The Nonvisual Senses

The sense or act of hearing.

The number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time (for example, per second).

A tone's experienced highness or lowness; depends on frequency.

The chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing three tiny bones (hammer, anvil, and stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea's oval window.

A coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear; sound waves traveling through the cochlear fluid trigger nerve impulses.

The innermost part of the ear; containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs.

Hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea's receptor cells or to the auditory nerves; also called nerve deafness.

Hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea.

A device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea.

In hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea's membrane is stimulated.

In hearing, the theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense its pitch.

The theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological "gate" that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain. The "gate" is opened by the activity of pain signals traveling up small nerve fibers and is closed by activity in larger fibers or by information coming from the brain.

The principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste.

In psychological science, the influence of bodily sensations, gestures, and other states on cognitive preferences and judgments.

The system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts.