What is auditory transduction?
In auditory transduction, auditory refers to hearing, and transduction is the process by which the ear converts sound waves into electric impulses and sends them to the brain so we can interpret them as sound. Now, the outer, middle and inner ear are functionally connected to one another, which is crucial for hearing.
What is the function of the auditory hair cell?
Hair cells are the sensory receptors of both the auditory system and the vestibular system in the ears of all vertebrates, and in the lateral line organ of fishes. Through mechanotransduction, hair cells detect movement in their environment.
How does transduction occur in the auditory system?
In the auditory system, sound vibrations (mechanical energy) are transduced into electrical energy by hair cells in the inner ear. The movement of the eardrum causes the bones of the middle ear (the ossicles) to vibrate. These vibrations then pass into the cochlea, the organ of hearing.
How do hair cells stimulate the auditory nerve?
The hair cells located in the organ of Corti transduce mechanical sound vibrations into nerve impulses. They are stimulated when the basilar membrane, on which the organ of Corti rests, vibrates.
Where does auditory transduction occur?
Inner Ear
The Inner Ear (Cochlea) is where transduction takes place.
Which hair cells are responsible for sound transduction?
The inner hair cells are the primary auditory receptors and exist in a single row, numbering approximately 3,500. The stereocilia from inner hair cells extend into small dimples on the tectorial membrane’s lower surface. The outer hair cells are arranged in three or four rows.
What is the transduction process?
Transduction is the process by which a virus transfers genetic material from one bacterium to another. Later, when one of these bacteriophages infects a new host cell, this piece of bacterial DNA may be incorporated into the genome of the new host.
What system is the auditory hair cell?
Cochlear hair cells are the sensory cells of the auditory system. These cells possess stereocilia connected to the tectorial membrane. During auditory stimulation, sound waves in the cochlea cause deflection of the hair cell stereocilia, which creates an electrical signal in the hair cell.
Where are hair cells located in the auditory system?
Hair cells are the sensory receptors of both the auditory system and the vestibular system in the ears of all vertebrates, and in the lateral line organ of fishes. Through mechanotransduction, hair cells detect movement in their environment.
Why are hair cells important to the vestibular system?
Hair cells are the sensory receptors of both the auditory system and the vestibular system in the ears of all vertebrates. Through mechanotransduction, hair cells detect movement in their environment. The outer hair cells mechanically amplify low-level sound that enters the cochlea.
What happens to hearing when there are no hair cells?
While hearing sensitivity of mammals is similar to that of other classes of vertebrates, without functioning outer hair cells, the sensitivity decreases by approximately 50 dB [citation needed]. Outer hair cells extend the hearing range to about 200 kHz in some marine mammals.
How is sound transduced to the auditory nerve?
On the other hand, for a loud sound, the basilar membrane moves brusquely, forcing all the stereocilia up again the tectorial membrane and so opening all the potassium pores. This produces a cascade of action potentials. This is how the intensity of a sound can be transduced to the auditory nerve.