In mammals, the functional demands made on the auditory system require extremely precise and rapid neural processing of acoustic information, and it contains a strikingly high proportion of myelinated axons. (sciencedaily.com)
The key was to specify a new waveform — the basic electrical signal emitted by the chip, which is modulated to encode acoustic information — that is more power - efficient to generate but still stimulates the auditory nerve in the appropriate way. (sciencedaily.com)
Normally when sound enters the ear, acoustic information is relayed from the ear to the brain via nerve cells, called neurons. (scientificamerican.com)