DESCRIPTIVE MODEL OF THE RECEPTOR POTENTIAL NONLINEARITIES GENERATED BY THE HAIR CELL MECHANOELECTRICAL TRANSDUCER

This paper describes a model for generating the hair cell receptor pot ential based bn a second-order Boltzmann function. The model includes only the resistive elements of the hair cell membranes with batteries across them and the series resistance of the external return path of t he transducer current through the tissue of the cochlea. The model pro vides a qualitative description of signal processing by the hair cell transducer and shows that the nonlinearity of the hair cell transducer can give rise to nonlinear phenomena, such as intermodulation distort ion products and two-tone suppression with patterns similar to those w hich have been recorded from the peripheral auditory system. Particula r outcomes of the model are the demonstration that two-tone suppressio n depends not on the saturation of the receptor current, but on the be haviour of the hair cell transducer function close to the operating po int. The model also shows that there is non-monotonic growth and phase change for any spectral component, but not for the fundamental of the receptor potential. (C) 1998 Acoustical Society of America. [S0001-49 66(98)02802-1].