Structure and function are being investigated in three projects. The development and structure of hair cells and how this changes with sensory stimulation. We are examining the development of certain ionic channels that characterize specific hair cell types. Physiological characterization of individual vestibular nerve fibers. The goal is to correlate the physiology of three different classes of afferents with the types of contacts they make.
Vestibular efferents are neurons in the brainstem that project to the ear.
Rusch, A., A. Lysakowski, and R.A. Eatock. . Acquisition of voltage gated conductances and differentiated morphology. Manuscript in preparation. Lysakowski, A., A. Rusch and R.A. Eatock. Postnatal morphological differentiation of type I and type II hair cells of the mouse utricle, Soc.