MODEL FOR MECHANICAL TO NEURAL TRANSDUCTION IN THE AUDITORY RECEPTOR.

Abstract

A model for the transduction of mechanical motion of the basilar membrane into action potentials ( ″spikes″ ) in the auditory nerve. The model is defined by the following three rules: 1. ″Quanta″ of an (electrochemical) agent are generated in the hair cell at a fixed average rate r quanta/s. 2. Quanta disappear and cause an attached (afferent) nerve fiber to fire with a probability per unit time proportional to their number, n(t), and a ″permeability″ function, p(t), related to the input stimulus. 3. In addition, quanta disappear independently of stimulation and without causing nerve firings with a probability per unit time equal to gn(t), where g is a constant with dimension s** minus **1. A more complete report of this work is scheduled to be published in the May 1974 Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.