?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=The+Underwater+Piano%3A+Revival+of+the+Resonance+Theory+of+Hearing&rft.creator=Bell%2C+Andrew&rft.subject=Biophysics&rft.subject=Theoretical+Biology&rft.description=In+1857+Helmholtz+proposed+that+the+ear+contained+an+array+of+sympathetic+resonators%2C+like+piano+strings%2C+which+served+to+give+the+ear+its+fine+frequency+discrimination.+Since+the+discovery+that+most+healthy+human+ears+emit+faint%2C+pure+tones+(spontaneous+otoacoustic+emissions)%2C+it+has+been+possible+to+view+these+narrowband+signals+as+the+continuous+ringing+of+the+resonant+elements.+But+what+are+the+elements%3F+We+note+that+motile+outer+hair+cells+lie+in+a+precise+crystal-like+array+with+their+sensitive+stereocilia+in+contact+with+the+gelatinous+tectorial+membrane.+This+paper+therefore+proposes+that+ripples+on+the+surface+of+the+tectorial+membrane+propagate+to+and+fro+between+neighbouring+cells.+The+resulting+array+of+active+resonators+accounts+for+spontaneous+emissions%2C+the+shape+of+the+ear%C2%92s+tuning+curve%2C+cochlear+echoes%2C+and+could+relate+strongly+to+music.+By+identifying+the+resonating+elements+that+eluded+Helmholtz%2C+this+hypothesis+revives+the+resonance+theory+of+hearing%2C+displaced+this+century+by+the+traveling+wave+picture%2C+and+locates+the+regenerative+receiver+invoked+by+Gold+in+1948.&rft.date=2000-05&rft.type=Preprint&rft.type=NonPeerReviewed&rft.format=application%2Fpdf&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F186%2F3%2FUWPiano.pdf&rft.identifier=++Bell%2C+Andrew++(2000)+The+Underwater+Piano%3A+Revival+of+the+Resonance+Theory+of+Hearing.++%5BPreprint%5D++++(Unpublished)++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F186%2F