Measurement of the basilar membrane vibrations

English / Japanese


Although the mechanism of amplification in the cochlea is obscure, it is speculated that the cochlea amplifier plays an important role in hearing. Therefore, in order to clarify this mechanism, an attempt is made to measure the basilar membrane (BM) vibrations of guinea pigs using laser Doppler velocimeter coupled with a compound microscope (Figs. 1 and 2). Figure 3 shows the basilar membrane velocity responses. The velocity responses in the alive preparation are larger than those in the dead guinea pigs. This result implies the presence of the cochlea amplifier in the alive guinea pigs.



Fig.1. Measurement system for the basilar membrane (BM) vibrations.

Fig.2. Diagram of the BM vibration measurement.





Fig.3. The BM velocity responses to harmonic tone.



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