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References: Hearing, Touch, Taste, Smell, and Pain

  1. How Do We Hear? - National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIH) - A short, clearly illustrated walk from the eardrum to the auditory nerve, including how hair cells near the wide end of the cochlea (the base of the spiral, near the middle ear) detect high pitches. A good first read before Section 6.3.

  2. Noise-Induced Hearing Loss - National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIH) - Explains which sound levels are risky (85 dBA and above with long or repeated exposure), why human hair cells do not grow back, and how to protect your hearing. Directly useful for anyone who wears earbuds.

  3. Smell Disorders - National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIH) - Describes olfactory sensory neurons, the "second channel" from the throat to the nose, and why food tastes bland with a cold. It answers the pizza half of this chapter's hook.

  4. Taste Disorders - National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIH) - Covers the five basic tastes, how many taste buds people have, and how taste combines with smell to make flavor. It also notes that taste cell types are scattered across the tongue, which debunks the tongue map.

  5. 7.2 How Does Acoustic Information Enter the Brain? - OpenStax, Introduction to Behavioral Neuroscience (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) - A free college-level textbook section on the cochlea, inner and outer hair cells, tonotopy, and the first auditory relays in the brainstem. Read it when you want more depth than this chapter gives.

  6. 9.2 Somatosensation in the Central Nervous System - OpenStax, Introduction to Behavioral Neuroscience (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) - Covers dermatomes, gate control theory, the touch and pain pathways and where they cross, descending pain control, and the sensory homunculus. It is the best single open source for Sections 6.6 through 6.11.

  7. Dermatome (anatomy) - Wikipedia - Lists the standard key test points for each spinal level (for example, C6 thumb, T10 umbilicus, S1 outer heel) and notes that each person's exact dermatome pattern is unique. Useful for checking the levels used in the MicroSim.

  8. Cortical homunculus - Wikipedia - Explains the sensory and motor homunculi, their history with Wilder Penfield and colleagues, and newer research that refines the classic map. Good background for Section 6.7.

  9. The prevalence and risk factors for phantom limb pain in people with amputations: A systematic review and meta-analysis - Limakatso K, Bedwell GJ, Madden VJ, Parker R. PLOS ONE, 2020 (open access) - Pools many studies and estimates that about 64% of people with amputations have phantom limb pain, with large differences between studies. A good model of how researchers combine evidence.

  10. Effect of mirror therapy in the treatment of phantom limb pain in amputees: A systematic review of randomized placebo-controlled trials does not find any evidence of efficacy - Guémann M, Olié E, Raquin L, Courtet P, Risch N. European Journal of Pain, 2023 (open access) - A careful review showing that the best-controlled trials of mirror therapy are too small and too low in quality to prove it works. Read it alongside the Bedside case to see why scientists describe this treatment cautiously.