Outer Hair Cells: Sharpness of Tuning

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Abstract
According to previous measurements, cochlear inner hair cells are more sharply tuned than the basilar membrane and as sharply as the cochlear-nerve fibers. Some measurements, including measurements of cochlear microphonics, have been interpreted as evidence that the outer hair cells are tuned more broadly. Straightforward calculations based on the approximately known tuning of the basilar membrane and the known electrical space constant of the [Mongolian gerbil] cochlea reveal that outer hair cells must be approximately as sharply tuned as the inner hair cells to produce the known frequency distribution of cochlear microphonics.