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Updated: May 22, 2026

Physiological Preparation of Hair Cells from the Sacculus of the American Bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana)
Published on: March 17, 2017
A mean-field approach to elastically coupled hair bundles
K Dierkes1, F Jülicher, B Lindner
1Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Nöthnitzer Str. 38, 01187 Dresden, Germany.
Abstract:
We study the dynamics of oscillatory hair bundles which are coupled elastically in their deflection variable and are subject to noise. We present a stochastic description capturing the dynamics of the hair bundles' mean field. In particular, the presented derivation elucidates the origin of the previously described noise reduction by coupling. By comparison of simulations of the approximate dynamics and the full system, we verify our results. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the specific type of coupling considered implies coupling-induced changes in the dynamics beyond mere noise reduction.
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