Vestibular System Flashcards

1
Q

What kind of receptors are the hair cells in the vestibular cells?

A

mechanoreceptors that respond to gravity, movement, vibration, and pressure

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2
Q

What is a statocyst? What can it detect?

A
  • small organ of balance and orientation in some aquatic invertebrates, consisting of a sensory vesicle or cell containing statoliths (sand or calcium carbonate)
  • detect direction of gravity and direction of movement
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3
Q

What kind of system of hair cells do fish and aquatic amphibians have? What does this system detect?

A

lateral line system; detects movement of water, water pressure changes, vibrations

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4
Q

Which end of the lateral line evolved into the inner ear? What does the inner ear contain? What is the function of the inner ear?

A
  • anterior end of lateral line
  • contain vestibular apparatus and cochlear
  • function = balance and audition
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5
Q

label the diagram of the inner ear

A

slide 6

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6
Q

TRUE or FALSE: kinocilia are larger than stereocilia

A

TRUE

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7
Q

How many kinocilia are there in a hair bundle? stereocilia?

A
  • 1 kinocilium
  • 40-70 stereocilia
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8
Q

Where are cilia longest? shortest?

A
  • longest at vestibular canals
  • shortest at base of cochlea
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9
Q

What makes stereocilia rigid but bend at the base?

A

actin

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10
Q

What are tip-links?

A

connect tops of each stereocilium with the adjacent larger cilium along the axis of the hair bundle (towards kinocilium)

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11
Q

What are lateral links?

A

connect neighbouring stereocilia so when one bends, the rest bend too

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12
Q

TRUE or FALSE: hair cells have axons and they release GABA to sensory afferents

A

FALSE: do NOT have axons; release GLUTAMATE

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13
Q

What kind of synapses do hair cells make?

A

ribbon synapses

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14
Q

What is a ribbon synapse?

A

on-going release of glutamate because of L-type Ca2+ channels, which are long-opening and have little inactivation

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15
Q

Do hair cells receive efferent inputs? If yes, what NT is used? Are the effects excitatory of inhibitory?

A
  • yes, hair cells receive efferent inputs
  • ACh
  • excitatory AND inhibitory
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16
Q

TRUE or FALSE: hair cells work the same in lateral line, vestibular, and auditory systems

A

TRUE

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17
Q

TRUE or FALSE: movement toward the kinocilium depolarizes the hair cell. opposite movement hyperpolarizes the cell

A

TRUE

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18
Q

How are hair cells depolarized? Be specific.

A
  • hair cell displaced towards kinocilium
  • channels near tip-links open as they stretch (i.e. tip link pulls open ion channels)
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19
Q

What is the smallest displacement of hair cell that can be detected? How much of a depolarization does this cause in the hair cell?

A
  • as small as 1 nm
  • causes 0.2 mV change
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20
Q

How many MET channels are there per hair cell? How many channels per cilium?

A
  • 100 channels per hair cell
  • 1 or 2 channels per cilium
21
Q

TRUE or FALSE: there are very few channels per cilium

A

TRUE

22
Q

What kind of channels near tip-links open as they stretch?

A

mechanoelectrical transduction (MET) channels

23
Q

label the diagram of tip link and hair cell on slide 13

A

slide 13

24
Q

Draw a diagram to show the rat of action potentials sent to a primary sensory neuron when a hair cell is at rest, excited, and inhibited. Which way are the cilia pointed? how much glutamate is released? Also draw a diagram to show membrane potential of the hair cell.

A

slide 14

25
Q

Which ions flow through MET channels to depolarize a hair cell? What direction?

A

K+ into cell

26
Q

TRUE or FALSE: Na+ is responsible for depolarizing hair cells

A

FALSE: K+

27
Q

TRUE or FALSE: the cilia are within the perilymph

A

FALSE: endolymph

28
Q

What is special about the fact that cilia are within the endolymph?

A

very high K+ concentration in the endolymph; therefore large gradient causes K+ to flow through channels, into the hair cells

29
Q

What role does Ca2+ play in hair cells?

