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The direct stimulus for vertebrate sensory hair cells is, in general, provided by fluid surrounded macrostructures that are coupled mechanically to the hair bundles. The dynamic behaviour of these accessory structures is determined by their hydrodynamic and mechanical characteristics. A considerable part of the mechanical suspension of these structures is probably provided by the hair bundles. The micromechanical properties of the hair cells are therefore thought to contribute significantly to the mechanical characteristics of these accessory structures and to influence their motion (Khanna and Leonard, 1982; Flock and Strelioff, 1984; Strelioff et al., 1984). In the mammalian cochlea, for instance, hair cell properties are assumed to be responsible for the sharp tuning of the basilar membrane (Khanna and Leonard, 1986). |
