Nonlinear cochlear mechanics.

Abstract

An earlier paper characterizing the linear mechanical response of the organ of Corti [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 138, 1102-1121 (2015)] is extended to the nonlinear domain. Assuming the existence of nonlinear oscillators nonlocally coupled through the pressure they help create, the oscillator equations are derived and examined when the stimuli are modulated tones and clicks. The nonlinearities are constrained by the requirements of oscillator stability and the invariance of zero crossings in the click response to changes in click amplitude. The nonlinear oscillator equations for tones are solved in terms of the fluid pressure that drives them, and its time derivative, presumably a proxy for forces created by outer hair cells. The pressure equation is reduced to quadrature, the integrand depending on the oscillators' responses. The resulting nonlocally coupled nonlinear equations for the pressure, and oscillator amplitudes and phases, are solved numerically in terms of the fluid pressure at the stapes. Methods for determining the nonlinear damping directly from measurements are described. Once the oscillators have been characterized from their tone and click responses, the mechanical response of the cochlea to natural sounds may be computed numerically. Signal processing inspired by cochlear mechanics opens up a new area of nonlocal nonlinear time-frequency analysis.