THEORIES OF SOUND

How are our brains able to sort out wavelengths of different

frequencies and intensities? One clue comes from studies from the
basilar membrane, the area within the cochlea that translates physical
vibrations into neural impulses. It turns out that sounds affect different
areas of the basilar membrane, depending on the frequency of the
sound wave. The part of the basilar membrane nearest the oval
window is most sensitive to high-frequency sounds, and the part
nearest the cochleas inner end is most sensitive to low-frequency
sounds. This finding has led to the place theory of hearing, which
says that different areas of the basilar membrane respond to different
frequencies.
On the other hand, place theory does not tell the full story of
hearing, because very low frequency sounds trigger neurons across
such a wide area of the basilar membrane that no single site is
involved. Consequently, an additional explanation for hearing has been
proposed: frequency theory. The frequency theory of hearing
suggests that the entire basilar membrane acts like a microphone,
vibrating as a whole in response to a sound. According to this
explanation, the nerve receptors send out signals that are tied directly
to the frequency (the number of wave crests per second) of the sound
to which we are exposed, with the number of nerve impulses being a
direct function of the sounds frequency. Thus, the higher the pitch of a
sound (and therefore the greater the frequency of its wave crests), the
greater the number of nerve impulses that are transmitted up the
auditory nerve to the brain.
Neither place theory nor frequency theory provides the full
explanation for hearing (Luce, 1993; Hirsh & Watson, 1996). Place
theory provides a better explanation for the sensing of high-frequency
sounds, whereas frequency theory explains what happens when lowfrequency sounds are encountered. Medium-frequency sounds
incorporate both processes.
After an auditory message leaves the ear, it is transmitted to the
auditory cortex of the brain through a complex series of neural

interconnections. As the message is transmitted, it is communicated

through neurons that respond to specific types of sounds. Within the
auditory cortex itself, there are neurons that respond selectively to
very specific sorts of sound features, such as clicks or whistles. Some
neurons respond only to a specific pattern of sounds, such as a steady
tone but not an intermittent one. Furthermore, specific neurons
transfer information about a sounds location through their particular
pattern of firing (Ahissar et al., 1992; Middlebrooks et al., 1994).
If we were to analyze the configuration of the cells in the auditory
cortex, we would find that neighboring cells are responsive to similar
frequencies. The auditory cortex, then, provides us with a map of
sound frequencies, just as the visual cortex furnishes a representation
of the visual field.