EVIDENCE OF MECHANICAL NONLINEARITY AND FREQUENCY SELECTIVE WAVE AMPLIFICATION IN THE COCHLEA

A previously unsuspected mechanical response of the cochlear transduction mechanism has recently been discovered. It can be monitored outside the cochlear. Theoretical and experimental work leading to its discovery and identification are briefly reviewed. Its significance for models of the second filter and cochlear nonlinearity is discussed. An active wave amplification mechanism in the cochlea is proposed. © 1979 Springer-Verlag.