Abstract
The detection threshold of a sensory system depends on three factors: the coupling of the external stimulus such as sound pressure or acceleration to the input of the sensory cell, the transduction efficiency of the sensory cell, the transmission characteristics of the signal to the brain, and the noise associated with each stage. In this paper we describe experiments performed to elucidate the performance of sensory hair cells which are the site of mechano-electrical transduction in the inner ear of vertebrates. Mechanical deflection of the hair bundle protruding from these cells modulates the transmembrane resistance and consequently the transmembrane current and the intracellular potential. The magnitude of hair-bundle deflection necessary to obtain a significant receptor potential is determined by the size of the mechano-electrical transduction coefficient and by the amount of intracellular voltage noise.
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© 1989 Plenum Press, New York
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Denk, W., Webb, W.W. (1989). Simultaneous Recording of Fluctuations of Hair-Bundle Deflection and Intracellular Voltage in Saccular Hair Cells. In: Wilson, J.P., Kemp, D.T. (eds) Cochlear Mechanisms: Structure, Function, and Models. NATO ASI Series. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-5640-0_16
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-5640-0_16
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-5642-4
Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-5640-0
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