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Updated: Jul 29, 2026

Morphological and Functional Evaluation of Ribbon Synapses at Specific Frequency Regions of the Mouse Cochlea
Published on: May 10, 2019
A wave traveling over a Hopf instability shapes the cochlear tuning curve
1Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, New York, USA.
Abstract:
The tuning curve of the cochlea measures how intense an input is required to elicit a given output level as a function of the frequency. It is a fundamental object of auditory theory, for it summarizes how to identify sounds on the basis of the cochlear output. A simple model is presented showing that only two elements are sufficient for establishing the cochlear tuning curve: a broadly tuned traveling wave, moving unidirectionally from high to low frequencies, and a set of mechanosensors poised at the threshold of an oscillatory (Hopf) instability. These two components generate the various frequency-response regimes needed for a cochlear tuning curve with a high slope.
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