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Published in: Experimental Brain Research 3/2015

01-03-2015 | Mini-Review

How does high-frequency sound or vibration activate vestibular receptors?

Authors: I. S. Curthoys, J. W. Grant

Published in: Experimental Brain Research | Issue 3/2015

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Abstract

The mechanism by which vestibular neural phase locking occurs and how it relates to classical otolith mechanics is unclear. Here, we put forward the hypothesis that sound and vibration both cause fluid pressure waves in the inner ear and that it is these pressure waves which displace the hair bundles on vestibular receptor hair cells and result in activation of type I receptor hair cells and phase locking of the action potentials in the irregular vestibular afferents, which synapse on type I receptors. This idea has been suggested since the early neural recordings and recent results give it greater credibility.
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Metadata
Title
How does high-frequency sound or vibration activate vestibular receptors?
Authors
I. S. Curthoys
J. W. Grant
Publication date
01-03-2015
Publisher
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in
Experimental Brain Research / Issue 3/2015
Print ISSN: 0014-4819
Electronic ISSN: 1432-1106
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-014-4192-6

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