Auditory system

The auditory system is a complex physiological network responsible for the perception and processing of sound, comprising the peripheral hearing organs (outer, middle, and inner ear) and the central auditory pathways in the brain [1]. At its core, the system relies on specialized sensory hair cells in the cochlea to perform mechanotransduction, converting physical sound waves into electrical signals for the vestibulocochlear nerve [5, 9]. While it is not a single molecular target, the auditory system is a major focus of pharmaceutical research due to the high prevalence of sensorineural hearing loss and tinnitus, as well as the risk of drug-induced ototoxicity from agents like aminoglycosides and cisplatin [11, 12]. Therapeutic interventions targeting the system typically focus on otoprotection, hair cell regeneration (e.g., via ATOH1 or Notch pathways), and the modulation of neurotransmitters such as glutamate and adenosine [2, 13, 14]. Developing drugs for this system remains challenging due to the protective blood-cochlea barrier and the limited regenerative capacity of human sensory cells [1, 11].

Other names

Hearing systemAuditory pathwayPeripheral auditory systemCentral auditory systemAural system

The auditory system functions through the conversion of mechanical sound waves into electrical signals via mechanotransduction in cochlear hair cells; drugs typically target specific molecular components within this system to prevent hair cell death (otoprotection), promote the differentiation of supporting cells into hair cells (regeneration), or modulate synaptic transmission between hair cells and auditory neurons [1, 2, 12].