Vertebrate Hair Cells provides a current overview of the mechanosensory receptor cells of the vertebrate inner ear. Each chapter is written by experimentalists active in exploring a particular set of questions in an aspect of hair cell function, including development, transduction, and synaptic transmission. Experimental approaches described include molecular, genetic, ultrastructural, biophysical and computational. Thus, each chapter covers not just what we know, but how we have learned it and the implications for future work. The experimental focus differentiates this book from general textbooks and targets an advanced audience, from senior undergraduates through to scientists in the field of hair cell research.
Sensory hair cells are the specialized mechanosensory receptors found in vertebrate auditory, vestibular, and lateral line organs that transduce vibratory and acoustic stimuli into the sensations of hearing and balance. Hair cells can be damaged due to such factors as aging, ototoxic chemicals, acoustic trauma, infection, or genetic factors. Loss of these hair cells lead to deficits in hearing and balance, and in mammals, such deficits are permanent. In contrast, non-mammalian vertebrates exhibit the capability to regenerate missing hair cells. Researchers have been examining the process of hair cell death and regeneration in animal models in an attempt to find ways of either preventing hair cell loss or stimulating the production of new hair cells in mammals, with the ultimate goal of finding new therapeutics for human sensorineural hearing and balance deficits. This has led to a wide array of research on sensory hair cells- such as understanding the factors that cause hair cell loss and finding agents that protect them from damage, elucidating the cell signaling pathways activated during hair cell death, examining the genes and cellular pathways that are regulated during the process of hair cell death and regeneration, and characterizing the functional sensory loss and recovery following acoustic or ototoxic insults to the inner ear. This research has involved cell and developmental biologists, physiologists, geneticists, bioinformaticians, and otolaryngologists. In this Research Topic, we have collated reviews of the past progress of hair cell death and regeneration studies and original research articles advancing sensory hair cell death and regeneration research into the future.
The function of vertebrate hearing is served by a surprising variety of sensory structures in the different groups of fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. This book discusses the origin, specialization, and functional properties of sensory hair cells, beginning with environmental constraints on acoustic systems and addressing in detail the evolutionary history behind modern structure and function in the vertebrate ear. Taking a comparative approach, chapters are devoted to each of the vertebrate groups, outlining the transition to land existence and the further parallel and independent adaptations of amniotic groups living in air. The volume explores in depth the specific properties of hair cells that allowed them to become sensitive to sound and capable of analyzing sounds into their respective frequency components. Evolution of the Vertebrate Auditory System is directed to a broad audience of biologists and clinicians, from the level of advanced undergraduate students to professionals interested in learning more about the evolution, structure, and function of the ear.
Knowledge about the structure and function of the inner ear is vital to an understanding of vertebrate hearing. This volume presents a detailed overview of the mammalian cochlea from its anatomy and physiology to its biophysics and biochemistry. The nine review chapters, written by internationally distinguished auditory researchers, provide a detailed and unified introduction to sound processing in the cochlea and the steps by which the ensuing signals are prepared for the central nervous system.
This volume explores the latest techniques in inner ear development, analysis of its sensory cells, and characterization and manipulation of the central auditory and vestibular pathways. The chapters in this book cover topics such as dissection and imaging of the cochlea; behavioral evaluation of animal models of diseases like tinnitus; hair cell function and regeneration; and recent advances in sequencing technology. In the Neuromethods series style, chapters include the kind of detail and key advice from the specialists needed to get successful results in your laboratory. Cutting-edge and comprehensive, Developmental, Physiological, and Function Neurobiology of the Inner Ear is a valuable resource for scientists and researchers interested in learning more about this developing field.
The Springer Handbook of Auditory Research presents a series of compreh- sive and synthetic reviews of the fundamental topics in modern auditory - search. The volumes are aimed at all individuals with interests in hearing research including advanced graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and clinical investigators. The volumes are intended to introduce new investigators to important aspects of hearing science and to help established investigators to betterunderstandthefundamentaltheoriesanddatain?eldsofhearingthatthey may not normally follow closely. Each volume presents a particular topic comprehensively, and each servesas a synthetic overview and guide to the literature. As such, the chapters present neither exhaustive data reviews nor original research that has not yet appeared in peer-reviewed journals. The volumes focus on topics that have developed a solid data and conceptual foundation rather than on those for which a literature is only beginning to develop. New research areas will be covered on a timely basis in the series as they begin to mature. Eachvolumeintheseriesconsistsofafewsubstantialchaptersonaparticular topic. In some cases, the topics will be ones of traditional interest for which there is a substantial body of data and theory, such as auditory neuroanatomy (Vol. 1) and neurophysiology (Vol. 2). Other volumes in the series deal with topics that have begun to mature more recently, suchasdevelopment,plasticity, and computational models of neural processing. In many cases, the series - itorsarejoinedbyaco-editorhavingspecialexpertiseinthetopicofthevolume.
Millions of Americans experience some degree of hearing loss. The Social Security Administration (SSA) operates programs that provide cash disability benefits to people with permanent impairments like hearing loss, if they can show that their impairments meet stringent SSA criteria and their earnings are below an SSA threshold. The National Research Council convened an expert committee at the request of the SSA to study the issues related to disability determination for people with hearing loss. This volume is the product of that study. Hearing Loss: Determining Eligibility for Social Security Benefits reviews current knowledge about hearing loss and its measurement and treatment, and provides an evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the current processes and criteria. It recommends changes to strengthen the disability determination process and ensure its reliability and fairness. The book addresses criteria for selection of pure tone and speech tests, guidelines for test administration, testing of hearing in noise, special issues related to testing children, and the difficulty of predicting work capacity from clinical hearing test results. It should be useful to audiologists, otolaryngologists, disability advocates, and others who are concerned with people who have hearing loss.
Since the first TRP ion channel was discovered in Drosophila melanogaster in 1989, the progress made in this area of signaling research has yielded findings that offer the potential to dramatically impact human health and wellness. Involved in gateway activity for all five of our senses, TRP channels have been shown to respond to a wide range of st
