Tuning of synapse number, structure and function in the cochlea

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 25, 2026

Morphological and Functional Evaluation of Ribbon Synapses at Specific Frequency Regions of the Mouse Cochlea
09:54

Morphological and Functional Evaluation of Ribbon Synapses at Specific Frequency Regions of the Mouse Cochlea

Published on: May 10, 2019

Alexander C Meyer1, Thomas Frank, Darina Khimich

  • 1InnerEarLab, Department of Otolaryngology and Center for Molecular Physiology of the Brain, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.

Nature Neuroscience
|March 10, 2009
PubMed

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The 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.
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Hair 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.
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Auditory 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.
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Auditory sensation, commonly called hearing, involves the transformation of sonic waves into neural impulses facilitated by the structures of the auditory organ. The prominent, flesh-like structure on the side of the head, called the auricle, directs sound waves towards the auditory canal. The auricle is often mislabeled as the pinna, a term more aligned with mobile structures like a feline's external ear. The auditory canal penetrates the cranium via the external auditory meatus of the...
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When we hear a sound, our nervous system is detecting sound waves—pressure waves of mechanical energy traveling through a medium. The frequency of the wave is perceived as pitch, while the amplitude is perceived as loudness.
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The human brain perceives pitch through two primary mechanisms reflected in place theory and frequency theory. Each mechanism describes how sound waves are interpreted as specific pitches by the brain, offering insights into the intricate processes of auditory perception.
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