Optimizing the Vertebrate Vestibular Semicircular Canal: Could We Balance Any Better?

作     者：Todd M. Squires 

作者机构：Department of Physics and Department of Applied and Computational Mathematics California Institute of Technology 114-36 Pasadena California 91125 USA 

出 版 物：《Physical Review Letters》 (Phys Rev Lett)

年 卷 期：2004年第93卷第19期

页      面：198106-198106页

核心收录：

学科分类：07[理学] 0702[理学-物理学] 

主　　题：.semicircular Building Materials SCCs 

摘      要：The fluid-filled semicircular canals (SCCs) of the vestibular system are used by all vertebrates to sense angular rotation. Despite masses spanning seven decades, all mammalian SCCs are nearly the same size. We propose that the SCC represents a sensory organ that evolution has “optimally designed. Four geometric parameters characterize the SCC, and “building materials of given physical properties are assumed. Identifying physical and physiological constraints on SCC operation, we find the most sensitive SCC has dimensions consistent with available data. Since natural selection involves optimization, this approach may find broader use in understanding biological structures.