After a small section of his basilar membrane was damaged, Josko experienced a noticeable loss of hearing for high-pitched sounds only. Josko's hearing loss is best explained by the _____ code mechanism of the ear to encode sound-wave frequencies.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The place code mechanism suggests that different frequencies of sound waves stimulate different parts (or places) of the basilar membrane, which then sends signals to the auditory nerve. If a section of the basilar membrane is damaged, it could potentially affect the ability to perceive certain frequencies of sound, which is what appears to have happened to Josko with his loss of high-pitched sounds. Opponent-process, temporal, and modular coding mechanisms do not directly relate to the specific frequency loss that Josko is experiencing.

After a Small Section of His Basilar Membrane Was Damaged