Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 24, 2026

Spiral Ganglion Neuron Explant Culture and Electrophysiology on Multi Electrode Arrays
Published on: October 19, 2016
A model of the electrically excited human cochlear neuron. II. Influence of the three-dimensional cochlear structure
1TU-BioMed, Vienna University of Technology, Austria. frank.rattay@tuwien.ac.at
Abstract:
A simplified spiraled model of the human cochlea is developed from a cross sectional photograph. The potential distribution within this model cochlea is calculated with the finite element technique for an active scala tympani implant. The method in the companion article [Rattay et al., 2001] allows for simulation of the excitation process of selected elements of the cochlear nerve. The bony boundary has an insulating influence along every nerve fiber which shifts the stimulation condition from that of a homogeneous extracellular medium towards constant field stimulation: for a target neuron which is stimulated by a ring electrode positioned just below the peripheral end of the fiber the extracellular voltage profile is rather linear. About half of the cochlear neurons of a completely innervated cochlea are excited with monopolar stimulation at three-fold threshold intensity, whereas bipolar and especially quadrupolar stimulation focuses the excited region even for stronger stimuli. In contrast to single fiber experiments with cats, the long peripheral processes in human cochlear neurons cause first excitation in the periphery and, consequently, neurons with lost dendrite need higher stimuli.
Related Concept Videos
Neuron Structure
Hair Cells
The Cochlea
Neuron Structure
Structure and Function of Neurons
The neuronal cell body—the soma— houses the nucleus and organelles vital to cellular...
The Role of Ion Channels in Neuronal Computation
Sometimes a single EPSP is strong enough to induce an action potential in the postsynaptic neuron. However, multiple presynaptic inputs must often create EPSPs around the same time for the postsynaptic neuron to be sufficiently depolarized to fire an action potential.
Auditory Pathway
When viewed cross-sectionally, the cochlea reveals the scala vestibuli and scala tympani flanking the...

