Outer hair cells encode displacement and therefore stay responsive at low frequencies.

Evidence

IHCs are therefore sensitive to basilar-membrane velocity, which decreases with decreasing frequency. OHCs, in contrast, are mechanically linked to both the basilar membrane and the tectorial membrane. OHCs are therefore sensitive to basilar membrane displacement (Dallos et al. 1982 ; Dallos 1986 ), which does not decrease with decreasing stimulus frequency. Thus, OHCs are more sensitive to LF sound than IHCs and it is this difference in LF sensitivity, which contributes to the LF limit of sound perception (Salt and Hullar 2010 ; Salt et al. 2013 ). — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 3703

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clearest statement of why OHC (displacement-coupled) vs IHC (velocity-coupled) determines low-frequency limits.