Fast Nonlinear Currents in Outer Hair Cells from the Basal Turn of the Cochlea
Abstract
Outer hair cells are mechanoreceptor cells in the mammalian ear that generate force in their cell bodies based on piezoelectricity. These cells are regarded as the key feedback element in the cochlear amplifier that gives the ear the exquisite sensitivity. Since the somatic motility in outer hair cells is driven by the receptor potential, the attenuation of the receptor potential by the membrane capacitance reduces the effectiveness of the somatic motility. This problem is known as the "RC time constant" problem. We report here that outer hair cells from the basal turn of the cochlea have fast outward-rectifying currents that can reduce the attenuation of the receptor potential. Further studies on detailed kinetic properties of these currents could resolve the "RC time constant" problem, possibly establishing the significance of the somatic motility in the cochlear amplifier.
- Publication:
-
Biophysics of the Cochlea. From Molecules to Models
- Pub Date:
- February 2003
- DOI:
- 10.1142/9789812704931_0020
- Bibcode:
- 2003bcmm.conf..161D