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Dissection of Adult Mouse Utricle and Adenovirus-mediated Supporting-cell Infection
Published on: March 28, 2012
Stimulus processing by type II hair cells in the mouse utricle
J R Holt1, M A Vollrath, R A Eatock
1Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, USA.
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
|June 18, 1999
Summary
Mechanoelectrical transduction in mouse utricle hair cells is modulated by adaptation and potassium conductance (gDR). These processes contribute to high-pass filtering and may reduce nonlinear distortion in vestibular afferent responses.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Auditory and Vestibular Systems
- Cellular Physiology
Background:
- Hair cells in the mouse utricle (type II and neonatal) generate receptor potentials in response to hair bundle deflections.
- These responses are influenced by adaptation of mechanoelectrical transduction and potassium conductances.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of adaptation and potassium conductance (gDR) in shaping hair cell receptor potentials.
- To understand how these processes contribute to high-pass filtering and reduce nonlinear distortion in vestibular afferent responses.
- To explore regional variations in hair cell properties within the utricle.
Main Methods:
- Electrophysiological recordings from mouse utricular hair cells.
- Sinusoidal hair bundle deflections to evoke receptor potentials.
- Analysis of mechanoelectrical transduction currents and potassium conductances (gDR).
Main Results:
- Adaptation and gDR attenuate receptor potentials evoked by low-frequency stimuli.
- gDR preferentially attenuates depolarizing potentials, potentially reducing nonlinear distortion.
- Regional differences in gDR properties (slower and larger in striola) suggest zone-specific filtering.
Conclusions:
- Adaptation and gDR play crucial roles in the high-pass filtering of vestibular signals.
- These mechanisms contribute to the fidelity of vestibular afferent responses to linear acceleration.
- Regional variations in hair cell ion channel expression likely underlie zone-specific afferent discharge properties.
Related Concept Videos
01:22Hair Cells
Hair cells are the sensory receptors of the auditory system—they transduce mechanical sound waves into electrical energy that the nervous system can understand. Hair cells are located in the organ of Corti within the cochlea of the inner ear, between the basilar and tectorial membranes. The actual sensory receptors are called inner hair cells. The outer hair cells serve other functions, such as sound amplification in the cochlea, and are not discussed in detail here.
01:13The Cochlea
The cochlea is a coiled structure in the inner ear that contains hair cells—the sensory receptors of the auditory system. Sound waves are transmitted to the cochlea by small bones attached to the eardrum called the ossicles, which vibrate the oval window that leads to the inner ear. This causes fluid in the chambers of the cochlea to move, vibrating the basilar membrane.
01:15Auditory Pathway
Auditory pathways constitute the complex neural circuits responsible for transmitting and interpreting auditory information from the peripheral auditory system to the brain. Sound waves are initially captured by the outer ear, funneled through the ear canal, and reach the tympanic membrane (eardrum). These vibrations are transmitted via the middle ear's ossicles to the inner ear's cochlea.
When viewed cross-sectionally, the cochlea reveals the scala vestibuli and scala tympani flanking the...
When viewed cross-sectionally, the cochlea reveals the scala vestibuli and scala tympani flanking the...