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  • Title: Coherent motion of stereocilia assures the concerted gating of hair-cell transduction channels.
    Author: Kozlov AS, Risler T, Hudspeth AJ.
    Journal: Nat Neurosci; 2007 Jan; 10(1):87-92. PubMed ID: 17173047.
    Abstract:
    The hair cell's mechanoreceptive organelle, the hair bundle, is highly sensitive because its transduction channels open over a very narrow range of displacements. The synchronous gating of transduction channels also underlies the active hair-bundle motility that amplifies and tunes responsiveness. The extent to which the gating of independent transduction channels is coordinated depends on how tightly individual stereocilia are constrained to move as a unit. Using dual-beam interferometry in the bullfrog's sacculus, we found that thermal movements of stereocilia located as far apart as a hair bundle's opposite edges showed high coherence and negligible phase lag. Because the mechanical degrees of freedom of stereocilia are strongly constrained, a force applied anywhere in the hair bundle deflects the structure as a unit. This feature assures the concerted gating of transduction channels that maximizes the sensitivity of mechanoelectrical transduction and enhances the hair bundle's capacity to amplify its inputs.
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