title: Self-suppression in a locally active nonlinear model of the cochlea: a quasilinear approach.
abstract: Mechanical input-output functions of the cochlea for pure-tone stimuli are nonlinear for frequencies around the characteristic frequency. To simulate these functions, a long-wave model of the cochlea containing a saturating pressure generator (located at the site of the outer hair cells) is solved in the frequency domain with a quasilinear method. In this method distortion products in the basilar-membrane (BM) response are treated as perturbations and the nonlinear pressure waveform is approximated by the first-order Fourier component. Because the saturating pressure generator forms part of a feedback loop the solution of the model is achieved in a number of iteration steps. Model results show flattening of the BM response at higher input pressures; this property, called self-suppression, is due to saturation of the pressure generator. The resulting input-output functions display the main features of experimental curves. The third-order distortion product in the BM velocity is always more than 25 dB below the primary BM velocity and does not influence the results of the computation; this justifies the use of the quasilinear method.
authors.affiliation: Auditory Physics Laboratory, Academic Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: L J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Kanis
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: de Boer
mesh_terms: D000158:Acoustic Impedance Tests; D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology; D001489:Basilar Membrane; D003051:Cochlea / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009925:Organ of Corti / Q000502:physiology; D013199:Stapes / Q000502:physiology