Amplitude death of coupled hair bundles with stochastic channel noise

Vestibular Drop Attacks and Meniere's Disease as Results of Otolithic Membrane Damage-A Numerical Model

Meniere's disease (MD) is a condition of the inner ear with symptoms affecting both vestibular and hearing functions. Some patients with MD experience vestibular drop attacks (VDAs), which are violent falls caused by spurious vestibular signals from the utricle and/or saccule. Recent surgical work has shown that patients who experience VDAs also show disrupted utricular otolithic membranes. The objective of this study is to determine if otolithic membrane damage alone is sufficient to induce spurious vestibular signals, thus potentially eliciting VDAs and the vestibular dysfunction seen in patients with MD. We use a previously developed numerical model to describe the nonlinear dynamics of an array of active, elastically coupled hair cells. We then reduce the coupling strength of a selected region of the membrane to model the effects of tissue damage. As we reduce the coupling strength, we observe large and abrupt spikes in hair bundle position. As bundle displacements from the equilibrium position have been shown to lead to depolarization of the hair-cell soma and hence trigger neural activity, this spontaneous activity could elicit false detection of a vestibular signal. The results of this numerical model suggest that otolithic membrane damage alone may be sufficient to induce VDAs and the vestibular dysfunction seen in patients with MD. Future experimental work is needed to confirm these results in vitro.

Chimera states and frequency clustering in systems of coupled inner-ear hair cells

Coupled hair cells of the auditory and vestibular systems perform the crucial task of converting the energy of sound waves and ground-borne vibrations into ionic currents. We mechanically couple groups of living, active hair cells with artificial membranes, thus mimicking in vitro the coupled dynamical system. We identify chimera states and frequency clustering in the dynamics of these coupled nonlinear, autonomous oscillators. We find that these dynamical states can be reproduced by our numerical model with heterogeneity of the parameters. Furthermore, we find that this model is most sensitive to external signals when poised at the onset of synchronization, where chimera and cluster states are likely to form. We, therefore, propose that the partial synchronization in our experimental system is a manifestation of a system poised at the verge of synchronization with optimal sensitivity.

Dynamics of Mechanically Coupled Hair-Cell Bundles of the Inner Ear

The high sensitivity and effective frequency discrimination of sound detection performed by the auditory system rely on the dynamics of a system of hair cells. In the inner ear, these acoustic receptors are primarily attached to an overlying structure that provides mechanical coupling between the hair bundles. Although the dynamics of individual hair bundles has been extensively investigated, the influence of mechanical coupling on the motility of the system of bundles remains underdetermined. We developed a technique of mechanically coupling two active hair bundles, enabling us to probe the dynamics of the coupled system experimentally. We demonstrated that the coupling could enhance the coherence of hair bundles’ spontaneous oscillation, as well as their phase-locked response to sinusoidal stimuli, at the calcium concentration in the surrounding fluid near the physiological level. The empirical data were consistent with numerical results from a model of two coupled nonisochronous oscillators, each displaying a supercritical Hopf bifurcation. The model revealed that a weak coupling can poise the system of unstable oscillators closer to the bifurcation by a shift in the critical point. In addition, the dynamics of strongly coupled oscillators far from criticality suggested that individual hair bundles may be regarded as nonisochronous oscillators. An optimal degree of nonisochronicity was required for the observed tuning behavior in the coherence of autonomous motion of the coupled system.

Effect of bidirectional mechanoelectrical coupling on spontaneous oscillations and sensitivity in a model of hair cells

Sensory hair cells of amphibians exhibit spontaneous activity in their hair bundles and membrane potentials, reflecting two distinct active amplification mechanisms employed in these peripheral mechanosensors. We use a two-compartment model of the bullfrog's saccular hair cell to study how the interaction between its mechanical and electrical compartments affects the emergence of distinct dynamical regimes, and the role of this interaction in shaping the response of the hair cell to weak mechanical stimuli. The model employs a Hodgkin-Huxley-type system for the basolateral electrical compartment and a nonlinear hair bundle oscillator for the mechanical compartment, which are coupled bidirectionally. In the model, forward coupling is provided by the mechanoelectrical transduction current, flowing from the hair bundle to the cell soma. Backward coupling is due to reverse electromechanical transduction, whereby variations of the membrane potential affect adaptation processes in the hair bundle. We isolate oscillation regions in the parameter space of the model and show that bidirectional coupling affects significantly the dynamics of the cell. In particular, self-sustained oscillations of the hair bundles and membrane potential can result from bidirectional coupling, and the coherence of spontaneous oscillations can be maximized by tuning the coupling strength. Consistent with previous experimental work, the model demonstrates that dynamical regimes of the hair bundle change in response to variations in the conductances of basolateral ion channels. We show that sensitivity of the hair cell to weak mechanical stimuli can be maximized by varying coupling strength, and that stochasticity of the hair bundle compartment is a limiting factor of the sensitivity.