Very interesting short essay regarding our perception of the sound by Ozren Bilan:
Any sound, wanted or unwanted, creates a envelope that does more than intrude into your acoustic space. But, what is more important, it intrude into your mind. Acoustic intrusions reduce your freedom of thought. There is no escaping sound.
When it meets your body (no matter are you consciousness or not, are you sleeping or aware) IT FORCIBLY ENTERS YOUR MIND. Not through your ears but via your bones, flesh, and body cavities. The low frequency sound (110 Hz) resonances have extreme power because it can change state of mind
Psychology and psychoacoustics: Human perception = current sensory inputs + past experience
Neuropsychology: Past experience = emotional systems + rational cognitive systems.
The integration neurons in auditory cortex are affected by the simultaneously presentation of the audio-visual stimuli. Auditory neurons are influenced by the visual stimulus and past experience
The sound pressure at the two ear drums is a sufficient stimulus. Producing the same sound pressure will produce the same auditory perception.
Exact reproduction of the sound pressure is not necessary for producing the same auditory perception. The limitations of neural responses allow different (and simpler) stimuli to produce the same response.