ABSTRACT

Georg von Bekesy's experiments on the peripheral auditory system are collected in a book, and he was awarded the 1961 Nobel Prize in Medicine for his research. The nerve is laid down as the fibers collect from the apex and base in an orderly spiral manner. The nerve retains the frequency map of the basilar membrane, that is, it is tonotopically organized, a characteristic that carries through much of the auditory system. The tuning of the mammalian auditory system arises from the motions of the cochlear partition, and this is transferred to the inner hair cells (IHC) and to the rest of the auditory system through their connection to spiral ganglion cells. The IHCs are not attached to the tectorial membrane, so their response is thought to be responsive to uid velocity over their stereocilia rather than direct displacement.