Otoacoustic emissions reveal the micromechanical role of organ-of-Corti cytoarchitecture in cochlear amplification.

ABSTRACT: The intricate, crystalline cytoarchitecture of the mammalian organ of Corti presumably plays an important role in cochlear amplification. As currently understood, the oblique, Y-shaped arrangement of the outer hair cells (OHCs) and phalangeal processes of the Deiters cells serves to create differential "push-pull" forces that drive the motion of the basilar membrane via the spatial feedforward and/or feedbackward of OHC forces. In concert with the cochlear traveling wave, the longitudinal separation between OHC sensing and forcing creates phase shifts that yield a form of negative damping, amplifying waves as they propagate. Unlike active forces that arise and act locally, push-pull forces are inherently directional-whereas forward-traveling waves are boosted, reverse-traveling waves are s

SUBMITTER: Shera CA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10576130 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature