Mathematics
The basilar membrane of the inner ear spreads out different frequencies: high frequencies produce a large vibration at the end near the middle ear, and low frequencies a large vibration at the distant end. Thus the ear performs a sort of frequency analysis, roughly similar to a Fourier transform. However, the nerve pulses delivered to the brain contain both rate-versus-place and fine temporal structure information, so the similarity is not strong.
Read more about this topic: Auditive Perception
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