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Related Concept Videos

The Cochlea01:13

The 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.
Auditory Pathway01:15

Auditory 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...
Anatomy of the Ear01:16

Anatomy of the Ear

Auditory sensation, commonly called hearing, involves the transformation of sonic waves into neural impulses facilitated by the structures of the auditory organ. The prominent, flesh-like structure on the side of the head, called the auricle, directs sound waves towards the auditory canal. The auricle is often mislabeled as the pinna, a term more aligned with mobile structures like a feline's external ear. The auditory canal penetrates the cranium via the external auditory meatus of the...
Hearing01:31

Hearing

When we hear a sound, our nervous system is detecting sound waves—pressure waves of mechanical energy traveling through a medium. The frequency of the wave is perceived as pitch, while the amplitude is perceived as loudness.
Hair Cells01:22

Hair 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.
Perceiving Loudness, Pitch, and Location01:21

Perceiving Loudness, Pitch, and Location

The human brain perceives pitch through two primary mechanisms reflected in place theory and frequency theory. Each mechanism describes how sound waves are interpreted as specific pitches by the brain, offering insights into the intricate processes of auditory perception.
Place theory, or place coding, suggests that different pitches are heard because various sound waves activate specific locations along the cochlea's basilar membrane. The brain determines the pitch of a sound by identifying...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 16, 2026

Enhancing Electrode Location Assessment in Cochlear Implantation via Computed Tomography Image Fusion
03:58

Enhancing Electrode Location Assessment in Cochlear Implantation via Computed Tomography Image Fusion

Published on: January 17, 2025

The spatial pattern of cochlear amplification.

Jonathan A N Fisher1, Fumiaki Nin, Tobias Reichenbach

  • 1Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Laboratory of Sensory Neuroscience, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA.

Neuron
|December 11, 2012
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Outer hair cells generate forces that amplify sound waves in the cochlea. This mechanical amplification, crucial for hearing, counters viscous drag and is precisely localized to specific cochlear segments.

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 16, 2026

Enhancing Electrode Location Assessment in Cochlear Implantation via Computed Tomography Image Fusion
03:58

Enhancing Electrode Location Assessment in Cochlear Implantation via Computed Tomography Image Fusion

Published on: January 17, 2025

Area of Science:

  • Auditory Neuroscience
  • Mechanobiology
  • Cochlear Physiology

Background:

  • Sensorineural hearing loss results from mechanosensory hair cell failure, altering cochlear traveling waves.
  • The precise link between cochlear mechanics and hair cell amplification remains incompletely understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To elucidate the connection between cochlear mechanics and the amplificatory function of outer hair cells.
  • To identify the specific role of outer hair cell forces in cochlear traveling wave amplification.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized an optical technique for targeted photoinactivation of prestin, a key outer hair cell protein.
  • Investigated the local interaction of outer hair cell-generated forces with cochlear traveling waves along the basilar membrane.

Main Results:

  • Demonstrated that outer hair cell forces interact locally with traveling waves, producing significant mechanical amplification.
  • Showed that cochlear traveling waves progressively accumulate gain towards their peak.
  • Revealed that cochlear amplification generates negative damping, counteracting viscous drag, and that photoinactivation disrupts this compensation.

Conclusions:

  • Identified the specific locus of amplification within cochlear traveling waves.
  • Connected the molecular forces generated by outer hair cells to the mechanics of normal hearing.
  • Provided insights into how hair cell dysfunction contributes to sensorineural hearing loss.