RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Organ of Corti Potentials and the Motion of the Basilar Membrane JF The Journal of Neuroscience JO J. Neurosci. FD Society for Neuroscience SP 10057 OP 10063 DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2711-04.2004 VO 24 IS 45 A1 Anders Fridberger A1 Jacques Boutet de Monvel A1 Jiefu Zheng A1 Ning Hu A1 Yuan Zou A1 Tianying Ren A1 Alfred Nuttall YR 2004 UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/24/45/10057.abstract AB During sound stimulation, receptor potentials are generated within the sensory hair cells of the cochlea. Prevailing theory states that outer hair cells use the potential-sensitive motor protein prestin to convert receptor potentials into fast alterations of cellular length or stiffness that boost hearing sensitivity almost 1000-fold. However, receptor potentials are attenuated by the filter formed by the capacitance and resistance of the membrane of the cell. This attenuation would limit cellular motility at high stimulus frequencies, rendering the above scheme ineffective. Therefore, Dallos and Evans (1995a) proposed that extracellular potential changes within the organ of Corti could drive cellular motor proteins. These extracellular potentials are not filtered by the membrane. To test this theory, both electric potentials inside the organ of Corti and basilar membrane vibration were measured in response to acoustic stimulation. Vibrations were measured at sites very close to those interrogated by the recording electrode using laser interferometry. Close comparison of the measured electrical and mechanical tuning curves and time waveforms and their phase relationships revealed that those extracellular potentials indeed could drive outer hair cell motors. However, to achieve the sharp frequency tuning that characterizes the basilar membrane, additional mechanical processing must occur inside the organ of Corti.