The nature of the acoustic response: the relation between stimulus intensity and the magnitude of cochlear responses in the cat.

Abstract

The functional relationship between sound intensity and the magnitude of responses in the cochlea of the cat was studied by presenting stimuli of known intensity and recording the electrical responses at the round window by means of a cathode-ray oscillograph or a tuned vacuum-tube voltmeter. The relationship is a power function from the lowest observable values of response, around 0.1 uv., up to the highest levels, where the curves depart from the power function in such a way as to suggest a serious overloading of the ear. An analysis of the conditions of observation and of variability of the response is made. The quantitative data on cochlear response shows no very striking resemblance to the data on human loudness functions.