Primary processes in sensory cells: current advances |
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Authors: | Stephan Frings |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Molecular Physiology, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 230, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany |
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Abstract: | In the course of evolution, the strong and unremitting selective pressure on sensory performance has driven the acuity of
sensory organs to its physical limits. As a consequence, the study of primary sensory processes illustrates impressively how
far a physiological function can be improved if the survival of a species depends on it. Sensory cells that detect single-photons,
single molecules, mechanical motions on a nanometer scale, or incredibly small fluctuations of electromagnetic fields have
fascinated physiologists for a long time. It is a great challenge to understand the primary sensory processes on a molecular
level. This review points out some important recent developments in the search for primary processes in sensory cells that
mediate touch perception, hearing, vision, taste, olfaction, as well as the analysis of light polarization and the orientation
in the Earth’s magnetic field. The data are screened for common transduction strategies and common transduction molecules,
an aspect that may be helpful for researchers in the field. |
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Keywords: | Mechanoreception Photoreception Taste Olfaction Magnetoreception |
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