Engineers investigate why the cochlea is coiled
Thursday, June 14, 2012 - 09:02
in Astronomy & Space
(Phys.org) -- The word “cochlea” comes from the Latin for “snail shell.” While this inner ear component has a clear spiral shape, it’s currently unclear why that is. In the 1980s, scientists supposed that the shape evolved solely for space conservation, but in the past few years researchers have questioned this view and proposed that the spiral curvature could have perceptual benefits as well. In a recent study, a team of engineers has added evidence to this view by performing simulations showing that a coiled cochlea can detect the source of a sound in the vertical direction significantly better than a straight cochlea.