Feeling force: mechanical transduction by vertebrates and invertebrates.
Detection of mechanical stimuli requires conversion of the signal's inherent information into neuronal electrical signals. Studies of vertebrate hair cells suggest that this is accomplished by elastic links between stereocilia that control the opening of ion channels. Molecular genetics in Caenorhabditis elegans has identified candidate proteins that may be responsible for similar functions in this organism.
Gillespie
P G
PG
Department of Physiology, The Johns Hopkins University, 725 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000502:physiology; D006198:Hair Cells, Auditory / Q000502:physiology; D008465:Mechanoreceptors / Q000502:physiology; D010812:Physical Stimulation; D015398:Signal Transduction