Basilar membrane vibration can be measured in vivo by tracking a bead’s movement

Evidence

To illustrate the characteristics of basilar membrane response, in vivo measurements from Ruggero and Rich (1991) are plotted in Figure 4–1. They placed a small bead on a chinchilla’s basilar membrane and measured the vibration of that bead when the basilar membrane was stimulated with sound. … They measured basilar membrane responses in two important conditions. The first measurement was conducted in a healthy, intact chinchilla cochlea. They then treated the cochlea with furosemide, a reversible ototoxic agent that altered the function of the outer hair cells, and measured the basilar membrane response again. — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 689

Categorization

• SHARE: The bead-on-basilar-membrane technique for in vivo vibration measurement is oddly delightful; worth sharing with anyone into experimental physiology methods.
• XREF: Plausibly connects to earlier psychoacoustics chapters/CD content on cochlear mechanics and outer hair cell amplification.