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Hear, Here

A role for nitric oxide in hearing

17 June 2019

Hear, Here

Snap your fingers. You create tiny vibrations in the air that reach your ear and are converted to electrical impulses. These impulses shoot along brain cells (neurons) to be processed as sound, all before your fingers have even stopped moving. The details of this instant information transfer along and between neurons are important but not fully understood. Nitric oxide (NO) is a signalling molecule that passes messages from one neuron to another. A new study looked at an audio-processing part of guinea pig brains and found NO-production machinery, nNOS, in surprising discrete spots (green) on the brain cells (pink). Activity in these cells responds to audio signals, but can be restricted by subduing nNOS, suggesting that NO is essential to hearing. Altered brain cell activity and unusual nNOS behaviour have been linked to tinnitus and hearing problems following acoustic trauma, so unpicking NO’s role might help patients hear clearly.

Written by Anthony Lewis

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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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