Self-Tuning of Hair Cells in the Bullfrog Sacculus

Abstract

Spontaneous oscillations of the stereociliary bundle of a hair cell - the mechanosensory cell in auditory and vestibular systems - is considered to be a signature of an active amplification mechanism. We study whether an internal self-tuning process governs the active motility, by mimicking the effects of loud sound on the spontaneous oscillation. After the application of high-amplitude stimuli, with deflections on the order of micrometers applied to the hair bundle, the active oscillatory motion of the hair bundle was suppressed for hundreds of milliseconds, indicating a change in the dynamic state of the hair cell.