[Cochlea-amp.] cochlea models

[Richard F. Lyon]

At 11:09 PM -0500 1/1/08, Fred Herzfeld wrote:
>... Now some models tell us that the number of inner hair cells that
>have an output determine the amplitude of the signal.

Fred, I don't know of any models of that sort.  Inner hair cells are 
completely analog continuous devices, which release neurotransmitter 
in a time pattern matching their stimulation.  This transmitter 
release is picked up by the 30 or so synapsing primary auditory 
neurons per IHC, and so they fire, somewhat randomly, but with good 
temporal locking that encodes the details of the time-domain 
stimulus, not just an amplitude.

Dick