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Project

Advanced computer modelling of the middle ear and the interaural connection in lizards for a better understanding of non-mammalian hearing.

To efficiently transfer sound from air to the fluid of the inner ear, most species make use of ossicles coupled to an eardrum. Mammals have three ossicles while birds and reptiles only have one ossicle connecting the eardrum directly to the inner ear. Surprisingly they localise and hear sounds as well as similar-sized mammals. An important difference is that roughly half of the terrestrial vertebrates also have an internal connection between both ears. In large animals and in humans, sounds have different travel times and intensities when reaching the ears, and these phase and intensity differences are used to localize sound sources. In small animals such as lizards, the head is too small to deliver significant differences between sounds reaching each ear. I will build on the work of my master thesis to develop accurate computer models for the three main anatomically different lizard-hearing mechanisms. My work will provide the first truly realistic model of the lizard hearing apparatus and it will give an anatomy-based correct model of internally coupled hearing for a broad class of species. To realize this goal, new techniques to determine the material properties of these microstructures will be developed, advanced synchrotron X-ray imaging will be used, and I will push the boundaries of finite-element modelling in highly complicated anatomical structures. My work will reveal the functioning of the lizard ear and the role of the internal connection.
Date:1 Oct 2018 →  30 Sep 2020
Keywords:COMPUTER MODELING
Disciplines:Biophysics