title: Control of a hair bundle's mechanosensory function by its mechanical load.
abstract: 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 lateral-line systems. We show that a hair cell's function can be controlled experimentally by adjusting its mechanical load. By making bundles from a single organ operate as any of four distinct types of signal detector, we demonstrate that altering only a few key parameters can fundamentally change a sensory cell's role. The motions of a single hair bundle can resemble those of a bundle from the amphibian vestibular system, the reptilian auditory system, or the mammalian auditory system, demonstrating an essential similarity of bundles across species and receptor organs.
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Laboratory of Sensory Neuroscience, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065.
authors.forename: Joshua D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Salvi
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Laboratory of Sensory Neuroscience, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065.
authors.forename: Dáibhid
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ó Maoiléidigh
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Laboratory of Sensory Neuroscience, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065.
authors.forename: Brian A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Fabella
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Laboratory of Sensory Neuroscience, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065.
authors.forename: Mélanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tobin
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Laboratory of Sensory Neuroscience, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065 hudspaj@rockefeller.edu.
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Hudspeth
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006198:Hair Cells, Auditory / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D008322:Mammals; D008465:Mechanoreceptors / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D040542:Mechanotransduction, Cellular / Q000502:physiology*; D011892:Rana catesbeiana; D012104:Reptiles; D013045:Species Specificity
keywords: Hopf bifurcation; auditory system; dynamical system; hair cell; vestibular system