Figure 1.

Scanning electron micrographs of the normal (a) and damaged (b) cochlear sensory epithelium. In the normal cochlea, the stereocilia of a single row of inner hair cells (IHCs) and three rows of outer hair cells (OHCs) are present in an orderly array. In the damaged cochlea, hair cells are missing, and stereocilia are abnormal, leading to hearing loss. Duan et al. (1) present data indicating that hair cell damage can be prevented by protecting the postsynaptic structures of their associated sensory neurons. (Micrographs are courtesy of Elizabeth M. Keithley.)