Morphometry of Hair Cell Bundles and Otoconial Membranes in the Utricle of a Turtle, <i>Trachemys scripta</i>

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Xue, Jingbing
Language:English
Published: Ohio University / OhioLINK 2006
Subjects:
Online Access:http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1155672444
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spelling ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-ohiou11556724442021-08-03T05:43:40Z Morphometry of Hair Cell Bundles and Otoconial Membranes in the Utricle of a Turtle, <i>Trachemys scripta</i> Xue, Jingbing Hair cell otoconial membranes utricle turtle kinocilium stereocilia mechanotransduction afferent bundle height The utricle is a vestibular end-organ that detects head movements in the horizontal plane. Hair cell bundles sit on top of the utricular epithelium and are covered by otoconial membranes. The hair cell bundles transform head movement into hair cell signals by mechanotransduction, which modulates afferent signals to the central nervous system. Utricular afferents differ in their morphophysiological properties and these differences are strongly correlated with the location of the afferent terminal on the utricular neuroepithelium. This raises the possibility that afferent differences originate in part from spatial differences in utricular peripheral mechanics, i.e., the otoconial membranes, and hair cell bundles. In this study, I quantified the dimensions of the otoconial membranes, bundle heights, and the coupling between them, using the utricle of a turtle, Trachemys scripta. I found that all of them change systematically as functions of location and cell type. The patterns I observed resemble spatial patterns in afferent physiology and may help explain them. This is the first study in any vertebrate to quantify the morphology of hair cell bundles, otoconial membranes and the coupling between them. My results provide an experimental foundation for models of utricular mechanics, and they should contribute to our understanding of signal processing in otoconial organs. 2006-10-12 English text Ohio University / OhioLINK http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1155672444 http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1155672444 unrestricted This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws.
collection NDLTD
language English
sources NDLTD
topic Hair cell
otoconial membranes
utricle
turtle
kinocilium
stereocilia
mechanotransduction
afferent
bundle height
spellingShingle Hair cell
otoconial membranes
utricle
turtle
kinocilium
stereocilia
mechanotransduction
afferent
bundle height
Xue, Jingbing
Morphometry of Hair Cell Bundles and Otoconial Membranes in the Utricle of a Turtle, <i>Trachemys scripta</i>
author Xue, Jingbing
author_facet Xue, Jingbing
author_sort Xue, Jingbing
title Morphometry of Hair Cell Bundles and Otoconial Membranes in the Utricle of a Turtle, <i>Trachemys scripta</i>
title_short Morphometry of Hair Cell Bundles and Otoconial Membranes in the Utricle of a Turtle, <i>Trachemys scripta</i>
title_full Morphometry of Hair Cell Bundles and Otoconial Membranes in the Utricle of a Turtle, <i>Trachemys scripta</i>
title_fullStr Morphometry of Hair Cell Bundles and Otoconial Membranes in the Utricle of a Turtle, <i>Trachemys scripta</i>
title_full_unstemmed Morphometry of Hair Cell Bundles and Otoconial Membranes in the Utricle of a Turtle, <i>Trachemys scripta</i>
title_sort morphometry of hair cell bundles and otoconial membranes in the utricle of a turtle, <i>trachemys scripta</i>
publisher Ohio University / OhioLINK
publishDate 2006
url http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1155672444
work_keys_str_mv AT xuejingbing morphometryofhaircellbundlesandotoconialmembranesintheutricleofaturtleitrachemysscriptai
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