Subject: Re: cochlear wave travel time From: Matt Flax <flatmax@xxxxxxxx> Date: Thu, 24 Jul 2008 08:41:30 +1000 List-Archive:<http://lists.mcgill.ca/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=AUDITORY>Hi Pawel, The answer to your question depends on your belief of how the inner ear operates. The reason is because you are looking at neural stimulation and NOT simply cochlear waves. Do you believe in active travelling waves, active compression waves or other mechanisms ? Either way, the time taken for mammals is expected to be of similar order between species. If you believe in active travelling waves, then the delay to stimulation of the nervous system depends on forwards and backwards travelling waves passively and actively generated ... there are a large number of papers treating that ... search for articles which mention forward and reverse travelling waves. Due to the time taken to reach the apex of the cochlear (low freq.) they will generally be longer intervals then basal high frequency locations. If you believe in active compression waves, then you are in luck as only last week the first physiological model treating the compression wave cochlear amplifier was released on the Cochlear Amplifier e-mail list : http://cochlearamplifier.dyndns.org/pipermail/cochlear-amplifier/2008-July/000332.html The archives for that list can be reached from here : http://cochlearamplifier.dyndns.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/cochlear-amplifier That model of the compression wave cochlear amplifier suggests that time to neural reception is only of the order of the passive travelling wave. Of you believe in other models, then you will need to seek more information depending on which model you are looking further into. Either way, if your stimulating signal is below about 60 dB SPL, you will need more information from the model or point of view you wish to apply as reception of soft sounds requires some form of amplification within the inner ear for reception. If your stimulating signal is above 60 dB SPL (roughly) then there is larger likelihood that the signal will be received simply and directly from the passive travelling wave cochlear amplifier. Hope that information helps ! Matt On Wed, Jul 23, 2008 at 12:03:19PM -0400, Pawel Kusmierek wrote: > Dear list, > > would you kindly suggest references on cochlear travel time that would > allow me to find out when the high-frequency-induced signal becomes > available for the nervous system in comparison to > low-frequency-induced signal? Data from rhesus cochlea would suit me > best, but any other animal that can be reasonably assumed to be > similar the monkey in this respect would be good for me too. > > Thank you, > > Pawel > > -- > Pawel Kusmierek PhD > Department of Physiology and Biophysics > Georgetown University Medical Center > The Research Building WP23 > 3970 Reservoir Road NW > Washington, DC 20007 > phone: +1 202 687-8851 or 8028, fax: +1 202 687-0617