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Outer hair cells extend the hearing range to about 200 kHz in some marine mammals. [16] They have also improved frequency selectivity (frequency discrimination), which is of particular benefit for humans, because it enabled sophisticated speech and music. Outer hair cells are functional even after cellular stores of ATP are depleted. [13]
In hearing, stereocilia transform the mechanical energy of sound waves into electrical signals for the hair cells, which ultimately leads to an excitation of the auditory nerve. Stereocilia are composed of cytoplasm with embedded bundles of cross-linked actin filaments.
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.
The hair cells have a hair bundle at the apical surface of the cell. The hair bundle consists of an array of actin-based stereocilia. Each stereocilium inserts as a rootlet into a dense filamentous actin mesh known as the cuticular plate. Disruption of these bundles results in hearing impairments and balance defects. Inner and outer pillar ...
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 ...
The macula of utricle (macula acustica utriculi) is a small (2 by 3 mm) thickening lying horizontally on the floor of the utricle where the epithelium contains vestibular hair cells that allow a person to perceive changes in latitudinal acceleration as well as the effects of gravity; it receives the utricular filaments of the acoustic nerve.
A number of ototoxic medications can damage your ear structures by disrupting the delicate chemical balance of your inner ear or killing hair cells responsible for hearing, says Palmer.
For one, the tall hair cell is very similar in function to that of the inner hair cell, and the short hair cell, lacking afferent auditory-nerve fiber innervation, resembles the outer hair cell. One unavoidable difference, however, is that while all hair cells are attached to a tectorial membrane in birds, only the outer hair cells are attached ...