The brain that hears
- mié, 14 oct
- CaixaForum Palma
What happens in our brain when a sound reaches our ears? How much of what we perceive is sound… and how much is the brain’s interpretation? In reality, every acoustic stimulus triggers a complex chain of neural processes that turns simple vibrations into experiences charged with meaning. The science of hearing shows that listening is a sophisticated task in which our nervous system works at high speed. Throughout this session we will discover what frequency, intensity and timbre are in a sound, and how our brain deciphers those vibrations. Did you know that our hearing range is as personal as our musical tastes? Or that our ears do much more than simply “pick up” sounds? We will explore how different brain areas cooperate to help us locate a sound, interpret it and decide whether it is relevant — a true exercise in everyday neuroscience that we perform without noticing. In this experience, our own ears take centre stage: we will learn why some sounds feel pleasant and others put us on alert, or why speech is so hard to understand in noisy environments, and finally discover our own hearing limits. And while we do so, we can appreciate how science helps us understand better not only…