Electrokinetic properties of the mammalian tectorial membrane
Name
Ghaffari-2013-Electrokinetic properties of the mammalian tectorial membrane.pdf
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Author(s)
Ghaffari, Roozbeh
Page, Scott Lawrence
Farrahi, Shirin
Sellon, Jonathan Blake
Freeman, Dennis M.
Date Issued
February 2013
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Publisher
National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)
Citation
Ghaffari, R., S. L. Page, S. Farrahi, J. B. Sellon, and D. M. Freeman. “Electrokinetic properties of the mammalian tectorial membrane.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 110, no. 11 (March 12, 2013): 4279-4284.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
The tectorial membrane (TM) clearly plays a mechanical role in stimulating cochlear sensory receptors, but the presence of fixed charge in TM constituents suggests that electromechanical properties also may be important. Here, we measure the fixed charge density of the TM and show that this density of fixed charge is sufficient to affect mechanical properties and to generate electrokinetic motions. In particular, alternating currents applied to the middle and marginal zones of isolated TM segments evoke motions at audio frequencies (1–1,000 Hz). Electrically evoked motions are nanometer scaled (~5–900 nm), decrease with increasing stimulus frequency, and scale linearly over a broad range of electric field amplitudes (0.05–20 kV/m). These findings show that the mammalian TM is highly charged and suggest the importance of a unique TM electrokinetic mechanism.
MIT Department
Whitaker College of Health Sciences and Technology
Harvard University--MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Research Laboratory of Electronics
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Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1214744110
