FREQUENCY-SELECTIVE RESPONSE OF THE TECTORIAL MEMBRANE IN THE FROG BASILAR PAPILLA

The frog's basilar papilla is a useful study object for cochlear mechanics, because of it's relatively simple anatomy and functionality. We investigated the displacement amplitudes of the basilar papilla's tectorial membrane in response to stimulation of the oval window at various frequencies within the auditory range of the Northern leopard frog. From Our measurement data we find that the tectorial membrane exhibits a frequency selective response. The peak response was found to occur at 1500Hz in correspondence with known data for the response of auditory nerve fibers from the organ. From these data we conclude that; mechanical timing contributes significantly to the frequency selectivity of the frog's basilar papilla