Cilium Length: Influence on Neural Tonotopic Organization

Abstract

Previous studies suggested that variations in the length of the hair cell cilia contribute to auditory nerve fiber tuning and tonotopic organization. In the granite spiny lizard, cilium length and the tonotopic organization of nerve fibers are correlated: fiber characteristic frequency increases as cilium length decreases. This results in an increasing fiber characteristic frequency in both the apical and basal direction, a pattern not previously seen in any vertebrate.