Fuchs P A
Hearing Science Center, 521 Traylor Building, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 720 Rutland Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA.
Curr Opin Neurobiol. 1996 Aug;6(4):514-9. doi: 10.1016/s0959-4388(96)80058-4.
Mechanosensory hair cells release chemical transmitters onto associated afferent dendrites and respond to transmitters released by efferent neurons. Dihydropyridine-sensitive, voltage-gated calcium channels support transmitter release from hair cells and may be expressed preferentially at release sites. Recently, a novel subunit of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor family, alpha9, was identified and found to be expressed in rat hair cells. It appears to mediate efferent inhibition via associated calcium-activated potassium channels.
