Cochlear outer hair cell electromotility enhances organ of Corti motion on a cycle-by-cycle basis at high frequencies in vivo

Male 0301 basic medicine 0303 health sciences Molecular Motor Proteins Movement Models, Biological Vibration Mice, Mutant Strains Cochlea Electrophysiology Hair Cells, Auditory, Outer Mice 03 medical and health sciences Sound Acoustic Stimulation Hearing Nonlinear Dynamics Mice, Inbred CBA Animals Female Organ of Corti Tomography, Optical Coherence
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2025206118 Publication Date: 2021-10-22T20:36:30Z
ABSTRACT
Significance The remarkable high-frequency sensitivity of mammalian hearing depends on the amplification of sound-evoked cochlear vibrations by outer hair cells. One way that outer hair cells are proposed to generate amplifying forces is through voltage-driven changes in cell length. However, it remains unclear whether this electromotility can work fast enough in vivo to provide amplification at the necessary frequencies. Here, we show that sound elicits motions within the living mouse cochlea that are fully consistent with electromotility. These motions are large relative to the motion of the underlying cochlear partition, including at high frequencies. The data therefore suggest that electromotility can indeed provide high-speed amplification in vivo.
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