There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.
Abstract
The role of the cochlea is to transduce complex sound waves into electrical neural
activity in the auditory nerve. Hair cells of the organ of Corti are the sensory cells
of hearing. The inner hair cells perform the transduction and initiate the depolarization
of the spiral ganglion neurons. The outer hair cells are accessory sensory cells that
enhance the sensitivity and selectivity of the cochlea. Neural feedback loops that
bring efferent signals to the outer hair cells assist in sharpening and amplifying
the signals. The stria vascularis generates the endocochlear potential and maintains
the ionic composition of the endolymph, the fluid in which the apical surface of the
hair cells is bathed. The mechanical characteristics of the basilar membrane and its
related structures further enhance the frequency selectivity of the auditory transduction
mechanism. The tectorial membrane is an extracellular matrix, which provides mass
loading on top of the organ of Corti, facilitating deflection of the stereocilia.
This review deals with the structure of the normal mature mammalian cochlea and includes
recent data on the molecular organization of the main cell types within the cochlea.