Basilar membrane stiffness measurements were made in the base of the gerbil cochlea.
Basilar membrane stiffness was determined by contacting the basilar membrane with a
stainless steel needle (tip diameter 25 μm) attached to a force transducer, putting the
needle/transducer structure through a low-frequency sinusoidal excursion with amplitude 5
or 25 nm, and measuring the restoring force exerted on the needle by the basilar membrane
at the applied frequency. Stiffness was calculated as the amplitude of the restoring force …