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Nature 450, 43-44 (1 November 2007) | doi:10.1038/450043a; Published online 31 October 2007

Hearing: A fantasia on Kölliker's organ

Ian D. Forsythe1

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In the silence that precedes the onset of hearing in the developing auditory system, it seems that the cells of a transient structure known as Kölliker's organ are capable of generating their own 'virtual' music.

From a physiological perspective, a developing organ requires a programme that allows it to grow and adapt to internal and environmental constraints. In sensory systems such as those involved in sight and hearing, the adaptable growth of afferent (incoming) nerve fibres is involved in connecting the peripheral sensory organ to the neurons of the central nervous system.

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