Abstract
We build a flexible platform for the study of the mechanical performance of the organ of Corti (OoC) in the transduction of basilar membrane vibrations to motion of an inner hair cell bundle. In this platform, each anatomic component of the OoC is described by an equation of motion that can be followed in time. We propose an initial set of models that attempt to capture the nonlinearities of somatic and bundle motility, but can nevertheless be easily handled. The anatomic components that we consider are the outer hair cells, the outer hair cell bundles, Deiters cells, Hensen cells, the inner hair cell bundle and various sections of the reticular lamina.We study endolymph fluid motion in the subtectorial gap and then the mutual interactions among the components of the OoC, including the pressure exerted by endolymph.We find that the components of the OoC could cooperate to enhance frequency selectivity, amplitude compression and signal to noise ratio in the passage from the basilar membrane to the inner hair cell bundle.
Footnotes
The scope of this study is explained in greater detail; references have been added.
https://www.notebookarchive.org/models-for-organ-of-corti--2020-01-2aqmevw/