Basilar membrane measurements from wild type, prestin 499, and prestin KO mice

Abstract

It has been predicted that a nonfunctional prestin in the mammalian cochlea would produce a basilar membrane response at lower characteristic frequency, as we see in the prestin knock-out mouse, but with a reduced sensitivity that would reflect an enhanced coupling between basilar membrane and reticular lamina and inner hair cell stereocilia. We demonstrate here that this is the case in measurements from the 499 mouse where prestin in the lateral membrane of the outer hair cells is present but effectively silenced. © 2011 American Institute of Physics.