ABSTRACT
Chapter 4 provides an overview of the anatomy and physiology of the auditory system. We follow sound waves through the ear canal and the structures in the middle ear, and then explore how the cochlea separates sound into different frequency components using the basilar membrane. The chapter then describes how the information in the sound waves is converted (or transduced) by the inner hair cells into a form that can be used by the brain, specifically electrical activity in nerve cells or neurons. The chapter concludes with an overview of the central auditory nervous system, from the brainstem to the auditory cortex.>
