Many are interested in the organ of Corti and its functions. Every person should have at least a concise idea of it. The peripheral part of the auditory apparatus is called the corti's organ. She is in the webbed labyrinth. During evolution, this part of the auditory analyzer developed on the basis of the lateral line organs (namely, their structures).
She picks up the vibration of the waves located in the labyrinth of the
inner ear, and then sends them to the auditory portion of the cortex of the cerebral hemispheres, resulting in the perception of sounds. The organ of Corti has an important function. It is in it that the initial formation of the analysis of all kinds of
sound signals is carried out
. This organ was first discovered by Alfonso Corti, an Italian histologist.
Where is the organ of Corti?
It is located in the cochlear passage, in which there is a perilymph, as well as an endolymph, and is a bone labyrinth that looks like a spiral. The upper part of the course is adjacent to the so-called vestibular staircase. It is called a racer membrane. And the lower part, located near the tympanic staircase, consists of the main membrane that is in contact with the bone spiral plate.
Purpose and structure
The organ of Corti is located on the main membrane, it is formed by the external as well as internal hair and supporting cells. An example is the pole. Also included are Hensen, Claudius, and Deiters cells. The organ of Corti also consists of them. Between them there is a tunnel along which axons located in the nerve spiral node pass. They rush to the hair cells that respond to sound signals . The latter, in turn, lie in the recesses created by the bodies of the supporting cells. On their surface, turned to the integumentary membrane, from 30 to 60 short hairs are located. Supporting cells also carry out trophic function. How exactly? They send nutrients to the hair cells. The role of the Corti's organ is the transformation of the energy of sound vibrations into nervous excitement. For this, in fact, he is needed. This is what the organ of Corti performs. Histology allows you to get acquainted with its structure.
Physiology
The eardrum captures sound vibrations that, through the bones located in the middle ear, enter the fluid - the endolymph, as well as the perilymph. Their movements contribute to the fact that the integumentary membrane of the Corti's organ is slightly removed from the hair cells. What happens as a result? First, the hair bends.
Then biopotentials appear, which are perceived by the spiral ganglion (or, more precisely, by the processes of its neurons). They approach the bottom of all hair cells. The structure of the Corti organ is of great interest to many researchers.
Another theory
There is also another opinion on this subject. According to him, the hairs of cells that pick up sound signals are just sensitive antennas that are depolarized as a result of exposure to incoming waves. A significant role here is played by endolymphatic acetylcholine. Depolarization triggers a sequence of chemical transformations in the hair cells, namely in their cytoplasm. After that, a nerve impulse appears in the nerve endings in contact with them. Sound vibrations have different heights. For each of them, a separate part of the Corti's organ is intended. High frequencies provoke vibration in sections of the cochlea located closer to the base, and low frequencies at the top. This is due to hydrodynamic phenomena in the cochlea. The organ of Corti, whose functions are now known to you, plays a significant role in this whole process.
It turns out that the cochlea can be considered a mechanical determinant of the amplitude-frequency characteristic: it resembles it by its action. But it’s not very similar to a microphone.
Why is this process so important?
Thanks to the above features, the brain can immediately respond to certain sound signals, and not carry out the Fourier transform, resorting to the help of mathematics (by the way, it lacks the computational capabilities) to sort the captured information by sources. That would be too complicated. It’s easier to understand what a Corti organ is than to imagine such a process.
How to get the necessary information?
To learn more about the angular direction of the signal source, you need to pay attention to the polarization of sound harmonics. This is an important condition. It turns out that the ear allows you to take hold of the polarization information. You can also learn about the amplitude of all harmonics of audio signals. In the case of low frequencies, the brain and ear, among other things, receive information regarding the phase of harmonics, which means that the direction of vibration can be traced. What do I need to do? Just calculate the phase difference of the sound from the left as well as the right ear. Easy enough, isn't it? Although, of course, it’s easier to understand what the organ of Corti is.
The feature of additional compression of audio information can significantly reduce the time to analyze the information that was received. The snail is twisted, and due to this it becomes possible to take the spectrum, while combining the octaves.
Now you know what the organ of Corti is and what structure it has. You are also aware of the functions performed by him. All this is very important and useful to know.