title: Level dependence of distortion product otoacoustic emissions in the leopard frog, Rana pipiens pipiens.
abstract: The inner ear of frogs holds two papillae specialized in detecting airborne sound, the amphibian papilla (AP) and the basilar papilla (BP). We measured input-output (I/O) curves of distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) from both papillae, and compared their properties. As in other vertebrates, DPOAE I/O curves showed two distinct segments, separated by a notch or kneepoint. The slope of the low-level segment was conspicuously different between the AP and the BP. For DPOAE I/O curves from the AP, slopes were < or = 1 dB/dB, similar to what is found in mammals, birds and some lizards. For DPOAE I/O curves from the BP these slopes were much steeper (approximately 2 dB/dB). Slopes found at high stimulus levels were similar in the AP and the BP (approximately 2 dB/dB). This quantitative difference between the low-level slopes for DPOAEs from the AP and the BP may signify the involvement of different mechanisms in low-level DPOAE generation for the two papillae, respectively.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Brain and Behaviour, Maastricht University, The Netherlands. b.meenderink@kno.unimaas.nl
authors.forename: Sebastiaan W F
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Meenderink
authors.forename: Pim
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: van Dijk
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000818:Animals; D001699:Biometry; D008954:Models, Biological; D017084:Otoacoustic Emissions, Spontaneous / Q000502:physiology*; D011894:Rana pipiens / Q000502:physiology*