Abstract
It has been suggested that humans discriminate different frequency sounds with greater selectivity than other mammals. However, mechanisms that could underlie higher frequency selectivity in humans are unclear. Recent studies show that the tectorial membrane (TM) supports longitudinally propagating waves, and the spread of excitation of these TM waves has been implicated in controlling the tuning properties in a mutant mouse model of hearing. Here we compare TM morphology and waves in humans and mice and show that despite some differences in morphology, the spread of excitation of TM waves is similar in spatial extent. However, the cochlear maps of humans and mice differ significantly, with similar cochlear distances mapping to a narrower range of best frequencies in humans than in mice. By coupling different frequency ranges, TM waves could contribute to differences in frequency tuning in mammals, with the smaller human range of frequencies corresponding to sharper frequency tuning.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | To the Ear and Back Again - Advances in Auditory Biophysics |
| Subtitle of host publication | Proceedings of the 13th Mechanics of Hearing Workshop |
| Editors | Christopher Bergevin, Sunil Puria |
| Publisher | American Institute of Physics Inc. |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9780735416703 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - May 31 2018 |
| Event | 13th Mechanics of Hearing Workshop: To the Ear and Back Again - Advances in Auditory Biophysics, MoH 2017 - St. Catharines, Canada Duration: Jun 19 2017 → Jun 24 2017 |
Publication series
| Name | AIP Conference Proceedings |
|---|---|
| Volume | 1965 |
| ISSN (Print) | 0094-243X |
| ISSN (Electronic) | 1551-7616 |
Other
| Other | 13th Mechanics of Hearing Workshop: To the Ear and Back Again - Advances in Auditory Biophysics, MoH 2017 |
|---|---|
| Country | Canada |
| City | St. Catharines |
| Period | 6/19/17 → 6/24/17 |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Physics and Astronomy(all)
Cite this
}
Cochlear tuning.. of mice and men. / Farrahi, Shirin; Ghaffari, Roozbeh; Sellon, Jonathan B.; Nakajima, Hideko H.; Freeman, Dennis M.
To the Ear and Back Again - Advances in Auditory Biophysics: Proceedings of the 13th Mechanics of Hearing Workshop. ed. / Christopher Bergevin; Sunil Puria. American Institute of Physics Inc., 2018. 040003 (AIP Conference Proceedings; Vol. 1965).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution
TY - GEN
T1 - Cochlear tuning.. of mice and men
AU - Farrahi, Shirin
AU - Ghaffari, Roozbeh
AU - Sellon, Jonathan B.
AU - Nakajima, Hideko H.
AU - Freeman, Dennis M.
PY - 2018/5/31
Y1 - 2018/5/31
N2 - It has been suggested that humans discriminate different frequency sounds with greater selectivity than other mammals. However, mechanisms that could underlie higher frequency selectivity in humans are unclear. Recent studies show that the tectorial membrane (TM) supports longitudinally propagating waves, and the spread of excitation of these TM waves has been implicated in controlling the tuning properties in a mutant mouse model of hearing. Here we compare TM morphology and waves in humans and mice and show that despite some differences in morphology, the spread of excitation of TM waves is similar in spatial extent. However, the cochlear maps of humans and mice differ significantly, with similar cochlear distances mapping to a narrower range of best frequencies in humans than in mice. By coupling different frequency ranges, TM waves could contribute to differences in frequency tuning in mammals, with the smaller human range of frequencies corresponding to sharper frequency tuning.
AB - It has been suggested that humans discriminate different frequency sounds with greater selectivity than other mammals. However, mechanisms that could underlie higher frequency selectivity in humans are unclear. Recent studies show that the tectorial membrane (TM) supports longitudinally propagating waves, and the spread of excitation of these TM waves has been implicated in controlling the tuning properties in a mutant mouse model of hearing. Here we compare TM morphology and waves in humans and mice and show that despite some differences in morphology, the spread of excitation of TM waves is similar in spatial extent. However, the cochlear maps of humans and mice differ significantly, with similar cochlear distances mapping to a narrower range of best frequencies in humans than in mice. By coupling different frequency ranges, TM waves could contribute to differences in frequency tuning in mammals, with the smaller human range of frequencies corresponding to sharper frequency tuning.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85048229837&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85048229837&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1063/1.5038463
DO - 10.1063/1.5038463
M3 - Conference contribution
T3 - AIP Conference Proceedings
BT - To the Ear and Back Again - Advances in Auditory Biophysics
A2 - Bergevin, Christopher
A2 - Puria, Sunil
PB - American Institute of Physics Inc.
ER -