Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 13, 2026

Selective Tracing of Auditory Fibers in the Avian Embryonic Vestibulocochlear Nerve
Published on: March 18, 2013
Phylogenetic development of the cochlea and its innervation
1Institut für Zoologie, Technische Universität München, Garching, Germany. gam@cip1.zoo.chemie.tu-muenchen.de
Abstract:
Comparative studies of vertebrate hearing organs have enabled an integrated approach to difficult questions related to function. Recent evidence for the independent evolution of similar hearing-organ specializations, in particular hair-cell differentiation, has helped identify common problems of hearing receptors and put them in a new perspective. Evidence that cochlear amplification is an ancient phenomenon has widened the search for the motor mechanism involved. In this regard, different hypotheses are best examined by making optimal use of natural structural variations. Studies on the evolution of the efferent system have provided new routes to investigate its function.
Related Concept Videos
Hearing
Hair Cells
The Cochlea
Unrenewable Cells
Photoreceptors
The retina is composed of several layers and contains specialized cells called photoreceptors. The photoreceptors (rods and cones) change their membrane potential when stimulated by light energy. There are two types of photoreceptors—rods and cones—which differ in the shape of their outer...
Anatomy of the Ear
Auditory Pathway
When viewed cross-sectionally, the cochlea reveals the scala vestibuli and scala tympani flanking the...

