Hearing

About the Book

An "encyclopedic," heavily referenced, academic work on the operation of the Hearing Modality based on first principles only recently discovered. It subdivides the system into separate stages for easy analysis while maintaining the contiguous character of the hearing modality.

The work explains how energy propagates through the cochlear partition as a modified Rayleigh surface wave on the liquid crystalline surface of the tectorial membrane.

Propagation along the tectorial membrane surface eliminates the need for the long sought mechanical amplifier within the cochlear partition.

The work explains for the first time how the initial frequency analysis within the cochlear partition is achieved based on frequency dispersion rather than resonance phenomena.

The dispersion of energy is shown to be dependent upon the curvature of the cochlear partition. The dispersion mechanism also defines the distinct and unique roles of both the inner and outer hair cells.

The neural system is described in unprecedented detail based on the Electrolytic Theory of the Neuron.

Individual descriptions of the analog-based and phasic-based portions of the neural system are provided. The roles of the synapse and Node of Ranvier are defined both physically, electrolytically and operationally.

Each sensory neuron is shown to contain a conexus based on an electrolytic amplifier utilizing a piezoelectric material for transduction

The extraction of information from the acoustic signal signatures is described in detail for the first time. The resulting information is reduced to relevant percepts before being placed in the saliency map, for final cognitive interpretation.

An extensive glossary is provided.

About the Author

JAMES T. FULTON

Jim Fulton has been analyzing and describing the performance of the human sensory modalities for over 30 years, primarily for the military and industrial markets. His early work in underwater acoustics and the development of sonobuoys led to a continuing interest in the operation of the hearing modality. In that work, understanding the performance limits of biological hearing played a major role.

More recently, his interests have turned to documenting the performance of the sensory modalities in an academic context. His emphasis has been in describing each modality as a contiguous system rather than using a series of independent local models.

This volume is a companion to his 2004 book, Biological Vision, A 21st Century Tutorial. That work developed the complete spectral sensitivity of the human eye for the first time. It also described the neurological system in electrolytic terms for the first time.

Mr. Fulton is a generalist with a strong academic background in a wide variety of disciplines found in the hearing system of animals. The variety in his Patent awards, as well as the variety of his industrial positions, speaks to this diversity of interests and capabilities. His complete Resume is available at, www.hearingresearch.net.