Academic Degrees
Departmental Address
Ross 818
Research and Professional Experience
Synaptic Physiology of Cochlear Hair Cells
Mechanosensory hair cells of the inner ear convert sound waves or head motions into electrical signals for transmission to the central nervous system. Voltage- and ligand-gated ion channels in the hair cell membrane shape that receptor potential, resulting in the release of neurotransmitter from the hair cell onto an associated afferent dendrite. Information sent to the brain is echoed by feedback to the periphery; one form being cholinergic inhibition of cochlear hair cells by neurons of the superior olivary complex.
Both afferent and efferent synapses of cochlear hair cells are studied in this laboratory. We use primarily the tools of cellular electrophysiology to examine synaptic signaling in living hair cells and neurons of the excised sensory epithelium. In addition, we combine these functional studies with molecular cloning (reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction from microdissected tissues and singly isolated cells) as well as histology to identify candidate gene products that constitute the synaptic mechanisms.
Keywords
cochlea, hair cell, synapse, electrophysiology
Honors and Awards
1974 Phi Beta Kappa
1975 National Science Foundation Predoc Fellowship
1977 Grass Foundation Fellowship
1979 National Science Foundation Res Fellowship
1980 National Institute of Health Fellowship
1981 NATO Postdoctoral Fellowship
1983 Wellcome Foundation Research Fellowship
1985 NIH Research Career Development Award
1986 March of Dimes Research Award
1987 Medical School Teaching Award, U. Colorado
1992 Research Award - National Organization for Hearing Research.
1992 Medical School Teaching Award, U. Colorado
1993 Visiting Scientist, Kyoto, Tokushima and Sendai, Japan.
1993Medical School Teaching Award, U. Colorado
1995Medical School Teaching Award, U. Colorado
1995 Kaiser Permanente Teaching Award, U. Colorado Medical School.
1997Grass Foundation Traveling Scientist Award
2004 the John E. Bordley Professorship in Otolaryngology/ Head and Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins
2006The A.R. Martin Lecturer, U. Colorado.
Selected Publications
Yiru Shen, Dejie Yu, Hakim Hiel, Ping Liao, David T. Yue, Paul A. Fuchs, and Tuck Wah Soong. Alternative Splicing of the CaV1.3 Channel IQ Domain, a Molecular Switch for Ca2+-Dependent Inactivation within Auditory Hair Cells. Journal of Neuroscience, 26:10690 – 10699.
Philemon S. Yang, Badr A. Alseikhan, Hakim Hiel, Lisa Grant, Masayuki X. Mori, Wanjun Yang, Paul A. Fuchs, and David T. Yue (2006). Switching of Ca2+-Dependent Inactivation of CaV1.3 Channels by Calcium Binding Proteins of Auditory Hair Cells. Journal of Neuroscience 26:10677 – 10689.
Fuchs P.A. and T. Parsons (2006). Synaptic physiology of hair cells. In “Sensory Hair Cells” Springer Handbook of Auditory Research. Vol. 27 pps. 249-312.
Fuchs, P.A. (2005). Time and intensity coding by the hair cell’s ribbon synapse. Journal of Physiology (hallmark edition on the The Senses) 566:7-12.
María Eugenia Gómez-Casati, Paul A. Fuchs, Ana Belén Elgoyhen and Eleonora Katz (2005). Biophysical and pharmacological characterization of nicotinic cholinergic receptors in cochlear inner hair cells. Journal of Physiology 566:103-18.
Juan Diego Goutman, Paul Albert Fuchs and Elisabeth Glowatzki (2005). Facilitating efferent inhibition of inner hair cells in the cochlea of the neonatal rat. Journal of Physiology 566: 49-59.
Matthews TM, Duncan RK, M. Zidanic,T. Michael and PA Fuchs (2005). Cloning and characterization of SK2 channels from chicken short hair cells. Journal of Comparative Physiology 191:491-503.
M. Lioudyno, H. Hiel, J-H. Kong, E. Katz, E. Waldman, S. Parameshwaran-Iyer, E. Glowatzki and P.A. Fuchs (2004). A ‘synaptoplasmic cistern’ mediates rapid inhibition of cochlear hair cells. Journal of Neuroscience 24(49):11160-4.
Katz E, Glowatzki E, Vetter D, Knipper, ME, Gomez-Casati ME, Elgoyhen AB, Fuchs P (2004). Developmental regulation of nicotinic synapses on cochlear inner hair cells. Journal of Neuroscience 24(36):7814-20.
Gomez-Casati, M., Katz E., Glowatzki E., Lioudyno M.L., Fuchs P. and A.B. Elgoyhen (2004). Linopirdine blocks ?9?10-containing nicotinic cholinergic receptors of cochlear hair cells. Journal of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology 5:261-269.
