Harvard researchers close in on how ears convert sounds into brain signals
At their simplest, the sounds that surround us — from a baby’s cry to heavy metal — are merely vibrations in the air. It’s the job of the ears to capture those vibrations and convert them into neural signals that can be processed by the brain, enabling us to make sense of our aural environment. How does the conversion from mechanical vibration to electrical signal occur? Harvard scientists are closing in on answers. The latest step is a study by Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology Rachelle Gaudet, Ohio State University Assistant Professor Marcos Sotomayor, and first author Robert Powers ’14. The research, described in a March 7 paper in Structure, not only sheds new light on how hearing works, but could help scientists clarify how it might deteriorate or be damaged over time. “This is an important part of the machinery that enables us to hear … so what we’re trying to...