Related papers: Multifrequency Forcing of a Hopf Oscillator Model …
A mathematical model describing the coupling between two independent amplification mechanisms in auditory hair cells is proposed and analyzed. Hair cells are cells in the inner ear responsible for translating sound-induced mechanical…
Outer hair cells (OHCs) are essential for the sensitivity and frequency specificity of the mammalian ear. To perform this function, OHCs need to amplify the motion of the basilar membrane (BM), which is much stiffer than themselves. If OHCs…
Astounding properties of biological sensors can often be mapped onto a dynamical system in the vicinity a bifurcation. For mammalian hearing, a Hopf bifurcation description has been shown to work across a whole range of scales, from…
Electromotility of outer hair cells (OHCs) has been extensively studied with in vitro experiments because of its physiological significance in the cochlear amplifier, which provides the exquisite sensitivity and frequency selectivity of the…
The auditory system displays remarkable sensitivity and frequency discrimination, attributes shown to rely on an amplification process that involves a mechanical as well as a biochemical response. Models that display proximity to an…
We introduce the concept of self-tuned criticality as a general mechanism for signal detection in sensory systems. In the case of hearing, we argue that active amplification of faint sounds is provided by a dynamical system which is…
The problem of self-tuning a system to the Hopf bifurcation in the presence of noise and periodic external forcing is discussed. We find that the response of the system has a non-monotonic dependence on the noise-strength, and displays an…
Hair cells, the sensory receptors of the internal ear, subserve different functions in various receptor organs: they detect oscillatory stimuli in the auditory system, but transduce constant and step stimuli in the vestibular and…
The hair bundle of sensory cells in the vertebrate ear provides an example of a noisy oscillator close to a Hopf bifurcation. The analysis of the data from both spontaneous and forced oscillations shows a strong violation of the…
Most sounds of interest consist of complex, time-dependent admixtures of tones of diverse frequencies and variable amplitudes. To detect and process these signals, the ear employs a highly nonlinear, adaptive, real-time spectral analyzer:…
The hair cells of the vertebrate inner ear convert mechanical stimuli to electrical signals. Two adaptation mechanisms are known to modify the ionic current flowing through the transduction channels of the hair bundles: a rapid process…
Oscillatory activity in auditory cortex is thought to play a central role in auditory and speech processing by synchronizing neural rhythms to external acoustic features of the speech stream. To support this function, cortical oscillators…
The ability of the mammalian ear in processing high frequency sounds, up to $\sim$100 kHz, is based on the capability of outer hair cells (OHCs) responding to stimulation at high frequencies. These cells show a unique motility in their cell…
Hair cells actively drive oscillations of their mechanosensitive organelles--the hair bundles that enable hearing and balance sensing in vertebrates. Why and how some hair cells expend energy by sustaining this oscillatory motion in order…
Hair cells of the auditory and vestibular systems are capable of detecting sounds that induce sub-nanometer vibrations of the hair bundle, below the stochastic noise levels of the surrounding fluid. Hair bundles of certain species are also…
Since the seminal work by H.L.F. Helmholtz in 1863, to understand the basic principles of hearing has been a great, but still unresolved, challenge for physicists. Some time ago, it has been pointed out (Egu\'{\i}luz et al., Phys. Rev.…
The effectiveness of outer hair cells (OHCs) in amplifying the motion of the organ of Corti, and thereby contributing to the sensitivity of mammalian hearing, depends on the mechanical power output of these cells. Electromechanical coupling…
The extraordinary sensitivity of the mammalian inner ear has captivated scientists for decades, largely due to the crucial role played by the outer hair cells (OHCs) and their unique electromotile properties. Typically arranged in three…
The human vocal folds are known to interact with the vocal tract acoustics during voiced speech production; namely a nonlinear source-filter coupling has been observed both by using models and in \emph{in vivo} phonation. These phenomena…
Cochlear outer hair cells (OHCs) have two mechanosensitive elements: the hair bundle with mechanotrasducer channels and the piezoelectric lateral wall of the cell body. The present report examines how these elements interact with each other…