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The ability of the mammalian ear in processing high frequency sounds, up to $\sim$100 kHz, is based on the capability of outer hair cells (OHCs) responding to stimulation at high frequencies. These cells show a unique motility in their cell…
Cochlear outer hair cells (OHCs) have two mechanosensitive elements: the hair bundle with mechanotrasducer channels and the piezoelectric lateral wall of the cell body. The present report examines how these elements interact with each other…
The outer hair cell (OHC) of the organ of Corti underlies a mechanically based process that enhances hearing, termed cochlear amplification. The cell possesses a unique motor protein, prestin, which senses voltage and consequently changes…
Electromotility of outer hair cells (OHCs) has been extensively studied with in vitro experiments because of its physiological significance in the cochlear amplifier, which provides the exquisite sensitivity and frequency selectivity of the…
Outer hair cells in the inner ear is important for the sensitivity, frequency selectivity, and dynamic range of the mammalian ear. Such a physiological role of outer hair cells is thought to be based an amplifying effect of those cells,…
Outer hair cells (OHCs) are essential for the sensitivity and frequency specificity of the mammalian ear. To perform this function, OHCs need to amplify the motion of the basilar membrane (BM), which is much stiffer than themselves. If OHCs…
The hair cells of the vertebrate inner ear convert mechanical stimuli to electrical signals. Two adaptation mechanisms are known to modify the ionic current flowing through the transduction channels of the hair bundles: a rapid process…
The effectiveness of outer hair cells (OHCs) in amplifying the motion of the organ of Corti, and thereby contributing to the sensitivity of mammalian hearing, depends on the mechanical power output of these cells. Electromechanical coupling…
The extraordinary sensitivity of the mammalian inner ear has captivated scientists for decades, largely due to the crucial role played by the outer hair cells (OHCs) and their unique electromotile properties. Typically arranged in three…
We introduce the concept of self-tuned criticality as a general mechanism for signal detection in sensory systems. In the case of hearing, we argue that active amplification of faint sounds is provided by a dynamical system which is…
The sensitivity and frequency selectivity of hearing result from tuned amplification by an active process in the mechanoreceptive hair cells. In most vertebrates the active process stems from the active motility of hair bundles. The…
Prestin (SLC26A5), a protein essential for the sensitivity of the mammalian ear, was so named from \emph{presto}. The assumption was that this membrane protein supports fast movement of outer hair cells (OHCs) that matches the mammalian…
Sensory hair cells in auditory and vestibular organs rely on active mechanisms to achieve high sensitivity and frequency selectivity. Recent experimental studies have documented self-sustained oscillations in hair cells of lower vertebrates…
In response to a sound stimulus, the inner ear emits sounds called otoacoustic emissions. While the exact mechanism for the production of otoacoustic emissions is not known, active motion of individual hair cells is thought to play a role.…
Hair cells, the sensory receptors of the internal ear, subserve different functions in various receptor organs: they detect oscillatory stimuli in the auditory system, but transduce constant and step stimuli in the vestibular and…
Outer hair cell (OHC) nonlinear capacitance (NLC) represents voltage sensor charge movements of prestin (SLC26a5), the protein responsible for OHC electromotility. Previous measures of NLC frequency response have employed methods which did…
Hair cells of the auditory and vestibular systems display astonishing sensitivity, frequency selectivity, and temporal resolution to external signals. These specialized cells utilize an internal active amplifier to achieve highly sensitive…
Frequency discrimination is a fundamental task of the auditory system. The mammalian inner ear, or cochlea, provides a place code in which different frequencies are detected at different spatial locations. However, a temporal code based on…
Hair cells of the auditory and vestibular systems are capable of detecting sounds that induce sub-nanometer vibrations of the hair bundle, below the stochastic noise levels of the surrounding fluid. Hair bundles of certain species are also…
Sound produces surface waves along the cochlea's basilar membrane. To achieve the ear's astonishing frequency resolution and sensitivity to faint sounds, dissipation in the cochlea must be canceled via active processes in hair cells,…