Intracellular and extracellular responses in the organ of Corti of the gerbil

Techniques have been developed for recording from and staining cells in the organ of Corti of the Mongolian gerbil. Using physiological criteria as in the guinea pig, the cells were classified as either supporting cells or inner hair cells (IHCs). In addition, several IHCs were stained using HRP and identified in surface preparations. Extracellular responses in the vicinity of IHCs were tuned as sharply as auditory-nerve fibers. Intracellular tuning curves of IHCs were equally sharp near their tips. However, the tip-to-tail distances and sensitivities appeared to be somewhat reduced, presumably due to trauma caused by the recording electrode. Intensity functions, relating receptor depolarization to stimulus intensity level, were obtained for the IHCs. The functions have a consistent quantitative form for frequencies equal to or less than the characteristic frequency of a cell. At low stimulus levels the response increases in proportion to energy, i.e. the square of the sound pressure level. At high levels the response increases more slowly, but shows a greater operating range, and smaller effects of saturation, than do the steady-state responses of single auditory-nerve fibers.