Observing auditory mechanics with pressure and motion measurements

这项研究的主要目的是加深我们对健康人的机制的理解。 耳蜗骨。第二个目标是了解声音是如何通过健康的中耳传播的。 为了达到这些目标，我们使用了两种强大的实验技术：卵泡内压力 耳内和中耳运动的测量和干涉测量。特定的 实验测量了声音在耳蜗内的传输，以探索耳蜗之间的相互作用 主动力学与耳蜗行波、耳蜗耳之间的声音传递 以确定中耳是如何过滤耳蜗液的。其他实验将测量详细的 耳蜗基底膜的运动；微妙的空间变化可以揭示细胞的运作- 形成耳蜗调谐力的基础。为了了解用于耳蜗调谐的无源衬底， 有趣的“主动”基于细胞的力必须建立在它的基础上，一项实验将测量硬度 以及耳蜗基底膜和Corti器的阻力，另一项将测量调谐 耳蜗科尔蒂器官受到耳毒性损伤的耳蜗骨。最后，一项实验将追踪源头 观察到的中耳传输延迟。 这些测量的目的是为了了解正常耳蜗和中耳的机制。 尽管如此，它们对听障患者的治疗仍有重要意义。而人工耳蜗术有 已经取得了惊人的成功，但植入物所能提供的功能性听力仍然存在分歧 以及对音乐、语言和自然的自然听觉体验。为了缩小这一鸿沟，人工耳蜗 植入物和助听器不断得到改进，并更好地了解 耳蜗会使这项工作受益。除了植入物和艾滋病，修复科尔蒂器官的承诺 通过治疗再生或修复耳蜗毛细胞是非常令人兴奋的，而对 正常的机制将有助于指导这些进展。就中耳而言，外科治疗是 可用但并不总是成功。更好地理解声音通过中间的传递 耳朵是这项提议的目标之一，而获得这一知识可能会影响其手术修复。

The primary objective of this research is to further our understanding of the mechanics of the healthy cochlea. A secondary objective is to understand how sound is transmitted through the healthy middle ear. To attain these objectives we use two powerful experimental techniques: intracochlear pressure measurements and interferometric measurements of intracochlear and middle ear motion. Specific experiments measure sound transmission within the cochlea to explore the interaction between the cochlea's active mechanics and the cochlear traveling wave, and sound transmission between the cochlea and the ear canal to determine how the middle ear filters cochlear emissions. Other experiments will measure detailed motion of the cochlea's basilar membrane; subtle spatial variations could reveal the operation of the cell- based forces that shape cochlear tuning. In order to understand the passive substrate for cochlear tuning, upon which the interesting "active" cell-based forces must build, one experiment will measure the stiffness and resistance of the cochlea's basilar membrane and organ of Corti in situ, another will measure tuning in cochleae in which the organ of Corti was ototoxically damaged. Finally, one experiment will trace the source of the observed middle ear transmission delay. The measurements are aimed at understanding the mechanics of the normal cochlea and middle ear. Nevertheless, they are significant to the treatment of the hearing impaired. While cochlear implants have been breathtakingly successful, a divide remains between the functional hearing available with an implant and the natural auditory experience of music, language, and nature. To decrease this divide, cochlear implants and hearing aids continue to be improved and a better understanding of the natural processing of the cochlea will benefit this work. Beyond implants and aids, the promise of repairing the organ of Corti through therapies that regenerate or repair cochlear hair cells is very exciting, and the understanding of the normal mechanics will help guide these advances. In the case of the middle ear, surgical therapies are available but are not always successful. Better understanding the transmission of sound through the middle ear is one of the goals of this proposal, and gaining that knowledge could influence its surgical repair.