The sensory cells of the inner ear are called hair cells, and they are responsible for hearing and balance. With modern tools, there has been a new sophistication in analyzing how these receptors work at the cellular level. This conference will bring together biophysicists, biochemists, pharmacologists, physiol- ogists and anatomists to focus on three major topics: hair cell motility, information processing, and intercellular connections among hair cells and nerve cells. The emphasis will be on reaching some consensus on these three topics, since they have recently emerged as leading issues, as the technology to address them has advanced in the last decade. The impact of this meeting is likely to be a new formulation of the role of interactions between the peripheral sensory system and the central nervous system, and will be important to understanding sensory processing in general, as well as understanding auditory and vestibular function in particular.
