Surface Green's Functions for an Incompressible, Transversely Isotropic Elastic Half-Space

BackgroundThe tectorial membrane (TM) in the mammalian cochlea displays anisotropy, where mechanical or structural properties differ along varying directions. The anisotropy arises from the presence of collagen fibrils organized in fibers of ∼1 µm diameter that run radially across the TM. Mechanical coupling between the TM and the sensory epithelia is required for normal hearing. However, the lack of a suitable technique to measure mechanical anisotropy at the microscale level has hindered understanding of the TM's precise role.Methodology/Principal FindingsHere we report values of the three elastic moduli that characterize the anisotropic mechanical properties of the TM. Our novel technique combined Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), modeling, and optical tracking of microspheres to determine the elastic moduli. We found that the TM's large mechanical anisotropy results in a marked transmission of deformations along the direction that maximizes sensory cell excitation, whereas in the perpendicular direction the transmission is greatly reduced.Conclusions/SignificanceComputational results, based on our values of elastic moduli, suggest that the TM facilitates the directional cooperativity of sensory cells in the cochlea, and that mechanical properties of the TM are tuned to guarantee that the magnitude of sound-induced tip-link stretching remains similar along the length of the cochlea. Furthermore, we anticipate our assay to be a starting point for other studies of biological tissues that require directional functionality.

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Surface Green's Functions for an Incompressible, Transversely Isotropic Elastic Half-Space

Cited by 3 publications

References 14 publications

Lift forces on three-dimensional elastic and viscoelastic lubricated contacts

Lift forces on three-dimensional elastic and viscoelastic lubricated contacts

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Collagen-Based Mechanical Anisotropy of the Tectorial Membrane: Implications for Inter-Row Coupling of Outer Hair Cell Bundles

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