Electrical Sensitivity of Ampullae of Lorenzini

一个尚未得到太多研究的感觉系统是电感受，一些动物，特别是鲨鱼和一些电鱼，能够在水环境中检测到极其微小的电信号。 这种感觉在寻找食物、特定物种的交流和导航中很重要。 受体细胞对微小的电信号具有非凡的敏感性，其机制尚未阐明。 该项目使用电生理学和光学记录技术来研究如何在电感受器细胞中激活跨细胞膜的离子电流通道，以及数学建模技术来对这些生物物理特性进行可测试的预测。 研究结果将对相关类型的细胞在鱼类侧线器官和脊椎动物内耳中的工作方式产生影响。 了解这些细胞的高敏感性将有助于了解其他感觉系统，并且可能与弱电场对生物组织的影响有关。

One sensory system that has not received much study is electroreception, the capability of some animals, particularly sharks and some electric fish, to detect extremely tiny electrical signals in the watery environment. This sense can be important in finding food, in species-specific communication, and in navigation. The receptor cells have extraordinary sensitivity to minuscule electrical signals, by mechanisms that have not yet been clarified. This project uses electrophysiological and optical recording techniques to examine how the ionic current channels across the cell membrane are activated in electroreceptor cells, and mathematical modeling techniques to make testable predictions about these biophysical properties. Results will have impact on how cells of a related type work in the lateral line organs of fish, and in the vertebrate inner ear. Understanding the high sensitivity of these cells will be useful in understanding other sensory systems in general, and perhaps relevant to claims about effects of weak electrical fields on biological tissue in general.