Helmholtz identified hair cells as the ear’s frequency-analyzing resonators

Evidence

The anatomical discoveries of Corti intrigued Helmholtz, who, as we will see, was very taken with the idea that we hear by Fourier frequency analysis. This predisposed him to believe that Corti had found the resonators themselves: the hair cells in the organ of Corti were, according to Helmholtz, little sympathetic resonators; when the sound incident upon them contains their resonance frequency, they come to life and send a signal to the brain. — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 1980

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the Fourier-analysis model of hearing — ties auditory perception to the mathematics of decomposing signals into frequency components.