Cellular mechanisms underlying the sense of balance

Funding Activity

Website
http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/100905

Funding Status
Closed

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Funded Activity Summary

Dizziness, vertigo, and imbalance are major reasons for visits to the doctor, particularly by the elderly. For example, balance related falls account for an astonishing 50% of accidental deaths in people over 65. Inner ear disturbances account for 85% of these cases. Illness, infections, disease, head trauma or simply the natural aging process cause these disturbances and it is thought that they result in abnormal signals being sent from the inner ear to the brain. In spite of the health costs associated with disorders of balance, very little is known about how signals are generated in our vestibular organs, let alone what abnormal changes may occur. Our attempts to understand balance in humans have been hampered by the lack of suitable experimental models. This proposal takes advantage of a newly developed mouse preparation to study key problems that could not be realistically addressed in whole animal or dissociated cells. We will investigate three critical components of balance organs. These components are: 1) hair cells that detect motion; 2) nerve endings that send information from hair cells to the brain; and 3) nerve endings that bring information from the brain. The aim of this proposal is to understand how these components interact with each other to provide us with a sense of balance. This knowledge will be the first of its kind and contribute significantly to our understanding of human vestibular function and pathology.

Funded Activity Details

Start Date: 01-01-2000

End Date: 01-01-2002

Funding Scheme: NHMRC Project Grants

Funding Amount: $192,960.00

Funder: National Health and Medical Research Council

Research Topics

ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)

Medical virology

ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)

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Other Keywords

Afferent physiology | Aging | Dizziness / Vertigo | Eighth Cranial Nerve | Hair cell physiology | Meniere's Disease | Ototoxicity | Synaptic transmission | Vestibular system

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