What is the primary sensory response of the otolith organ?

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Multiple Choice

What is the primary sensory response of the otolith organ?

Explanation:
The otolith organs sense linear motion and head position relative to gravity. When the head accelerates in a straight line, the otolith membrane with its crystals lags behind due to inertia, causing the hair cells to bend. That deflection generates neural signals corresponding to linear acceleration. Angular acceleration is detected by the semicircular canals, not the otoliths, and sound waves affect hearing in the cochlea, not the otolith organs. So the primary sensory response of the otolith organ is hair deflection with linear acceleration (gravity is a form of linear acceleration when the head tilts).

The otolith organs sense linear motion and head position relative to gravity. When the head accelerates in a straight line, the otolith membrane with its crystals lags behind due to inertia, causing the hair cells to bend. That deflection generates neural signals corresponding to linear acceleration. Angular acceleration is detected by the semicircular canals, not the otoliths, and sound waves affect hearing in the cochlea, not the otolith organs. So the primary sensory response of the otolith organ is hair deflection with linear acceleration (gravity is a form of linear acceleration when the head tilts).

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