Effectiveness of Outer Hair Cells as Cochlear Amplifier: Coupled Oscillator Models

Effectiveness of Outer Hair Cells as Cochlear Amplifier: Coupled Oscillator Models | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Effectiveness of Outer Hair Cells as Cochlear Amplifier: Coupled Oscillator Models Kuni H. Iwasa This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7519752/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 22 Dec, 2025 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted 11 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Outer hair cells (OHCs) are essential for the sensitivity and frequency speci-ficity of the mammalian ear. To perform this function, OHCs need to amplify the motion of the basilar membrane, which is much stiffer than themselves. OHCs must overcome this impedance mismatch for their amplifying function particularly at high frequencies, where the mismatch is the largest. This issue could be solved by the existence of multiple modes of motion. Here, systems of two coupled oscillators are examined as the simplest of such cases. It is found that some of these model systems indeed make OHCs function as an effective amplifier by overcoming the impedance mismatch. This result suggests that the elaborate structure of the organ of Corti, which can support multiple modes of motion, is a key to the high frequency performance of the mammalian ear. Biological sciences/Biophysics Physical sciences/Engineering Biological sciences/Neuroscience Physical sciences/Physics Biological sciences/Physiology hearing sensitivity coupling oscillators mechanics Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files supplementary.pdf Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 22 Dec, 2025 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 19 Nov, 2025 Reviews received at journal 15 Oct, 2025 Reviews received at journal 06 Oct, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 24 Sep, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 24 Sep, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 23 Sep, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 23 Sep, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 09 Sep, 2025 Editor invited by journal 09 Sep, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 05 Sep, 2025 First submitted to journal 05 Sep, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7519752","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":520014192,"identity":"ea641ca2-4f28-45f6-b8db-5ece1440d09c","order_by":0,"name":"Kuni H. 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