The inner ear is connected to the vestibulocochlear nerve, which carries sound and equilibrium information to the brain. The vestibular complex, in the inner ear, is also important for balance, because it contains receptors that regulate a sense of equilibrium. People retain their sense of balance because the Eustachian tube, or pharyngotympanic tube, in the middle ear equalizes the air pressure in the middle ear with the air pressure in the atmosphere. The impulses then travel to the brain via sensory nerves. Tiny hair cells in the organ of Corti translate the vibrations into electrical impulses. This spiral organ is the receptor organ for hearing. The stapes bone, in turn, pushes a structure called the oval window in and out, sending vibrations to the organ of Corti, according to the National Library of Medicine (NLM). There, the auditory ossicles - three tiny bones called the malleus (hammer), incus (anvil) and stapes (stirrup) - vibrate. This is a thin sheet of connective tissue that vibrates when sound waves strike it. Then, sound waves reach the tympanic membrane, or eardrum. Sound is funneled through the external ear and piped into the external auditory canal. This sense works via the complex labyrinth that is the human ear. Lotfi Merabet, senior author on that 2017 study and the director of the Laboratory for Visual Neuroplasticity at Schepens Eye Research Institute of Massachusetts Eye and Ear, said in a statement. "Even in the case of being profoundly blind, the brain rewires itself in a manner to use the information at its disposal so that it can interact with the environment in a more effective manner," Dr. Their memory and language skills may be better than those born with sight, as well. People without sight may compensate with enhanced hearing, taste, touch and smell, according to a March 2017 study published in the journal PLOS One. The information translated from the light is sent as electrical impulses to the brain through the optic nerve. Rods also give humans vision when there is limited light available, like at night. The rods translate light into peripheral vision and motion. Cones translate light into colors, central vision and details. These cells are shaped like rods and cones and are named for their shapes, according to the American Optometric Association.
The lens of the eye then bends the light and focuses it on the retina, which is full of nerve cells. Mark Fromer, an ophthalmologist and retina specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. Then, it passes through the lens, which continues to focus the light," explained Dr. The iris (which is the colored part of the eye) works like the shutter of a camera, retracting to shut out light or opening wider to let in more light. The transparent outer layer of the eye called the cornea bends the light that passes through the hole of the pupil. First, light reflects off an object to the eye. Sight, or perceiving things through the eyes, is a complex process.