Signal flow inside the tunnel of Corti

All With the advent of Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), a variation of the standard laser-interferometer technique, vibrations of various points inside the cochlea can be measured separately and concurrently. In this work we measured vibrations of the basilar membrane (BM) and the Reticular Lamina (RL) in the cochlea of the guinea pig. Stimulus tones had frequencies in the range from 10 to 25 kHz, they were generated and measured with a spacing of 250 Hz. By smoothing and interpolation the spacing was reduced to 50 Hz. We confirmed earlier findings in that in viable animals the responses at the RL are generally larger than those of the BM, and have smaller phase delays. Moreover, these differences are little dependent of the level of stimulation. Our main hypothesis is: stimulation of the stapes primarily excites the structures in the upper (RL) part of the Organ of Corti (OoC) channel. Subsequently, movements of the RL cause movements of the fluid in the OoC channel, which in turn moves the BM. Computation of the sound field generated by the RL yielded results that agree very well with the data. These results thus confirm the hypothesis.