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APS » Journals » Phys. Rev. Lett. » Volume 96 » Issue 8
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Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 088701 (2006) [4 pages]

Cochlea’s Graded Curvature Effect on Low Frequency Waves

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D. Manoussaki1, E. K. Dimitriadis2, and R. S. Chadwick3
1Department of Mathematics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240, USA
2Division of Bioengineering & Physical Science, ORS/OD, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA
3Section on Auditory Mechanics, NIDCD, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA

Received 22 June 2005; published 2 March 2006

See accompanying Physics Focus

In the ear, sound waves are processed by a membrane of graded mechanical properties that resides in the fluid-filled spiral cochlea. The role of stiffness grading as a Fourier analyzer is well known, but the role of the curvature has remained elusive. Here, we report that increasing curvature redistributes wave energy density towards the cochlea’s outer wall, affecting the shape of waves propagating on the membrane, particularly in the region where low frequency sounds are processed.

© 2006 The American Physical Society

URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.96.088701
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.96.088701
PACS:
43.64.+r, 42.15.Dp, 46.40.Cd, 47.35.−i
 
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