title: Minimal basilar membrane motion in low-frequency hearing.
abstract: Low-frequency hearing is critically important for speech and music perception, but no mechanical measurements have previously been available from inner ears with intact low-frequency parts. These regions of the cochlea may function in ways different from the extensively studied high-frequency regions, where the sensory outer hair cells produce force that greatly increases the sound-evoked vibrations of the basilar membrane. We used laser interferometry in vitro and optical coherence tomography in vivo to study the low-frequency part of the guinea pig cochlea, and found that sound stimulation caused motion of a minimal portion of the basilar membrane. Outside the region of peak movement, an exponential decline in motion amplitude occurred across the basilar membrane. The moving region had different dependence on stimulus frequency than the vibrations measured near the mechanosensitive stereocilia. This behavior differs substantially from the behavior found in the extensively studied high-frequency regions of the cochlea.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Linköping University, SE-58183 Linköping, Sweden;
authors.forename: Rebecca L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Warren
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400076, India;
authors.forename: Sripriya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ramamoorthy
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom;
authors.forename: Nikola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ciganović
authors.affiliation: Oregon Hearing Research Center, Department of Otolaryngology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239-3098;
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Oregon Hearing Research Center, Department of Otolaryngology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239-3098;
authors.forename: Teresa M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239;
authors.forename: Tracy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Petrie
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-5061; Department of Ophthalmology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-5061;
authors.forename: Ruikang K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239; Department of Dermatology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239;
authors.forename: Steven L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Jacques
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom;
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Reichenbach
authors.affiliation: Oregon Hearing Research Center, Department of Otolaryngology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239-3098; nuttall@ohsu.edu anders.fridberger@liu.se.
authors.forename: Alfred L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Nuttall
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Linköping University, SE-58183 Linköping, Sweden; Oregon Hearing Research Center, Department of Otolaryngology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239-3098; nuttall@ohsu.edu anders.fridberger@liu.se.
authors.forename: Anders
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fridberger
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000818:Animals; D001489:Basilar Membrane / Q000502:physiology*; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D018072:Hair Cells, Auditory, Outer / Q000502:physiology*; D006309:Hearing / Q000502:physiology*; D007368:Interferometry; D009038:Motion; D009925:Organ of Corti / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D013016:Sound; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence
keywords: basilar membrane; hair cells; hearing; optical coherence tomography