Forces between clustered stereocilia minimize friction in the ear on a subnanometre scale

Andrei S. Kozlov, Johannes Baumgart, Thomas Risler, Corstiaen P. C. Versteegh and A. J. Hudspeth ()
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Andrei S. Kozlov: Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Laboratory of Sensory Neuroscience, The Rockefeller University
Johannes Baumgart: Institute of Scientific Computing, Technische Universität Dresden
Thomas Risler: Institut Curie, Centre de Recherche
Corstiaen P. C. Versteegh: Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Laboratory of Sensory Neuroscience, The Rockefeller University
A. J. Hudspeth: Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Laboratory of Sensory Neuroscience, The Rockefeller University

Nature, 2011, vol. 474, issue 7351, 376-379

Abstract: How inner-ear stereocilia pull together Hearing is initiated by the movement of tiny bundles of cilia located at the top of hair cells inside the ear. Despite being surrounded by the viscous fluid that bathes the inner ear, these stereocilia remain sensitive to movements of atomic dimension. The mechanism that makes this possible by eliminating most of the viscous drag in the liquid between the stereocilia has now been demonstrated. Analysis of the balance of forces in bullfrog hair cell stereocilia on a subnanometre scale shows that, at the frequencies used in hearing, most stereocilia inside the hair bundle are shielded from the external liquid and move virtually as one.

Date: 2011
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DOI: 10.1038/nature10073

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