A

Ca2+ enters cell at depol (along with K+) to allow vesicle fusion and release of NT

30
Q

What do the semicircular canals detect?

A

angular accelerations of the head (rotation)

31
Q

What do the otolith organs detect? What are the names for these organs?

A
  • linear accelerations of the head (including gravity)
  • utricle and saccule
32
Q

The basilar papilla is to birds as the ____________ is to humans.

A

cochlea

33
Q

On which plane does the saccle detect linear acceleration? utricle?
Draw a diagram and indicate which way the kinocilia point in relation to the striola for these two otolith organs.

A
  • saccule = sagittal plane; away from striola
  • utricle = horizontal plane; towards striola
34
Q

What are the 2 types of vestibular hair cells? What is the main difference? What is the difference between their efferents and afferents? Draw a diagram and label the two

A
  • type I hair cell: more stereocilia; afferent = calyx ending around the receptor; efferent synapses on the afferent
  • type II hair cell: less stereocilia; afferent = bouton-type synapse on receptor; efferent synapses on receptor
    (slide 20)
35
Q

is ribbon synapse on both types of vestibular hair cells or only type I??

A

ask people

36
Q

What are the 3 types of vestibular afferents? Where are they located? Why type of hair cell do they synapse on?

A
  1. calyx (type I); near striola
  2. bouton-type (type II); distant from striola
  3. dimorphic (type I and II); throughout macular surface
    (see diagram on slide 21)
37
Q

What is otoconia? Where is it found? How is it activated by linear accelerations like gravity?

A
  • gelatinous mass of protein plus calcium carbonate crystals
  • on top of otolith organs
  • otoconia has INERTIA, thus, the hair cells in the utricle and saccule can be activated by linear accelerations like gravity
38
Q

In what direction must the linear movement/translation of the head be in, in order to depolarize a hair cell? which way would the hair cell be moving? Draw a diagram to explain.

A

linear translation in the direction OPPOSITE the kinocilium will cause hair cells to bend TOWARDS kinocilium, leading to depolarization of the hair cell

(sldie 24)

39
Q

In what direction must the head tilt in order to depolarize a hair cell, in relation to the kinocilium?

A

head tilt TOWARD kinocilium will depolarize the hair cell

40
Q

label slide 26 and indicate which cell would be depolarized if a head moved in a certain direction

A

slide 26

41
Q

Describe the orientation of the semicircular canals in relation to planes and midline.

A
  • anterior canal = oriented in a vertical plane, 45 degrees to midline
  • posterior canal = oriented in a vertical plane, 45 degrees to midline
  • horizontal canal = oriented in the horizontal plane
42
Q

Where are the hairs embedded in the semicircular canals? What causes this structure to move?

A
  • cupula
  • fluid and otoliths cause cupula to move
43
Q

In a cupula, which wayare hair cells oriented?

A

all oriented in the same direction

44
Q

In which direction does the cupula move in relation to head rotation and hair cells?

A
  • cupula deflects in the opposite direction of the head rotation
  • hair cells deflect in the same direction as the cupula deflection
45
Q

What analogy is used to describe how semicircular canals work?

A

antagonistic push-pull pairs

46
Q

TRUE or FALSE: leftward rotation of the head inhibits hair cells of the left horizontal canal and excites hair cells of the right horizontal canal

A

FALSE: leftward rotation, excite left horizontal canal hair cells, inhibit right hor. canal hair cells

47
Q

TRUE or FALSE: rotation down-left about a horizontal axis ecites hair cells of the left anterior canal and inhibits hair cells of the right anterior canal

A

FALSE: inhibit right POSTERIOR canal

48
Q

What is the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOX)

A

eyes move in opposite direction of head

49
Q

Starting from the afferents from teh semicircular canals, describe the pathway of the VOR. Specify which cranial nerve nuclei are involved.

A
  1. semicircular canal afferents
  2. synapse on vestibular nuclei
  3. VI, abducens nucleus
  4. III, oculomotor nucleus
  5. medial/lateral rectus muscles