Cochlear Anatomy and Auditory Dysfunction
{'Code': '08090200', 'Directorate': {'Abbreviation': 'BIO', 'LongName': 'Direct For Biological Sciences'}, 'Division': {'Abbreviation': 'IOS', 'LongName': 'Division Of Integrative Organismal Systems'}}
{'SignBlockName': 'Christopher Platt', 'PO_EMAI': None, 'PO_PHON': None}
This grant is for a pilot study for one year on auditory receptor cells.        Inside the ear, in the structure called the cochlea, are the receptor           cells for hearing, called hair cells.  These specialized cells respond          to the vibrations in membranes of the inner ear, and send signals to            the auditory nerve.  Recently these cells have been found to change             their structure when stimulated by certain kinds of chemical or                 electrical stimulation, when isolated in vitro.  It has been known for          some time that there is a particular class of nerves, called efferents,         that send information from the brain out to receptor organs.  The               activity of these efferents often modulates the sensitivity of these            receptor cells.  In the cochlea, it now appears that modulation may be          done by triggering the structural changes in the receptors, which in            turn could change the vibrating characteristics of the inner ear.                                                                                               This project will attempt to measure whether these small changes in             receptor cells in fact occur in the ear itself.  A computer assisted            method will be combined with measurements of the microstructure of the          cochlea; use of three-dimensional whole-mounts of the cochlea will              allow measurements not possible with sectioning techniques.  The                possibility of the active mechanical process will be tested by                  introducing a fluid with unusually high potassium salt concentration            into the ear; such solutions trigger the structural change in the               isolated cells.  The lengths of the hair cells and their components             will be measured in cochleae from normal and experimental animals.              Additional stimuli, such as electrical stimuli or efferent nerve                stimulation, may also be tried.                                                                                                                                 If these results show that hair cells in the intact cochlea respond             by structural changes, it will be extremely important evidence for              active processes modulating the activity in this sensory organ.  Such           active processes could be very important not only in normal hearing,            but in noise-induced damage, and in certain diseased states of the ear.
{'FirstName': 'Peter', 'LastName': 'Santi', 'PI_MID_INIT': 'A', 'PI_SUFX_NAME': None, 'PI_FULL_NAME': 'Peter A Santi', 'EmailAddress': 'santip@tc.umn.edu', 'NSF_ID': '000268504', 'StartDate': '07/15/1987', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Principal Investigator'}
{'Name': 'University of Minnesota-Twin Cities', 'CityName': 'MINNEAPOLIS', 'ZipCode': '554552009', 'PhoneNumber': '6126245599', 'StreetAddress': '200 OAK ST SE', 'StreetAddress2': None, 'CountryName': 'United States', 'StateName': 'Minnesota', 'StateCode': 'MN', 'CONGRESSDISTRICT': '05', 'CONGRESS_DISTRICT_ORG': 'MN05', 'ORG_UEI_NUM': 'KABJZBBJ4B54', 'ORG_LGL_BUS_NAME': 'REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA', 'ORG_PRNT_UEI_NUM': None}
{'Name': None, 'CityName': None, 'StateCode': None, 'ZipCode': None, 'StreetAddress': None, 'CountryCode': None, 'CountryName': None, 'StateName': None, 'CountryFlag': None, 'CONGRESSDISTRICT': None, 'CONGRESS_DISTRICT_PERF': '""'}
{'Code': '1185', 'Text': 'SENSORY SYSTEMS'}
{'url': 'https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/download?DownloadFileName=1987&All=true', 'xml': '8705489.xml'}