The Common folks Guide to Sight and Listening SIGHT: How do we see what we see?

In a one worded answer: transduction. Transduction - conversion of one form of energy into another. In sensation, the transforming of stimulus energies, such as sights, sounds, and smells, into neural impulses our brains can interpret. In the whole electromagnetic spectrum of things, the human eye can only detect the waves and energy in the Visual Light range. 1) Visual light enters the cornea: protects the eye bends light to provide focus 2) This light then passes through the pupil which is surrounded by the iris: a colored muscle that adjusts light intake (it could constrict or dilate in response to stimuli) 3) Then this light passes through the lens: it focuses the light rays into an image on to the retina) 4) The process in which the lens focuses the light by changing its curvature is called accommodation 5) The light-sensitive inner surface of the eye, retina, captures the light rays by receptor rods and cones 6) These receptors convert the light energy into neural messages which are passed onto bipolar cells which activate the ganglion cells 7) The ganglion cells converge into axons of ganglion cells to form the optic nerve: which carries this neural message to the brain via thalamus for processing. 8) The area in which the optic nerve leave the eye and to the brain is called the blind spot: there are no receptor cells in this area 9) Rods are located in the periphery of the retina, highly sensitive to dim-light, but have low sensitivity to color and detail 10) Cones are clustered in the fovea: center of the retina, have low sensitivity to dimlight, but highly sensitive to color and detail. Unlike rods, cones respond to individual bipolar cells, whereas rods collectively respond to one bipolar cell.

LISTENING: Audition: The sense or act of hearing. So the question is: How does the ear transform sound energy into neural messages? There are 3 parts to the human ear: Each has specific functions that transduce sound waves into actual perceptible sounds in our environment. (In order) 1) Outer ear The outer most part that act as passages for sound waves via the auditory canal These sound waves then hit the eardrum: a tight membrane that vibrates with the waves.

2) Middle ear This part of the ear broadcasts the eardrums vibrations through a piston made of 3 tiny bones called the hammer, anvil, and stirrup. These small bones are connected and transmit these vibrations to the inner part of the ear or on the cochleas oval window 3) Inner ear These vibrations reach the cochlea: a coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear through which sound waves trigger nerve impulses. These vibrations cause the cochleas oval window to vibrate the fluid in its tube This resulting motion then causes water ripples in the basilar membrane and as a result causing the hair cells to bend. The hair cells bend and cause impulses in nerve cells that will converge these signals into what is called the auditory nerve: which sends neural messages (via the thalamus) to the temporal lobes auditory cortex.