Contribution of complex stapes motion to cochlea activation

Classic theories of hearing have considered only a translational component (piston-like component) of the stapes motion as being the effective stimulus for cochlear activation and thus the sensation of hearing. Our previous study (Huber et al., 2008) qualitatively showed that rotational components around the long and short axes of the footplate (rocking-like components) lead to cochlear activation as well. In this study, the contribution of the piston-like and rocking-like components of the stapes motion to cochlea activation was quantitatively investigated with measurements in live guinea pigs and a related mathematical description. The isolated stapes in anesthetized guinea pigs was stimulated by a three-axis piezoelectric actuator, and 3-D motions of the stapes and compound action potential (CAP) of the cochlea were measured simultaneously. The measured values were used to fit a hypothesis of the CAP as a linear combination of the logarithms of the piston-like and rocking-like components. Both the piston-like and rocking-like components activate cochlear responses when they exceed certain thresholds. These thresholds as well as the relation between CAP and intensity of the motion component were different for piston-like and rocking-like components. The threshold was found to be higher and the sensitivity lower for the rocking-like component than the corresponding values for the piston-like component. The influence of the rocking-like component was secondary in cases of piston-dominant motions of the stapes although it may become significant for low amplitudes of the piston-like component.