Theory of Fluid Mechanical Stimulation of Hair Cells

这一理论模型研究是对流体力学的控制运动的感觉受体元件在内耳。内耳有听觉器官用于听音，前庭器官用于平衡体位。耳朵（以及水生脊椎动物的侧线器官）的所有受体细胞都是毛细胞，因其微小的绒毛状结构而得名，这些毛发状结构被称为纤毛，延伸到耳朵的液体中。在听力方面，当声音进入耳朵时，机械连杆将声压转化为内耳腔内液体和膜的位移。液体与纤毛丛的相互作用涉及机械力，这对于在微观水平上理解这些力和位移与感觉受体细胞的激活有关是很重要的。这些理论研究将评估毛发束的运动如何受到以下因素的影响：(1)内耳液体；2)与附近结构（如膜）的水动力耦合；3)相邻毛束间的流体动力相互作用；4)毛束的形状；5)毛束及其附近膜的力学性能。提出的理论研究将涉及数学分析和数值研究，使用各种数字计算机（包括个人计算机，小型计算机和超级计算机）。该方法是检查流体运动方程的解，为连续的几何形状，每一个设计揭示毛细胞器官的关键结构特征的作用。我们的目标是根据潜在的物理机制来理解毛发束的运动，从而理解力学在听觉和平衡所必需的感觉接受中的作用。

This theoretical modelling study is on the fluid mechanics which govern the motion of sensory receptor elements in the inner ear. The inner ear has auditory organs for hearing, and vestibular organs for postural equilibrium. All the receptor cells of the ear (and of the lateral-line organs of aquatic vertebrates) are hair cells, named for their microscopically small bundles of hairlike structures called cilia that extend into the fluid of the ear. In hearing, when sound enters the ear, mechanical linkages convert the sound pressure to displacement of fluids and membranes in chambers of the inner ear. Interaction of the fluid with the ciliary tufts involves mechanical forces that are important to understand at the microscopic level, to relate these forces and displacements to the activation of the sensory receptor cells. These theoretical studies will assess how motion of the hair bundles is affected by 1) fluids of the inner ear; 2) hydro- dynamic coupling to nearby structures such as membranes; 3) hydrodynamic interactions between neighboring hair bundles; 4) the shape of the hair bundles; and 5) mechanical properties of hair bundles and the nearby membranes. The proposed theoretical studies will involve both mathematical analysis and numerical studies using a variety of digital computers (including personal computers, minicomputers, and supercomputers). The approach is to examine solutions of the euqations of fluid motion for a succession of geometries, each designed to reveal the role of a key structural feature of hair cell organs. The goal is to understand the motions of hair bundles in terms of the underlying physical mechanisms, and so understand the role of mechanics in the sensory reception necessary for hearing and equilibrium.