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In mammalian outer hair cells, the varying receptor potential is converted to active vibrations of the cell body. This mechanical response to electrical signals is termed somatic electromotility; [13] it drives variations in the cell's length, synchronized to the incoming sound signal, and provides mechanical amplification by feedback to the traveling wave.
The auditory hair cells in the cochlea are at the core of the auditory system's special functionality (similar hair cells are located in the semicircular canals). Their primary function is mechanotransduction , or conversion between mechanical and neural signals.
The cochlear amplifier is a positive feedback mechanism within the cochlea that provides acute sensitivity in the mammalian auditory system. [1] The main component of the cochlear amplifier is the outer hair cell (OHC) which increases the amplitude and frequency selectivity of sound vibrations using electromechanical feedback.
There are two types of hair cells specific to the auditory system; inner and outer hair cells. Inner hair cells are the mechanoreceptors for hearing: they transduce the vibration of sound into electrical activity in nerve fibers, which is transmitted to the brain. Outer hair cells are a motor structure. Sound energy causes changes in the shape ...
The number of hair cells that are stimulated is thought to communicate loudness in low pitch frequencies. [5] Aside from pitch and loudness, another quality that distinguishes sound stimuli is timbre. Timbre allows us to hear the difference between two instruments that are playing at the same frequency and loudness, for example.
In the semicircular canals, the hair cells are found in the crista ampullaris, and the stereocilia protrude into the ampullary cupula. Here, the stereocilia are all oriented in the same direction. In the otoliths, the hair cells are topped by small, calcium carbonate crystals called otoconia. Unlike the semicircular ducts, the kinocilia of hair ...
Tiny cells in the inner ear, called hair cells, are responsible for hearing and balance. States of neuropathic pain, such as hyperalgesia and allodynia, are also directly related to mechanosensation. A wide array of elements are involved in the process of mechanosensation, many of which are still not fully understood.
The organ of Corti is located in the scala media of the cochlea of the inner ear between the vestibular duct and the tympanic duct and is composed of mechanosensory cells, known as hair cells. [2] Strategically positioned on the basilar membrane of the organ of Corti are three rows of outer hair cells (OHCs) and one row of inner hair cells ...