AbstractThe cochlea of the mammalian inner ear includes an active, hydromechanical amplifier thought to arise via the piezoelectric action of the outer hair cells (OHCs). A classic problem of cochlear biophysics is that theRC (resistance-capacitance) time constant of the hair-cell membrane appears inconveniently long, producing an effective cut-off frequency much lower than that of most audible sounds. The longRC time constant implies that the OHC receptor potential —and hence its electromotile response—decreases by roughly two orders of magnitude over the frequency range of mammalian hearing, casting doubt on the hypothesized role of cycle-by-cycle OHC-based amplification in mammalian hearing. Here, we review published data and basic physics to show that t he "RC problem " has bee...
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