A wave traveling over a Hopf instability shapes the cochlear tuning curve.

The tuning curve of the cochlea measures how intense an input is required to elicit a given output level as a function of the frequency. It is a fundamental object of auditory theory, for it summarizes how to identify sounds on the basis of the cochlear output. A simple model is presented showing that only two elements are sufficient for establishing the cochlear tuning curve: a broadly tuned traveling wave, moving unidirectionally from high to low frequencies, and a set of mechanosensors poised at the threshold of an oscillatory (Hopf) instability. These two components generate the various frequency-response regimes needed for a cochlear tuning curve with a high slope.