Anaesthetics may change the shape of isolated type I hair cells.

Type I hair cells isolated from animals anaesthetised with barbiturates or ether were found to be shorter and to lack a prominent 'neck' region when compared to cells isolated from non-anaesthetised animals. Ketamine did not have this effect. The changes observed could have important implications for the physiology of inner ear receptors. These findings infer that care should be taken in the choice of anaesthetics used in studies on cells from the inner ear.