Motion of fluid in the three cochlear ducts, along with the consequent displacement of the BM, results in the displacement of stereocilia connected to hair cells attached to the BM. Most importantly, it is these hair cells which transmit auditory signals to the brain via the auditory nerve. The average neural activity in response to a steady sound as a function of frequency is referred to as an excitation pattern. For a non-steady, or time-varying sound, we can find the excitation pattern as it changes as a function of time. We refer to a plot of this changing excitation pattern as a cochlear excitogram.
