Rapid mechanical stimulation of inner-ear hair cells by photonic pressure
Hair cells, the receptors of the inner ear, detect sounds by transducing mechanical vibrations into electrical signals. From the top surface of each hair cell protrudes a mechanical antenna, the hair bundle, which the cell uses to detect and amplify auditory stimuli, thus sharpening frequency select...
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doaj-a87f35baea124a8b82161239960812682021-08-13T12:01:01ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2021-07-011010.7554/eLife.65930Rapid mechanical stimulation of inner-ear hair cells by photonic pressureSanjeewa Abeytunge0Francesco Gianoli1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4876-7978AJ Hudspeth2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0295-1323Andrei S Kozlov3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1993-8341Laboratoryof Auditory Neuroscience and Biophysics, Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom; Howard Hughes Medical Institute andLaboratory of Sensory Neuroscience, The Rockefeller University, New York, United StatesLaboratoryof Auditory Neuroscience and Biophysics, Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, London, United KingdomHoward Hughes Medical Institute andLaboratory of Sensory Neuroscience, The Rockefeller University, New York, United StatesLaboratoryof Auditory Neuroscience and Biophysics, Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, London, United KingdomHair cells, the receptors of the inner ear, detect sounds by transducing mechanical vibrations into electrical signals. From the top surface of each hair cell protrudes a mechanical antenna, the hair bundle, which the cell uses to detect and amplify auditory stimuli, thus sharpening frequency selectivity and providing a broad dynamic range. Current methods for mechanically stimulating hair bundles are too slow to encompass the frequency range of mammalian hearing and are plagued by inconsistencies. To overcome these challenges, we have developed a method to move individual hair bundles with photonic force. This technique uses an optical fiber whose tip is tapered to a diameter of a few micrometers and endowed with a ball lens to minimize divergence of the light beam. Here we describe the fabrication, characterization, and application of this optical system and demonstrate the rapid application of photonic force to vestibular and cochlear hair cells.https://elifesciences.org/articles/65930hair cellmechanotransductionphotonic forcefrogvestibularcochlea |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Sanjeewa Abeytunge Francesco Gianoli AJ Hudspeth Andrei S Kozlov |
spellingShingle |
Sanjeewa Abeytunge Francesco Gianoli AJ Hudspeth Andrei S Kozlov Rapid mechanical stimulation of inner-ear hair cells by photonic pressure eLife hair cell mechanotransduction photonic force frog vestibular cochlea |
author_facet |
Sanjeewa Abeytunge Francesco Gianoli AJ Hudspeth Andrei S Kozlov |
author_sort |
Sanjeewa Abeytunge |
title |
Rapid mechanical stimulation of inner-ear hair cells by photonic pressure |
title_short |
Rapid mechanical stimulation of inner-ear hair cells by photonic pressure |
title_full |
Rapid mechanical stimulation of inner-ear hair cells by photonic pressure |
title_fullStr |
Rapid mechanical stimulation of inner-ear hair cells by photonic pressure |
title_full_unstemmed |
Rapid mechanical stimulation of inner-ear hair cells by photonic pressure |
title_sort |
rapid mechanical stimulation of inner-ear hair cells by photonic pressure |
publisher |
eLife Sciences Publications Ltd |
series |
eLife |
issn |
2050-084X |
publishDate |
2021-07-01 |
description |
Hair cells, the receptors of the inner ear, detect sounds by transducing mechanical vibrations into electrical signals. From the top surface of each hair cell protrudes a mechanical antenna, the hair bundle, which the cell uses to detect and amplify auditory stimuli, thus sharpening frequency selectivity and providing a broad dynamic range. Current methods for mechanically stimulating hair bundles are too slow to encompass the frequency range of mammalian hearing and are plagued by inconsistencies. To overcome these challenges, we have developed a method to move individual hair bundles with photonic force. This technique uses an optical fiber whose tip is tapered to a diameter of a few micrometers and endowed with a ball lens to minimize divergence of the light beam. Here we describe the fabrication, characterization, and application of this optical system and demonstrate the rapid application of photonic force to vestibular and cochlear hair cells. |
topic |
hair cell mechanotransduction photonic force frog vestibular cochlea |
url |
https://elifesciences.org/articles/65930 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT sanjeewaabeytunge rapidmechanicalstimulationofinnerearhaircellsbyphotonicpressure AT francescogianoli rapidmechanicalstimulationofinnerearhaircellsbyphotonicpressure AT ajhudspeth rapidmechanicalstimulationofinnerearhaircellsbyphotonicpressure AT andreiskozlov rapidmechanicalstimulationofinnerearhaircellsbyphotonicpressure |
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