Biology and Physics of Hearing

Biology and Physics of Hearing is an introduction to hearing and balance. Open to medical students and graduate students. Upper level undergraduate students may enroll with permission from the instructor. A background in biology or physics is not required. Instruction will include lectures and lab work. Topics: Sound waves, localization, and perception. Anatomy and physiology of the ear. Outer and middle-ear mechanics. Cochlear and vestibular mechanics. Hair cell, hair bundle, mechanotransduction. Synapses, neurons, neural encoding of sound. Genetics, genes, and development of the inner ear. Diagnosis and treatment of hearing loss / deafness. Molecular biology, electron microscopy. Auditory evoked potentials, otoacoustic emissions. Sensory neuroscience. Mechanobiology. Biophysics. Physiology. Students should enroll for a letter grading option.