耳蜗毛细胞换能的生物物理特性

The biophysical properties of transduction in cochlear hair cells

耳蜗的声感受是通过将大气压的微小波动转换成沿听神经传导的AP而实现的,HC在这一机-电换能过程中起关键作用.近二十年来,HC换能的生物物理特性研究取得许多重要突破,已在诸多方面从根本上改变了人们对听觉机制的传统认识.本文从HC换能模型、IHC与OHC的功能差异以及耳蜗声分析主动机制等三方面对这一领域进行了讨论与展望.

The cochlear response to sound by transducing minor fluctuation in atmospheric pressure into a train of action potentials along the auditory nerve. Hair cells (HC) play the key role in this mechanoelectrical transduction. Researches on the biophysical properties of transduction in cochlear hair cell performed during past two decades have made a great deal of headway. Experimental evidence and theoretical models of cochlear mechanics all suggest that the outer hair cells (OHC) of the cochlear partition are likely to be the force generators within the cochlear and hair cells are believed to response for the high sensitivity and sharp tuning of mammalian hearing. Hair cells are not simply passive transduction but additionally serve as amplifiers of their mechanical inputs. Further elucidation of how the cochlear processes the incoming stream of acoustical signals depends on understanding the cellular and molecular basis for the active process in the organ of Corti. This review deals with the development of these fields, especially focusing on: ① the model for transduction in cochlear hair cells; ② the function differences between inner hair cells(IHC) and outer hair cells; ③ the active process of cochlear.