Mechanical noise enhances signal transmission in the bullfrog sacculus

Abstract

Noise has been commonly thought to degrade the performance of sensory systems. However, it is now clear that the detection and transmission of weak signals in sensory systems can be enhanced by noise via stochastic resonance (SR). In hair cells, the quality of mechanoelectrical transduction is enhanced up to twofold by nanometer level mechanical noise acting on the hair bundle. We wanted to know whether these gains could be preserved, perhaps even enhanced, as information flows across hair cell synapses, and into the stream of action potentials that in the frog conveys acoustic information to the central nervous system. To approach this question, we studied the effects of noise on the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the 8th nerve's response to small mechanical stimuli directly applied to the amphibian sacculus. We found that ∼2.5 nm of mechanical noise enhanced the response of the saccular nerve up to fourfold, suggesting that the positive effects of low-amplitude mechanical noise result in improved transmission of acoustic information.