Uniquely among human senses, hearing is not simply a passive response to stimulation.
Our auditory system is instead enhanced by an active process in cochlear hair cells that …

Much is known about the mechanotransducer (MT) channels mediating transduction in hair
cells of the vertrbrate inner ear. With the use of isolated preparations, it is experimentally …

Most sounds of interest consist of complex, time-dependent admixtures of tones of diverse
frequencies and variable amplitudes. To detect and process these signals, the ear employs …

Sound-induced mechanical stimuli are detected by elaborate mechanosensory transduction
(MT) machinery in highly specialized hair cells of the inner ear. Genetic studies of inherited …

In the inner ear, the deflection of hair bundles, the sensory organelles of hair cells, activates
mechanically-gated channels (MGCs). Hair bundles monitor orientation of the head, its …

The semicircular canals are responsible for sensing angular head motion in three-
dimensional space and for providing neural inputs to the central nervous system (CNS) …

Adaptation is a hallmark of hair cell mechanotransduction, extending the sensory hair
bundle dynamic range while providing mechanical filtering of incoming sound. In hair cells …

Our ears are remarkable sensory organs, providing the important senses of balance and
hearing. The complex structure of the inner ear, or 'labyrinth', along with the assorted …

How mechanical forces are sensed remains largely mysterious. The forces that gate
prokaryotic and several eukaryotic channels were found to come from the lipid membrane …

Background Mechanoreceptors contain compliant elements, termed" gating springs," that
transfer macroscopic stimuli impinging on the cells into microscopic stimuli that open the …