A model for predicting EEOAE output under acoustical modulation.
(a and b) Schematic basal cross-sections
through the high-frequency area of the auditory papilla of
Tiliqua rugosa to illustrate the influence of hair-cell
orientation on EEOAE output for two possible locations for the motor
driving the cochlear amplifier. The tallest stereovilli of the
hair-cell groups on either side face the middle of the papilla. A
hair-cell lateral membrane motor would drive all cells to elongate and
shorten in phase (a, arrows) and EEOAE from different
populations would add constructively. For a bundle-based motor,
however, oppositely oriented bundles would move 180° out-of-phase
(b, arrows) and EEOAE add destructively. tm, tectorial
membrane; sc, supporting cells; hc, hair cell, hcb, hair-cell
stereovillar bundle. When low-frequency sound is applied, the output
from hair cells of one orientation decreases, whereas that of the other
increases, the force from each type being of the same phase in the case
shown in a and c--e and of
opposite phase in the case b and
f--h. A 5% excess of cells of one
polarity is assumed, allowing a small EEOAE response at the resting
point in f–h. The model uses the same frequency ratio
between electrical and acoustical stimuli as in a–c in
Fig. 4 (9.25:1). The time axes cover just over 1.5 cycles of the
modulator. (c—e) EEOAE output (thin lines) of a model
simulating lateral membrane motors stimulated by ac current and
modulated by a low-frequency sound (thick line, placed on arbitrary
axes relative to the EEOAE). Compared with c, the
relative sound pressure of the modulator is increased by 10 and 20 dB
in d and e, respectively.
(f—h) As in c and
d, but for motors in the hair cell bundle. Modulation
increases EEOAE from one set of cells and reduces it from the other,
depending on the phase of the modulating sound. Compared with
f, the sound pressure of the modulator is increased by
10 and 20 dB in g and h, respectively. In
e and h, the vertical lines emphasize the
roughly 180° phase shift in the EEOAE in h at each
half cycle of the modulator.