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Updated: May 22, 2026
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Cochlear Surface Preparation in the Adult Mouse
Published on: November 6, 2019
Progress in cochlear physiology after Békésy
John J Guinan1, Alec Salt, Mary Ann Cheatham
1Eaton Peabody Laboratories, Dept. of Otolaryngology, Mass. Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston, MA 02114, USA. jjg@epl.meei.harvard.edu
Hearing Research
|May 29, 2012
Summary
Cochlear physiology has advanced significantly, exploring topics Békésy couldn't imagine, like stereocilia transduction and outer hair cell motility. Research now covers cochlear amplification, otoacoustic emissions, and efferent influences, expanding our understanding of hearing.
Area of Science:
- Auditory Neuroscience
- Otoacoustic Emissions
- Cochlear Physiology
Background:
- Reviewing advancements in cochlear physiology since Békésy's Nobel Prize.
- Focusing on topics Békésy could not have imagined, including stereocilia function and outer hair cell motility.
- Revisiting Békésy's work on cochlear fluids and currents.
Observation:
- Progress in understanding cochlear gross potentials, especially the cochlear microphonic.
- Detailed review of stereocilia mechano-electrical transduction, force production, and response amplification.
- Exploration of outer hair cell (OHC) somatic motility and its molecular basis in prestin.
Findings:
- Prestin identified as the primary motor for cochlear amplification and micromechanics.
- Investigating the influence of the tectorial membrane on cochlear mechanics.
- Understanding the mechanical drives to inner hair cell stereocilia.
Implications:
- Insights into otoacoustic emissions and olivocochlear efferent influences on cochlear function.
- Current understanding of cochlear fluids, standing currents, and energy dependence.
- Discussion of future directions in cochlear pathologies like noise damage and aging.
Related Concept Videos
01:13The Cochlea
The cochlea is a coiled structure in the inner ear that contains hair cells—the sensory receptors of the auditory system. Sound waves are transmitted to the cochlea by small bones attached to the eardrum called the ossicles, which vibrate the oval window that leads to the inner ear. This causes fluid in the chambers of the cochlea to move, vibrating the basilar membrane.
01:15Auditory Pathway
Auditory pathways constitute the complex neural circuits responsible for transmitting and interpreting auditory information from the peripheral auditory system to the brain. Sound waves are initially captured by the outer ear, funneled through the ear canal, and reach the tympanic membrane (eardrum). These vibrations are transmitted via the middle ear's ossicles to the inner ear's cochlea.
When viewed cross-sectionally, the cochlea reveals the scala vestibuli and scala tympani flanking the...
When viewed cross-sectionally, the cochlea reveals the scala vestibuli and scala tympani flanking the...
01:22Hair Cells
Hair cells are the sensory receptors of the auditory system—they transduce mechanical sound waves into electrical energy that the nervous system can understand. Hair cells are located in the organ of Corti within the cochlea of the inner ear, between the basilar and tectorial membranes. The actual sensory receptors are called inner hair cells. The outer hair cells serve other functions, such as sound amplification in the cochlea, and are not discussed in detail here.