Relay Station

Spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs) are crucial relay stations for signals travelling from our ears to the brain. Located in the cochlea [part of the inner ear], SGN cell bodies (here in green) send auditory information about the world around us to the brain via their axon fibres (in red). Specifically, they relay electrochemical signals created by cochlear hair cells that inform the brain about sound vibrations detected in the environment, which helps both hearing and balance. There are many different SGN sub-categories that help us make sense of the broad range of sounds that we encounter, each with their own structural and molecular properties. This image of SGNs was taken from a recent study looking into the characteristics of different SGN sub-categories in mice. The researchers found that a specific protein affects the molecular features of some SGNs, helping to better understand the role of these neurons within the auditory pathway.

Written by Gaëlle Coullon

Gaëlle Coullon

Writer

Gaëlle is a consultant and trainer in research communication and commercialisation. As an ex-neuroscientist, she is always looking for new ways to combine her love of writing with everything brain related.

• Image from work by Hanna E. Sherrill and Philippe Jean, and colleagues, published on the cover of Journal of Neuroscience, July 2019
• Laboratory of Cochlear Development, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA and the Institute for Auditory Neuroscience and Inner Ear Laboratory, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
• Image reproduced with permission from the Journal of Neuroscience
• Published in Journal of Neuroscience, July 2019