TEMPERATURE-DEPENDENCE OF SACCULAR NERVE-FIBER RESPONSE IN THE NORTH-AMERICAN BULLFROG

A clinical microwave device was used to heat the head and ear of the N orth American bullfrog in order to observe the temperature dependence of tuning in the sacculus, an organ known to possess the capability of electrical resonance in its hair cells. In tuning curves derived from reverse correlation analysis with noise stimuli, the temperature depe ndencies of the frequencies of tuning peaks and notches typically exhi bited Q(10)s less than 1.1; whereas the frequencies of electrical reso nances are expected to have Q(10)s Of the order of 1.7. Therefore we c onclude that electrical resonances are not significantly involved in t uning in the bullfrog sacculus.