A second, low-frequency mode of vibration in the intact mammalian cochlea

The mammalian cochlea is a structure comprising a number of components connected by elastic elements. A mechanical system of this kind is expected to have multiple normal modes of oscillation and associated resonances. The guinea pig cochlear mechanics was probed using distortion components generated in the cochlea close to the place of overlap between two tones presented simultaneously. Otoacoustic emissions at frequencies of the distortion components were recorded in the ear canal. The phase behavior of the emissions reveals the presence of a nonlinear resonance at a frequency about a half octave below that of the high-frequency primary tone. The location of the resonance is level dependent and the resonance shifts to lower frequencies with increasing stimulus intensity. This resonance is thought to be associated with the tectorial membrane. The resonance tends to minimize input to the cochlear receptor cells at frequencies below the high-frequency primary and increases the dynamic load to the stereocilia of the receptor cells at the primary frequency when the tectorial membrane and reticular lamina move in counterphase.