Experiments in Hearing

Gulick, W. L.; Bekesy, George von

doi:10.2307/1419812

Cited by 305 publications

(14 citation statements)

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“…If the stimulating frequency is higher than the inverse of the auditory nerve's refractory period the action potentials elicited will miss some peaks of the stimulus. The subharmonic vesicle release observed in Figure 16 agrees with this effect, and furthermore the appearance of discrete peaks of subharmonic vesicle release suggests quantal and discrete phase shifts of the vesicle release events, which when their effects are summed across the entire cochlear nerve will provide phase locking effects as shown in previous studies [ 51 ].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Quantitative Analysis Linking Inner Hair Cell Voltage Changes and Postsynaptic Conductance Change: A Modelling Study

Prokopiou

Drakakis

2015

BioMed Research International

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This paper presents a computational model which estimates the postsynaptic conductance change of mammalian Type I afferent peripheral process when airborne acoustic waves impact on the tympanic membrane. A model of the human auditory periphery is used to estimate the inner hair cell potential change in response to airborne sound. A generic and tunable topology of the mammalian synaptic ribbon is generated and the voltage dependence of its substructures is used to calculate discrete and probabilistic neurotransmitter vesicle release. Results suggest an almost linear relationship between increasing sound level (in dB SPL) and the postsynaptic conductance for frequencies considered too high for neurons to phase lock with (i.e., a few kHz). Furthermore coordinated vesicle release is shown for up to 300–400 Hz and a mechanism of phase shifting the subharmonic content of a stimulating signal is suggested. Model outputs suggest that strong onset response and highly synchronised multivesicular release rely on compound fusion of ribbon tethered vesicles.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Quantitative Analysis Linking Inner Hair Cell Voltage Changes and Postsynaptic Conductance Change: A Modelling Study

Prokopiou

Drakakis

2015

BioMed Research International

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“…In combining the scala vestibuli and scala media into a single compartment we ignore Reissner's membrane. At least within the basal and middle turns of the cochlea we can justify this simplification, for the impedance of Reissner's membrane there is well below that of the basilar membrane (Bekesy 1960). In the apical turn, however, the impedances of the two membranes become comparable with largely unknown consequences for cochlear hydrodynamics.…”

Section: Surface Waves On the Basilar Membranementioning

confidence: 93%

The physics of hearing: fluid mechanics and the active process of the inner ear

2014

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Most sounds of interest consist of complex, time-dependent admixtures of tones of diverse frequencies and variable amplitudes. To detect and process these signals, the ear employs a highly nonlinear, adaptive, real-time spectral analyzer: the cochlea. Sound excites vibration of the eardrum and the three miniscule bones of the middle ear, the last of which acts as a piston to initiate oscillatory pressure changes within the liquid-filled chambers of the cochlea. The basilar membrane, an elastic band spiraling along the cochlea between two of these chambers, responds to these pressures by conducting a largely independent traveling wave for each frequency component of the input. Because the basilar membrane is graded in mass and stiffness along its length, however, each traveling wave grows in magnitude and decreases in wavelength until it peaks at a specific, frequency-dependent position: low frequencies propagate to the cochlear apex, whereas high frequencies culminate at the base. The oscillations of the basilar membrane deflect hair bundles, the mechanically sensitive organelles of the ear's sensory receptors, the hair cells. As mechanically sensitive ion channels open and close, each hair cell responds with an electrical signal that is chemically transmitted to an afferent nerve fiber and thence into the brain. In addition to transducing mechanical inputs, hair cells amplify them by two means. Channel gating endows a hair bundle with negative stiffness, an instability that interacts with the motor protein myosin-1c to produce a mechanical amplifier and oscillator. Acting through the piezoelectric membrane protein prestin, electrical responses also cause outer hair cells to elongate and shorten, thus pumping energy into the basilar membrane's movements. The two forms of motility constitute an active process that amplifies mechanical inputs, sharpens frequency discrimination, and confers a compressive nonlinearity on responsiveness. These features arise because the active process operates near a Hopf bifurcation, the generic properties of which explain several key features of hearing. Moreover, when the gain of the active process rises sufficiently in ultraquiet circumstances, the system traverses the bifurcation and even a normal ear actually emits sounds. The remarkable properties of hearing thus stem from the propagation of traveling waves on a nonlinear and excitable medium.

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“…This vibration occurs according to the frequency of the sound waves that reach the inner ear. This is one of the mechanisms responsible for the selectivity of the cochlear frequency (Von Békésy, 1960).…”

Section: General Organization Of the Cochleamentioning

confidence: 99%

Pathophysiology and mechanisms of hearing impairment related to neonatal infection diseases

et al. 2023

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The inner ear, the organ of equilibrium and hearing, has an extraordinarily complex and intricate arrangement. It contains highly specialized structures meticulously tailored to permit auditory processing. However, hearing also relies on both peripheral and central pathways responsible for the neuronal transmission of auditory information from the cochlea to the corresponding cortical regions. Understanding the anatomy and physiology of all components forming the auditory system is key to better comprehending the pathophysiology of each disease that causes hearing impairment. In this narrative review, the authors focus on the pathophysiology as well as on cellular and molecular mechanisms that lead to hearing loss in different neonatal infectious diseases. To accomplish this objective, the morphology and function of the main structures responsible for auditory processing and the immune response leading to hearing loss were explored. Altogether, this information permits the proper understanding of each infectious disease discussed.

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Experiments in Hearing

Cited by 305 publications

References 0 publications

Quantitative Analysis Linking Inner Hair Cell Voltage Changes and Postsynaptic Conductance Change: A Modelling Study

Quantitative Analysis Linking Inner Hair Cell Voltage Changes and Postsynaptic Conductance Change: A Modelling Study

The physics of hearing: fluid mechanics and the active process of the inner ear

Pathophysiology and mechanisms of hearing impairment related to neonatal infection diseases

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