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Electrophysiological Recordings of Voltage-Dependent and Mechanosensitive Currents in Sensory Hair Cells of the Auditory and Vestibular Organs of the Mouse

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Developmental, Physiological, and Functional Neurobiology of the Inner Ear

Part of the book series: Neuromethods ((NM,volume 176))

Abstract

Electrophysiological characterization of inner ear hair cell properties including assessment of voltage-dependent and mechanosensitive currents has provided invaluable information about their development and maturation in several animal models. Beyond the basic understanding of hair cell properties, electrophysiological investigations combined with the use of different mouse models, pharmacological tools, and exogenous gene expression systems such as those driven by viral vectors have been essential in providing insights into the functional role of various proteins expressed in hair cells, many of which are associated with deafness and/or balance deficits. This chapter provides detailed methods designed to optimize recordings of voltage-dependent and mechanosensitive currents in sensory hair cells of the auditory and vestibular organs of the mammal.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank their many mentors who have trained them in these different techniques and have shared several technical tips highlighted in this review. To cite a few, the authors wish to thank Dr. Corné Kros (PhD co-mentor for Dr. Geleoc and PhD and postdoctoral mentor for Dr. Johnson), Dr. Walter Marcotti (postdoctoral mentor of Dr. Johnson), Dr. Gregory Frolenkov (postdoctoral mentor of Dr. Indzhykulian) as well as Dr. David Corey (postdoctoral mentor for Drs. Geleoc and Indzhykulian) and Dr. Jonathan Ashmore (postdoctoral mentor for Dr. Geleoc). The authors also would like to thank Dr. Corne Kros for initially developing the fluid jet some 30 years ago as well as Drs. David Corey and Jim Hudspeth for the development of hair bundle micromanipulation with piezoelectric bimorph elements. We also thank Dr. David Corey for providing images for this publication and Dr. Walter Marcotti who contributed to the development of the dissection techniques of the organ of Corti as described in this chapter. We thank Dr. Corne Kros for his feedback on a previous version of this manuscript. A.A.I. is supported by the NIH grant R01DC017166 and the Bertarelli Program in Translational Neuroscience and Neuroengineering. G.S.G work is supported by the NIH grant RO1DC008853, the Barber Research fund for Gene therapy for Genetic Deafness and the US-Israel Binational Science foundation.

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Author notes

  1. Artur A. Indzhykulian, Stuart L. Johnson and Gwenaëlle S. G. Géléoc contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Otolaryngology, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Boston, MA, USA

    Artur A. Indzhykulian

  2. Department of Biomedical Science, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK

    Stuart L. Johnson

  3. Department of Otolaryngology, Harvard Medical School and Kirby Neurobiology Center, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Gwenaëlle S. G. Géléoc

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  1. Artur A. Indzhykulian
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  2. Stuart L. Johnson
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  3. Gwenaëlle S. G. Géléoc
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gwenaëlle S. G. Géléoc .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA

    Andrew K. Groves

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Indzhykulian, A.A., Johnson, S.L., Géléoc, G.S.G. (2022). Electrophysiological Recordings of Voltage-Dependent and Mechanosensitive Currents in Sensory Hair Cells of the Auditory and Vestibular Organs of the Mouse. In: Groves, A.K. (eds) Developmental, Physiological, and Functional Neurobiology of the Inner Ear. Neuromethods, vol 176. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-2022-9_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-2022-9_10

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