Auditory System: Hair Cells
• Force towards kinocilium opens
channels & K+, Ca2+ enter,
depolarizing cell by 10s of mV.
Force away shuts channels.
• Tip links (em): believed to
connect transduction channels
(cation channels on hairs)
• Cell depolarized / hyperpolarized
– frequency: basilar membrane
– timing: locked to local vibration
– amplitude: loudness
• Neurotransmitter (Glu?) release
• Very fast (responding from 10 Hz
– 100 kHz i.e.10 msec accuracy).