If a person hears a tone of 300 Hz, three groups of neurons take turns sending the message to the brain-the first group for the first 100 Hz, the second group for the next 100 Hz, and a third for the next 100 Hz. This principle is known as the ________.

A) place theory
B) volley theory
C) frequency theory
D) rotational theory

The principle described here is known as the volley theory, which proposes that different groups of neurons fire in turn to send messages about sound waves with frequencies above 100 Hz. This allows for greater sensitivity to higher frequencies that cannot be coded by individual neurons firing at their maximal rate. The place theory proposes that different frequencies are processed by different locations along the basilar membrane in the cochlea, while the frequency theory proposes that neurons fire at the same frequency as the sound wave. There is no such thing as the rotational theory in auditory processing.