The dissection of the Drosophila auditory system has revealed multiple parallels between fly and vertebrate hearing. Recent studies have analyzed the operation of auditory sensory cells and the processing of sound in the fly's brain. Neuronal responses to sound have been characterized, and novel classes of auditory neurons have been defined; transient receptor potential (TRP) channels were implicated in auditory transduction, and genetic and environmental causes of auditory dysfunctions have been identified. This review discusses the implications of these recent advances on our understanding of how hearing happens in the fly.
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