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Wired for Sound
28 March 2015

Wired for Sound

Our ears are amazing. They convert sound waves in the air into nerve impulses that travel to the brain and are interpreted into a symphony of sounds. Pictured are special nerve cells in a mouse's cochlea (the part of the ear that converts sound into nerve firing) heading off into the brain. One interesting thing about the way this biological wiring works is that signals caused by similar pitched sounds, such as high or low tones, are wired into neighbouring parts of the brain. The animal this image came from has a fault in a particular gene that means these nerves don't wire up into quite the right place. Millions of people around the world suffer from hearing problems, so understanding more about how nerves are wired from ears to brain could lead to better ways to diagnose the roots of their condition and point towards future sound solutions.

Written by Kat Arney

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BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

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