Biomedical subjects

R J Diependaal

Publications and source records attributed to R J Diependaal.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1989

Nonlinear and active two-dimensional cochlear models: time-domain solution.

A numerical solution method for two-dimensional (2-D) cochlear models in the time domain is presented. The method has particularly been designed for models with a cochlear partition having nonlinear and active mechanical properties. The 2-D cochlear model equations are reformulated as an integral equation for the acceleration of the basilar membrane (BM). This integral equation is discretized with respect to the spatial variable to yield a system of ordinary differential equations in the time variable. To solve this system, the variable step-size, fourth-order Runge-Kutta method described in Diependaal et al. [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 82, 1655-1666 (1987)] is used. This method is robust and computationally efficient. The incorporation of a simple middle-ear model can be handled by this method. The method can also be extended to models in which the cochlear partition at each point along its length is represented by more than one degree of freedom.

Basilar Membrane↗

PubMed1989

Realistic mechanical tuning in a micromechanical cochlear model.

Two assumptions were made in the formulation of a recent cochlear model [P.J. Kolston, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 83, 1481-1487 (1988)]: (1) The basilar membrane has two radial modes of vibration, corresponding to division into its arcuate and pectinate zones; and (2) the impedance of the outer hair cells (OHCs) greatly modifies the mechanics of the arcuate zone. Both of these assumptions are strongly supported by cochlear anatomy. This paper presents a revised version of the outer hair cell, arcuate-pectinate (OHCAP) model, which is an improvement over the original model in two important ways: First, a model for the OHCs is included so that the OHC impedance is no longer prescribed functionally; and, second, the presence of the OHCs enhances the basilar membrane motion, so that the model is now consistent with observed response changes resulting from trauma. The OHCAP model utilizes the unusual spatial arrangement of the OHCs, the Deiters cells, their phalangeal processes, and the pillars of Corti. The OHCs do not add energy to the cochlear partition and hence the OHCAP model is passive. In spite of the absence of active processes, the model exhibits mechanical tuning very similar to those measured by Sellick et al. [Hear. Res. 10, 93-100 (1983)] in the guinea pig cochlea and by Robles et al. [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 80, 1364-1374 (1986)] in the chinchilla cochlea. Therefore, it appears that mechanical response tuning and response changes resulting from trauma should not be used as justifications for the hypothesis of active processes in the real cochlea.

Animals↗

PubMed1987

Numerical methods for solving one-dimensional cochlear models in the time domain.

In this article, a robust numerical solution method for one-dimensional (1-D) cochlear models in the time domain is presented. The method has been designed particularly for models with a cochlear partition having nonlinear and active mechanical properties. The model equations are discretized with respect to the spatial variable by means of the principle of Galerkin to yield a system of ordinary differential equations in the time variable. To solve this system, several numerical integration methods concerning stability and computational performance are compared. The selected algorithm is based on a variable step size fourth-order Runge-Kutta scheme; it is shown to be both more stable and much more efficient than previously published numerical solution techniques.

Cochlea↗

PubMed1987

Cochlear power flux as an indicator of mechanical activity.

The question of whether one can conclude just from basilar membrane (BM) vibration data that the cochlea is an active mechanical system is addressed. To this end, a method is developed which computes the power flux through a channel cross section of a short-wave cochlear model from a given BM vibration pattern. The power flux is an important indicator of mechanical activity because a rise in this function corresponds to creation of mechanical energy. The power flux method is applied to BM velocity patterns as measured by Johnstone and Yates [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 55, 584-587 (1974)] and by Sellick et al. [Hear. Res. 10, 101-108 (1983)] in the guinea pig and by Robles et al. [Peripheral Auditory Mechanisms, edited by J.B. Allen, J.L. Hall, A.E. Hubbard, S.T. Neely, and A. Tubis (Springer, New York, 1986a), pp. 121-128, and J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 80, 1364-1374 (1986b)] in the chinchilla. Before the calculations are performed, the BM data are interpolated and smoothed in order to avoid numerical errors as a result of too few and noisy data points. The choice of the smoothing method influences the computed power flux function considerably. Nevertheless, the calculations appear to make a clear distinction between the "old" data, showing broad BM tuning (Johnstone and Yates, 1974), and the "new" data, in which the response is much more peaked (Sellick et al., 1983; Robles et al., 1986a, b). The former do not give rise to a significant increase of the power flux; the latter do, although less convincingly for the Sellick et al. (1983) data than for the Robles et al. (1986a,b) data. It is thus concluded that the recently obtained, sharply tuned BM responses reflect the presence of mechanical activity in the cochlea.

Basilar Membrane↗

PubMed1986

Quantitative validation of cochlear models using the Liouville-Green approximation.

This article is devoted to the question of whether linear and passive models of the cochlea can mimic the recently observed sharply tuned data of basilar membrane vibration. The model equations are solved by means of an asymptotic approach, the Liouville-Green approximation, which is adequate for quantitative comparisons with experimental data. The conclusions are: (i) the older, mildly tuned basilar membrane responses can be matched very well by means of linear, passive models; (ii) the newer, sharply tuned data cannot be matched satisfactorily by linear, passive modelling. Hence, this study supports the view that the cochlea must contain an active mechanical filter which manifests itself at the level of BM vibration.

Basilar Membrane↗

PubMed1986

Are active elements necessary in the basilar membrane impedance?

This article is motivated by the current hypothesis [Kim et al., Psychological, Physiological and Behavioural Studies in Hearing (Delft U. P., The Netherlands, 1980); Neely, Doctoral dissertation, Washington University, St. Louis, MO (1981); de Boer, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 73, 567-573 (1983a) and 73, 574-576 (1983b)] that it is necessary to include active elements in the basilar membrane (BM) impedance in order to explain recent data on the vibration of the BM [Khanna and Leonard, Science 215, 305-306 (1982); Sellick et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 72, 131-141 (1982); Robles et al., Peripheral Auditory Mechanisms (Springer, New York, 1986)]. In order to test this hypothesis, first, a method which is an inversion of the customary description of cochlear mechanics is described. Instead of computing the BM velocity for a given point impedance of the membrane, we show how to compute the impedance function from a given BM velocity pattern in response to a sinusoidal input at the stapes. This method is then used to study the sensitivity of the recovered impedance to perturbations in the velocity pattern. The simulations used show that the real part of the impedance is extremely sensitive to such perturbations. Therefore, measured velocity patterns are unlikely to resolve the issue of whether active elements should be included. Frequency responses measured at a few points on the membrane are even less likely to do so.

Basilar Membrane↗

PubMed1983

Point-impedance characterization of the basilar membrane in a three-dimensional cochlea model.

In this paper we derive which impedance definition appropriately represents the basilar membrane in a simple three-dimensional model (de Boer's 'block model') of the cochlea. The starting point of our considerations is a system of parallel visco-elastic beams as characterization of the basilar membrane. It is possible to transform this representation into an impedance concept by observing that the membrane velocity is to a very good approximation distributed over the width as a centred half cosine function, independent of the pressure distribution. The ensuing impedance definition is more accurate than the one proposed by de Boer (Hearing Res. 4, 53-77, 1981). The improvement to the model solutions is moderate, however, as appears from numerical calculations of the basilar membrane velocity.

Animals↗