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Fish inner ear otoliths stop calcium incorporation after vestibular nerve transection
R H Anken1, E Edelmann, H Rahmann
1Zoological Institute, University of Stuttgart-Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany.
Neuroreport
|September 28, 2000
Abstract:
Previous investigations revealed that the growth of fish inner ear otoliths (otolith size and calcium incorporation) depends on the amplitude and the direction of gravity, suggesting the existence of a (negative) feedback mechanism. In a search for the regulating unit, the vestibular nerve was unilaterally transected in neonatal swordtail fish (Xiphophorus helleri) which were subsequently incubated in the calcium-tracer alizarin-complexone. Calcium incorporation and thus otolith growth ceased on the operated head sides, indicating that the brain is significantly involved in regulating otolith growth.