Adventures in Science and the Great Outdoors
Posted in Research on Jan 19th, 2020
Between 2010 and 2020, data got big, genomics got personal, and devices got smart. 1. Big Data The ability to collect, analyze, and use ‘Big Data’ has given individuals, corporations, and governments access to more information about individual people, groups, and populations than ever before. What is Big Data? The definition that matches the way [...]
Posted in Publications, Research on Mar 8th, 2013
Tuning and timing in mammalian type I hair cells and calyceal synapses Jocelyn E. Songer and Ruth Anne Eatock Departments of Otology, Laryngology, and Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115 Abstract: Afferent nerve fibers in the central zones of vestibular epithelia form calyceal endings around type I hair cells and have phasic response properties [...]
Posted in Conferences, Research on Mar 8th, 2013
Diverse Firing Patterns in Calyces of the Immature Rat Saccule Jocelyn E. Songer and Ruth Anne Eatock Background: The mammalian vestibular epithelium has a unique synapse between the sensory hair cell and the post-synaptic afferent terminal: the calyx. The calyx envelops the cell body of one or more type I hair cells. Two classes of [...]
Posted in Publications, Research on Mar 5th, 2013
High‐Pass Filtering at Vestibular Frequencies by Transducer Adaptation in Mammalian Saccular Hair Cells Jocelyn E. Songer and Ruth Anne Eatock Departments of Otology, Laryngology, and Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115 Abstract: The mammalian saccule detects head tilt and low‐frequency head accelerations as well as higher‐frequency bone vibrations and sounds. It has two different [...]
Posted in Conferences, Research on Mar 4th, 2013
In fall of 2011, I attended the Ribbon Synapse Symposium where Ruth Anne Eatock we gave a talk on some of our most recent work on excitatory post-synaptic potentials (EPSPs) and currents (EPSCs) recorded from calyces in the rat saccular epithelium in response to direct mechanical stimulation of the sensory hair cells. This photo shows [...]
Being a TA for the BIE course at Woods Hole was a lot of fun and a lot of work. We showed up at the beginning of the course to empty lab spaces and then set absolutely everything up for the 18 students and 40 rotating faculty members that would be coming through. Since my [...]
Posted in Conferences, Publications, Research on Aug 4th, 2011
The Mechanics of Hearing meeting at Williams college was phenomenal! I gave the first talk of the meeting and was thrilled by the number of people that sought me out after the talk to discuss hair cell filtering, tuning, and resonance. The final manuscripts for the proceedings have been submitted and will be available online [...]
It looks like I’ll be spending the month of August at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Woods Holes as a teaching assistant for the Biology of the Inner Ear course. It will be an exciting three week course filled with laboratories and lectures run by many of the most prominent researchers in our field. [...]
Posted in Publications, Research on Apr 3rd, 2011
Mammalian vestibular hair cells and primary afferents: Channeling motion signals Ruth Anne Eatock and Jocelyn E. Songer Departments of Otology, Laryngology, and Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115 Mammalian vestibular organs detect head motions over a wide range of amplitudes and frequencies. Afferents from central zones of vestibular epithelia are high-speed pathways for phasic [...]
Posted in Conferences, Research on Mar 8th, 2011
Every year I go to the midwinter meeting of the Association for Reasearch in Otolaryngology (ARO). This year the meeting was held February 19-23 in Baltimore, MD. It was a great meeting. I presented my recent work on transduction, transmission, and tuning in the mammalian saccule on Sunday and Monday, and got lots of insightful [...]