Multiple roles for the tectorial membrane in the active cochlea.

This review is concerned with experimental results that reveal multiple roles for the tectorial membrane in active signal processing in the mammalian cochlea. We discuss the dynamic mechanical properties of the tectorial membrane as a mechanical system with several degrees of freedom and how its different modes of movement can lead to hair-cell excitation. The role of the tectorial membrane in distributing energy along the cochlear partition and how it channels this energy to the inner hair cells is described.