| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Topical Review |
1 InnerEarLab, Department of Otolaryngology, Göttingen University Medical School, Center for Molecular Physiology of the Brain, Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Göttingen, Robert-Koch-Strasse 40, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
Our auditory system is capable of perceiving the azimuthal location of a low frequency sound source with a precision of a few degrees. This requires the auditory system to detect time differences in sound arrival between the two ears down to tens of microseconds. The detection of these interaural time differences relies on network computation by auditory brainstem neurons sharpening the temporal precision of the afferent signals. Nevertheless, the system requires the hair cell synapse to encode sound with the highest possible temporal acuity. In mammals, each auditory nerve fibre receives input from only one inner hair cell (IHC) synapse. Hence, this single synapse determines the temporal precision of the fibre. As if this was not enough of a challenge, the auditory system is also capable of maintaining such high temporal fidelity with acoustic signals that vary greatly in their intensity. Recent research has started to uncover the cellular basis of sound coding. Functional and structural descriptions of synaptic vesicle pools and estimates for the number of Ca2+ channels at the ribbon synapse have been obtained, as have insights into how the receptor potential couples to the release of synaptic vesicles. Here, we review current concepts about the mechanisms that control the timing of transmitter release in inner hair cells of the cochlea.
(Received 6 June 2006;
accepted after revision 7 August 2006;
first published online 10 August 2006)
Corresponding author T. Moser: Department of Otolaryngology, Göttingen University Medical School, Robert-Koch-Strasse 40, 37075 Göttingen, Germany. Email: tmoser{at}gwdg.de
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  S. L. Johnson, A. Forge, M. Knipper, S. Munkner, and W. Marcotti Tonotopic Variation in the Calcium Dependence of Neurotransmitter Release and Vesicle Pool Replenishment at Mammalian Auditory Ribbon Synapses J. Neurosci., July 23, 2008; 28(30): 7670 - 7678. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 S. L. Johnson, J. P. Adelman, and W. Marcotti Genetic deletion of SK2 channels in mouse inner hair cells prevents the developmental linearization in the Ca2+ dependence of exocytosis J. Physiol., September 1, 2007; 583(2): 631 - 646. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
P. Heil, H. Neubauer, D. R. F. Irvine, and M. Brown Spontaneous Activity of Auditory-Nerve Fibers: Insights into Stochastic Processes at Ribbon Synapses J. Neurosci., August 1, 2007; 27(31): 8457 - 8474. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 F. Mammano, M. Bortolozzi, S. Ortolano, and F. Anselmi Ca2+ Signaling in the Inner Ear Physiology, April 1, 2007; 22(2): 131 - 144. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
G. Sendin, A. V. Bulankina, D. Riedel, and T. Moser Maturation of Ribbon Synapses in Hair Cells Is Driven by Thyroid Hormone J. Neurosci., March 21, 2007; 27(12): 3163 - 3173. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. G. Evans and C. J. Kros The cochlea - new insights into the conversion of sound into electrical signals J. Physiol., October 1, 2006; 576(1): 3 - 5. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
