3.0

credits

Average Course Rating

How can your brain distinguish your friend's voice from background noise at a party, and how does this situation differ from listening to a whole orchestra or a single opera singer? This course is designed to address the physics of sound, as well as the biological mechanisms that are involved in processing auditory input. We will discuss the details of what sound is, the ear’s anatomy, physiology and different processing stages of both human and non-human animals. The course will cover the core concepts of sound transduction in air, water and within the ear, and discuss auditory illusions, the effect of damages to different parts of the ear and hearing aids. To understand how sound is transmitted from a device to your brain, we will be taking a hands-on approach throughout the semester, and each student will be able to build their own pair of headphones.