Summary
The hearing of fishes is transduced by the otolithic end-organs of the eighth nerve. In several nonostariophysine fish, the nerve innervation and hair cell orientation in the saccule, one otolithic organ, suggest that directionality is encoded by a set of mutually perpendicular sensory epithelia. The anterior saccular branch innervates only the hair cell groups oriented along the rostrocaudal body axis which are located at the anterior of the saccule. The posterior saccular branches innervate the hair cell groups oriented along the dorsoventral body axis and are found at the posterior of the saccule.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bergeijk WA van (1964) Directional and non-directional hearing in fish. In: Tavolga WN (ed) Marine bio-acoustics. Pergamon Press, Oxford, pp 281–299
Bone Q (1972) Some notes on histological methods for peripheral nerves. Med Lab Tech 29: 319–324
Buwalda RJA (1981) Segregation of directional and non-directional acoustic information in the cod. In: Tavolga WN, Popper AN, Fay RR (eds) Hearing and sound communication in fishes. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 139–171
Buwalda RJA, Steen J van der (1979) Sensitivity of the cod sacculus to directional and non-directional stimuli. J Comp Biochem Physiol 64A: 467–471
Dikgraaf S (1960) Hearing in bony fishes. Proc R Soc Lond [Biol] 152: 51–54
Enger PS (1981) Frequency discrimination in teleosts-central or peripheral? In: Tavolga WN, Popper AN, Fay RR (eds) Hearing and sound communication in fishes. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 243–253
Erulkar SD (1972) Comparative aspects of spatial localization of sound. Physiol Rev 52: 237–260
Fay RR, Hillery CM, Bolan K (1982) Representation of sound pressure and particle motion information in the midbrain of the goldfish. Comp Biochem Physiol 71A: 181–191
Flock Å (1971) Sensory transduction in hair cells. In: Lowenstein WR (ed) Principles of receptor physiology. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York (Handbook of sensory physiology, vol I, pp 396–411)
Horner K, Sand O, Enger P (1980) Binaural interaction in the cod. J Exp Biol 85: 323–331
Hudspeth AJ (1982) Extracellular current flow and the site of transduction by vertebrate hair cells. J Neurosci 2: 1–10
Hudspeth AJ, Corey DP (1977) Sensitivity, polarity, and conductance change in the response of vertebrate hair cells to controlled mechanical stimuli. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 74: 2407–2411
Nelson DR (1967) Hearing thresholds, frequency discrimination, and acoustic orientation in the lemon shark, Negaprion brevirostris (Poey). Bull Mar Sci 17: 741–768
Northcutt RG (1981) Audition and the central nervous system of fishes. In: Tavolga WN, Popper AN, Fay RR (eds) Hearing and sound communication in fishes. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 331–355
Platt C, Popper AN (1981) Fine structure and function of the ear. In: Tavolga WN, Popper AN, Fay RR (eds) Hearing and sound communicaion in fishes. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 3–38
Popper AN (1983) Organization of the inner ear and processing of acoustic information. In: Northcutt RG, Davis RE (eds) Neurobiology of fish. Michigan Press, Ann Arbor (in press)
Popper AN, Coombs S (1982) The morphology and evolution of the ear in actinopterygian fishes. Am Zool 22: 311–328
Popper AN, Hoxter B (1981) The fine structure of the sacculus and lagena of a teleost fish. Hear Res 5: 245–263
Popper AN, Platt C, Saidel WM (1982) Acoustic function in the fish ear. Trends Neurosci 5: 276–280
Sand O (1974) Directional sensitivity of microphonic potentials from the perch ear. J Exp Biol 60: 881–899
Schuijf A (1975) Directional hearing of cod (Gadus morhua) under approximate free field conditions. J Comp Physiol 98: 307–322
Schuijf A (1981) Models of acoustic localization. In: Tavolga WN, Popper AN, Fay RR (eds) Hearing and sound communication in fishes. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 267–310
Schuijf A, Buwalda RJA (1975) On the mechanism of directional hearing in cod (Gadus morhua L.). J Comp Physiol 98: 333–343
Schuijf A, Buwalda RJA (1980) Underwater localization — a major problem in fish acoustics. In: Popper AN, Fay RR (eds) Comparative studies of hearing in vertebrates. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 43–77
Shotwell SL, Jacobs R, Hudspeth AJ (1981) Directional sensitivity of individual vertebrate hair cells to controlled deflection of their hair bundles. Ann NY Acad Sci 374: 1–10
Winkelmann RK, Schmitt RW (1957) A simple silver method for nerve axoplasm. Proc Mayo Clinic 32: 217–222
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Supported by grant NS-15090, a career development award to ANP from NINCDS, and by ONR contract N-00014-82-K-0345
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Saidel, W.M., Popper, A.N. The saccule may be the transducer for directional hearing of nonostariophysine teleosts. Exp Brain Res 50, 149–152 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00238242
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00238242