Question

Suppose a series of pressure waves in your cochlea caused a vibration of the basilar membrane that moves gradually from the apex toward the base. How would your brain interpret this stimulus?

Short answer

The brain regions would detect the sound signals that travel from the apex region to the base region of the basilar membrane as low pitch sound transforming into a loud pitch sound.

Step-by-step solution

Sense organs

The term sense organ refers to the special body organs that help detect the external world's signals.There are five distinct sense organs in the human body, and each has a different sensory neuron for transmission of the incoming signals.

The eyes, ears, skin, tongue, and nose are the human being’s sense organs; all of them detect different sensory signals.

Ears

The sensory organ responsible for the perception and detection of signals related to sound and body balance is the ear.It is a paired organ and is located on either side of the face.

Structurally, this organ comprises three regions denoted as outer, inner, and middle ear. Among these, only the outer ear structure is visible to naked eyes.

Interpretation of the sound signal

The incoming sound signals are detected by the auditory nerves and interpreted within the brain’s auditory cortex.The basilar membrane is one of the components of the inner ear’s cochlea, and different regions of this structure are triggered by different sound pitches.

The apex region of the basilar membrane is stimulated by low pitch sounds, while high pitch sounds trigger the base of the basilar membrane.

The incoming sound signals move to the apex of the basilar membrane towards the base region; thus, it would be interpreted as a sound signal that transforms from low pitch to high pitch.