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Tonotopy
 
 
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Tonotopy (from Greek tono- and topos = place: the place of tones) is the spatial arrangement of where sound is perceived, transmitted, or received. It refers to the fact that tones close to each other in terms of frequency are represented in topologically neighbouring neurons in the brain. Tonotopic maps are a particular case of topographic
Topographic map (Neuroanatomy)

A topographic map is the ordered projection of a sensory surface, like the retina or the skin, or an effector system, like the musculature, to one or more structures of the central nervous system....
 organization.

There is tonotopy in the cochlea
Cochlea

The cochlea is the auditory portion of the inner ear. Its core component is the Organ of Corti, the sensory organ of hearing , which is distributed along the partition separating fluid chambers in the coiled tapered tube of the cochlea....
, the small snail-like structure in the inner ear that sends information about sound to the brain.

There is also tonotopy in the human auditory cortex
Cerebral cortex

The cerebral cortex is a structure within the brain that plays a key role in memory, attention, perceptual awareness, thought, language, and consciousness....
, that part of the brain
Brain

The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate, and most invertebrate, animals. Some primitive animals such as cnidarian and echinoderm have a decentralized nervous system without a brain, while sponges lack any nervous system at all....
 that receives and interprets sound information:










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Tonotopy (from Greek tono- and topos = place: the place of tones) is the spatial arrangement of where sound is perceived, transmitted, or received. It refers to the fact that tones close to each other in terms of frequency are represented in topologically neighbouring neurons in the brain. Tonotopic maps are a particular case of topographic
Topographic map (Neuroanatomy)

A topographic map is the ordered projection of a sensory surface, like the retina or the skin, or an effector system, like the musculature, to one or more structures of the central nervous system....
 organization.

There is tonotopy in the cochlea
Cochlea

The cochlea is the auditory portion of the inner ear. Its core component is the Organ of Corti, the sensory organ of hearing , which is distributed along the partition separating fluid chambers in the coiled tapered tube of the cochlea....
, the small snail-like structure in the inner ear that sends information about sound to the brain.

There is also tonotopy in the human auditory cortex
Cerebral cortex

The cerebral cortex is a structure within the brain that plays a key role in memory, attention, perceptual awareness, thought, language, and consciousness....
, that part of the brain
Brain

The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate, and most invertebrate, animals. Some primitive animals such as cnidarian and echinoderm have a decentralized nervous system without a brain, while sponges lack any nervous system at all....
 that receives and interprets sound information:

    • sounds of low pitch project into the anterolateral aspect of Heschl's gyrus
    • sounds of high pitch project deeply into the lateral fissure (which houses Heschl's gyrus).


See also

  • Place theory (hearing)
    Place theory (hearing)

    Place theory is a theory of hearing which states that our perception of sound depends on where each component frequency produces vibrations along the basilar membrane....