Forward and Reverse Travelling Waves in the Cochlea

耳蜗中的正向和反向行波

• 批准号: 9320326
• 负责人: David Mountain
• 金额: $ 25.79万
• 依托单位: Trustees of Boston University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing grant
• 财政年份: 1994
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1994-04-01 至 1998-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9320326&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Forward; Reverse; Travelling; Waves; Cochlea

9320326 Mountain The cochlea is the complex structure in the inner ear that contains an elastic membrane, the basilar membrane, which oscillates in response to sound. The oscillations stimulate mechanosensory cells called hair cells, which send signals to the auditory nerve. A remarkable finding around 15 years ago showed that one group of hair cells, the outer hair cells, can themselves show motility, and so act as electromechanical elements that can modulate cochlear sensitivity. As a byproduct of that function, the outer hair cell activity is transmitted as acoustical energy back out of the ear, producing measurable sounds called otoacoustic emissions, which have been used by scientists and clinicians as a non-invasive tool to study cochlear function. This project uses electrophysiology, computer simulation, and measurements of the otoacoustic emissions to examine several novel hypotheses about how the basilar membrane vibration and the outer hair cell activity may be involved in normal cochlear function. It will specifically evaluate where the non-linearities in amplification occur in the cochlea, and whether the basilar membrane may have modes of oscillation different from the classical traveling-wave form. Results from this unique combined physiological and modeling approach will have an impact on all auditory neuroscience, and novel findings will have important impact not only on handling of hearing disorders, but on design of auditory communications, and on biomechanics and bioengineering. ***

9320326 Mountain 耳蜗是内耳中的复杂结构，包含弹性膜（基底膜），它会根据声音而振动。 这种振荡刺激称为毛细胞的机械感觉细胞，该细胞向听觉神经发送信号。 大约 15 年前的一项显着发现表明，一组毛细胞（即外毛细胞）本身可以表现出运动性，因此可以作为调节耳蜗敏感性的机电元件。 作为该功能的副产品，外毛细胞活动作为声能从耳朵传回，产生可测量的声音，称为耳声发射，科学家和临床医生已将其用作研究耳蜗功能的非侵入性工具。 该项目利用电生理学、计算机模拟和耳声发射测量来检验关于基底膜振动和外毛细胞活动如何参与正常耳蜗功能的几个新假设。 它将具体评估放大中的非线性在耳蜗中发生的位置，以及基底膜是否可能具有与经典行波形式不同的振荡模式。 这种独特的生理学和建模方法相结合的结果将对所有听觉神经科学产生影响，新的发现不仅对听力障碍的处理产生重要影响，而且对听觉通信的设计以及生物力学和生物工程产生重要影响。 ***