Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 7, 2026

Dissection of Adult Mouse Stria Vascularis for Single-Nucleus Sequencing or Immunostaining
Published on: April 21, 2023
What's new in ion transports in the cochlea?
Vincent Couloigner1, Olivier Sterkers, Evelyne Ferrary
1Inserm EMI U-0112, Faculté Xavier Bichat, 16, rue Henri Huchard, Paris 75018, France. vincent.couloigner@nck.aphp.fr
Abstract:
Recent advances in the field of the physiology of inner ear fluids permitted the characterization of the molecular mechanisms involved in critical processes such as the absorption of K(+) through cochlear sensory hair cells (mechanoelectrical transduction) or the secretion of K(+) by marginal cells of the stria vascularis. In addition, new pathways for ion circulations were evidenced. Mutations of transporters involved in some of these pathways, especially in K(+) recycling through gap junction systems, and in local pH regulation, are among the most frequent etiologies of genetic deafness in humans.
Related Concept Videos
Hair Cells
The Cochlea
Ion Channels
Ion channels are specialized integral membrane proteins on the plasma membrane that allow specific...
Auditory Pathway
When viewed cross-sectionally, the cochlea reveals the scala vestibuli and scala tympani flanking the...
Facilitated Transport
The Role of Ion Channels in Neuronal Computation
Sometimes a single EPSP is strong enough to induce an action potential in the postsynaptic neuron. However, multiple presynaptic inputs must often create EPSPs around the same time for the postsynaptic neuron to be sufficiently depolarized to fire an action potential.

