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Sound-induced differential motion within the hearing organ

Nature Neuroscience volume 6, pages 446–448 (2003)Cite this article

Abstract

Hearing depends on the transformation of sound-induced basilar membrane vibration into deflection of stereocilia1 on the sensory hair cells, but the nature of these mechanical transformations is unclear. Using new techniques to visualize and measure sound-induced vibration deep inside the moving organ of Corti, we found that two functionally crucial structures, the basilar membrane and the reticular lamina, have different centers of rotation, leading to shearing motion and rapid deformation for the mechanoreceptive outer hair cells. Structural relations within the organ of Corti are much more dynamic than previously thought, which clarifies how outer hair cell molecular motors can have such a powerful effect.

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Figure 1: Drawings of the hearing organ.
Figure 2: Confocal images from the apical turn, obtained during sound stimulation.

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Acknowledgements

J. Bruton, J. Lännergren, M. Ulfendahl, T. Ren, L. Järlebark, A. Katz and Å. Flock are acknowledged for discussions and gift of equipment. Supported by the Swedish Research Council, the Tysta Skolan Foundation, the National Association for Hard of Hearing People, Tore Nilson Foundation, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Swedish Society for Medical Research, Swedish Medical Society and funds of the Karolinska Institute.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Center for Hearing and Communication Research, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

    Anders Fridberger & Jacques Boutet de Monvel

  2. Department of Otolaryngology, Karolinska Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden

    Anders Fridberger & Jacques Boutet de Monvel

Authors
  1. Anders Fridberger
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  2. Jacques Boutet de Monvel
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anders Fridberger.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Supplementary information

Supplementary Video.

Sound-evoked motion within the hearing organ.Images were obtained at two different phases of the sound stimulus (126 dB SPL,160 Hz) and assembled into this movie. (MOV 978 kb)

Supplementary Fig. 1.

Displacement as a function of distance along the reticular lamina (a) and along the basilar membrane (b) in five different image pairs.The solid lines are regression lines through all the data points. Stimulus parameters:160 Hz,123 dB SPL. (PDF 47 kb)

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Fridberger, A., de Monvel, J. Sound-induced differential motion within the hearing organ. Nat Neurosci 6, 446–448 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1047

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