Hair Bundle (IMAGE)

Boston Children's Hospital

Hair Bundle

Caption

Three mechanosensory hair bundles from the cochlea. When sound vibrations strike the bundle, the hairs, or microvilli, wiggle back and forth, opening and closing channels formed by TMC proteins. When open, the channels allow calcium into the cell, initiating electrical signals that travel to the brain.

Credit

(Image: Gwenaelle S. Geleoc & Artur A. Indzhykulian)

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