathways to these neurons are called delay lines. Jeffress claimed that the neurons that the delay lines link act as coincidence detectors by firing maximally when receiving simultaneous inputs from both ears. When a sound is heard, sound waves may reach the ears at different times.
The stapedius reflex of the middle ear muscles helps protect the inner ear from damage by reducing the transmission of sound energy when the stapedius muscle is activated in response to sound. The middle ear still contains the sound information in wave form; it is converted to nerve impulses in the cochlea .
While the hair cells do not produce action potentials themselves, they release neurotransmitter at synapses with the fibers of the auditory nerve, which does produce action potentials. In this way, the patterns of oscillations on the basilar membrane are converted to spatiotemporal patterns of firings which transmit information about the sound ...
The cochlear nerve carries auditory sensory information from the cochlea of the inner ear directly to the brain. The other portion of the vestibulocochlear nerve is the vestibular nerve , which carries spatial orientation information to the brain from the semicircular canals , also known as semicircular ducts.
The olivocochlear system is a component of the auditory system involved with the descending control of the cochlea.Its nerve fibres, the olivocochlear bundle (OCB), form part of the vestibulocochlear nerve (VIIIth cranial nerve, also known as the auditory-vestibular nerve), and project from the superior olivary complex in the brainstem to the cochlea.