我们能感受微弱声音并在噪声环境中进行交流的主要原因是耳蜗内的外毛细胞能增强声刺激诱发的Corti器振动。这种增强后的振动将机械性听觉信息传递给内毛细胞，内毛细胞感受机械刺激后释放递质到听神经周围突而将听觉信息传递给听神经。在耳蜗Corti器振动过程中，机械性声信号是如何刺激兴奋内毛细胞的尚不清楚。我们的前期研究发现耳蜗Corti器在低强度声刺激时存在明显的畸变，外毛细胞能动性引起的自身长度变化是引起畸变的主要原因，更进一步的研究发现耳蜗隔网状板有着与基底膜不同的多相振动模式，这种多相模式振动在内毛细胞兴奋刺激中可能起着重要作用。本课题中我们将运用OCT在体记录技术及IHC受体电位在体记录技术，深入研究外毛细胞能动性在耳蜗多相模式运动中的作用，特别是内毛细胞对应位置网状板、盖膜振动与内毛细胞电位之间的关系，本研究将为阐明内毛细胞的兴奋刺激机制提供在体实验依据，验证新的内毛细胞刺激兴奋理论。

The major reason that we can perceive faint sounds and communicate in noisy enviroments is that the outer hair cells(OHCs) enhance the sound-evoked motions of the organ of Corti. The enhanced motions are then transferred to the inner hair cells(IHCs), where neuro-transmitter is released onto auditory nerve dentrites. But it is still unknown how the IHC is stimulated by the motion of organ of Corti. Our previous experiments show that there is a distortion of organ of Corti induced by the low level sound stimulation, and the length change of OHCs is the reason of the distortion of organ of Corti, further experiment demonstrates that there exists multiple vibration mode across the reticular lamina (RL) which is different from that of the basilar membrane (BM). The multiple vibration modes within the cochlear partition suggests it might have a key role in the stimulation of IHC. In this project, using Optical Coherence Tomograph (OCT) and IHC receptor potential recording technique, we will study how the electromotility of OHCs contribute to the multiple vibration modes within the cochlea partition in vivo, especially the relationship among the vibration of RL on the IHC, tectorial membrane(TM), and IHC receptor potential. The purpose of this project is to provide in vivo experimental data for elucidating the new mechanism of IHC stimulation.