Hearing Mechanism Similar to Battery

A pleasant science daily article.

"To see how the mechanism of hearing resembles a battery, you need to know that the auditory system of the fruit fly contains a protein that functions as a sodium/potassium pump, often called the sodium pump for short, and is highly expressed in a specialized support cell called the scolopale cell.
The scolopale cell is important because it wraps around the sensory endings in the fly's ear and makes a tight extra-cellular cavity or compartment around them called the scolopale space.
"You could think of these compartments as similar to the compartments of a battery that need to be charged up so they can drive electrons through circuits"

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130107145707.htm

 

daedalus... i wonder if this is why too much salt or too much potassium is known to make the ears ring worse?

best wishes
mt

 

I've always suspected salt (and coffee), but now I've got to watch the banana intake too? What's a minion to do?

 

We're getting into some fundamental neural science which I have been reading about lately.

Not only auditory nerves, but all neurons use the "Na-K" pump to charge up ions inside the cell membrane. The ion charge is released by a protein that effects the porosity of the cell membrane.

What's interesting is the neurons pump themselves with ions, then suddenly release the charge when a voltage is applied at a dendrite. Then they go back to pumping themselves up again for the next wholop. They can do this as fast as 400 cycles per second.