where does transduction take place in the ear
Transduction (physiology) In the auditory system, sound vibrations (mechanical energy) are transduced into electrical energy by hair cells in the inner ear. Sound vibrations from an object cause vibrations in air molecules, which in turn, vibrate the ear drum. The movement of the eardrum causes the bones of the middle ear (the ossicles) to vibrate.[5][6] These vibrations then pass into the cochlea, the organ of hearing. Within the cochlea, the hair cells on the sensory epithelium of the organ of Corti bend and cause movement of the basilar membrane. The membrane undulates in different sized waves according to the frequency of the sound. Hair cells are then able to convert this movement (mechanical energy) into electrical signals (graded receptor potentials) which travel along auditory nerves to hearing centres in the brain.[7]
Inner ear The vestibular system of the inner ear is responsible for the sensations of balance and motion. It uses the same kinds of fluids and detection cells (hair cells) as the cochlea uses, and sends information to the brain about the attitude, rotation, and linear motion of the head. The type of motion or attitude detected by a hair cell depends on its associated mechanical structures, such as the curved tube of a semicircular canal or the calcium carbonate crystals (otolith) of the saccule and utricle.