Abstract
THE generator potential of mechanoreceptor hair cells is thought to arise from a change in conductance of the receptor membrane1–4. A mechanical force in the environment acts on hairs to cause the generator potential. The conductance change associated with the generator potential may be composed of many elementary conductances whose frequency or number vary with mechanical stimulation. From this hypothesis, one would expect to observe random fluctuations, or noise, associated with the generator potential. We report here the presence of such fluctuations in an invertebrate statocyst; the analysis of the fluctuations gives an estimate of the size of the underlying events associated with the generator potential during mechanical stimulation.
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DEFELICE, L., ALKON, D. Voltage noise from hair cells during mechanical stimulation. Nature 269, 613–615 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1038/269613a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/269613a0
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