High Frequency Responses of Pigeon Semicircular Canal       Afferent Fibers
{'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 two-year award is on the function of the vestibular                        system of the inner ear, used for balance.  The semicircular                    canals of the vestibular system are fluid-filled ducts in the                   head.  When the head is rotated, the fluid in each canal shifts,                and stimulates mechanosensory cells called hair cells.  The                     activity of these cells then stimulates the neurons (nerve cells)               of the vestibular nerve to the brain.  The neurons are sensitive                over a very wide frequency range of head movements, and also show               some decrease in activity, or adaptation, to high frequency or                  high intensity stimuli.                                                                                                                                         This project will test the responses of the canal nerves for                    stimuli representing various frequencies of head oscillations                   (from 0.01 per second to nearly 100 per second).  This wide                     stimulus range will establish the limits of current                             bioengineering models of the vestibular syste in a way which has                only been touched on by other experiments.  The wide range of                   stimuli is important to many animals, but pigeons provide an                    excellent model because they receive very low frequencies of                    swaying perches in trees, to the very high frequencies of air                   turbulence in fast flight.  Both rotational stimulation and                     direct mechanical stimulation of the canals will be used, and                   nerve activity recorded.  The mathematical transfer function that               relates nerve sensitivity to stimulus frequency will be                         determined, and the degree of adaptation across frequencies will                be measured.  The results will allow determination of an                        important parameter in vestibular mechanics, the value of the                   short time constant, which has not yet been established for warm-               blooded vertebrates.                                                                                                                                            This work is a novel approach that has some technical                           challenges, but should have high impact on a sensory system that                is not yet well understood.
[{'FirstName': 'J. David', 'LastName': 'Dickman', 'PI_MID_INIT': None, 'PI_SUFX_NAME': None, 'PI_FULL_NAME': 'J. David Dickman', 'EmailAddress': 'jdavidd@fiona.umsmed.edu', 'NSF_ID': '000362498', 'StartDate': '08/01/1987', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Co-Principal Investigator'}, {'FirstName': 'Manning', 'LastName': 'Correia', 'PI_MID_INIT': 'J', 'PI_SUFX_NAME': None, 'PI_FULL_NAME': 'Manning J Correia', 'EmailAddress': 'correia@enterprise.utmb.edu', 'NSF_ID': '000260649', 'StartDate': '08/01/1987', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Principal Investigator'}]
{'Name': 'University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston', 'CityName': 'GALVESTON', 'ZipCode': '775555302', 'PhoneNumber': '4092669400', 'StreetAddress': '301 UNIVERSITY BLVD', 'StreetAddress2': None, 'CountryName': 'United States', 'StateName': 'Texas', 'StateCode': 'TX', 'CONGRESSDISTRICT': '14', 'CONGRESS_DISTRICT_ORG': 'TX14', 'ORG_UEI_NUM': 'MSPWVMXXMN76', 'ORG_LGL_BUS_NAME': 'UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MEDICAL BRANCH AT GALVESTON', 'ORG_PRNT_UEI_NUM': None}
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{'Code': '914500', 'Text': 'SPECIAL PROGRAMS-RESERVE'}
{'url': 'https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/download?DownloadFileName=1987&All=true', 'xml': '8709303.xml'}