Which of the following structures is responsible for detecting rotational acceleration?
The semicircular canals are responsible for detecting rotational acceleration. As the head is rotated, fluid currents in the endolymph cause the deflection of the cupula and stimulate its hair cells. The magnitude of the fluid currents is propoional to the rotational acceleration, and the direction is related to the direction of the acceleration. The cochlea is the inner ear structure in which the mechanical energy of sound waves is transduced into neural impulses. The fovea centralis is the location on the retina responsible for most color vision. The saccule and utricle are inner ear structures that detect linear acceleration.
Cochlea
Fovea centralis
Saccule
Semicircular canals