**Author details**

**Figure 16.** Scale value of annoyance as a function of *τe* for BPN with a center frequency of (a) 1000 Hz and (b) 2000 Hz.

In this study, we investigate the effects of ACF factors on physiological and psychological responses. As a result, we found that the ACF factors *φ*1, *τ*1, and *τe* had significant effects on N1m response, suggesting that ACF factors are used as cues in the auditory cortex. We also found that the ACF factors *φ*1 and *τe* influence loudness and annoyance, suggesting that ACF factors are used as a cue for perception. These results indicate that the human auditory system

This work was supported by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) (Grant No. 15H02771)

Auditory evoked fields (AEFs): Magnetic fields evoked by any abrupt sound or change in a

Bandpass filtered noise (BPN): A noise in which frequency components are limited by

Butterworth filters: A kind of signal processing filter widely used for bandpass filtering.

Each symbol represents one listener. The line represents the mean scale value of the eight listeners.

**4. Concluding remarks**

202 Advances in Clinical Audiology

**Acknowledgements**

**Appendix**

bandpass filtering.

has an autocorrelation-like mechanism.

continuous sound in the auditory cortex.

from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.

Yoshiharu Soeta

Address all correspondence to: y.soeta@aist.go.jp

National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Osaka, Japan

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Additional information is available at the end of the chapter Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/66316

#### **Abstract**

The whole inner ear or the cochlea, responsible for hearing perception, represents a unique sense organ, including the organ of Corti and the inner ear endo- and perilymph. The fluid homeostasis of the lymph spaces with its parameters volume, concentration, osmolarity and pressure, as well as the finely aligned hair cellreceptors,their supporting cells and structures embedded in these unique fluid spaces, corresponds to the specific necessities for adequate response to continuous stimulation and the outstanding discrimination capacity of the hearing system. The manuscript gives an overview and describes the structural characteristics and distinct physiological hearing qualities of the cochlea in comparison with the other human receptor cells and sense organs.

**Keywords:** cochlea, organ of Corti, endolymph, stria vascularis, inner hair cells, outer hair cells, stereocilia, supporting cells, efferent innervation
