Spontaneous synaptic potentials from afferent terminals in the guinea pig cochlea

Where is the spike generator of the cochlear nerve? Voltage-gated sodium channels in the mouse cochlea

The origin of the action potential in the cochlea has been a long-standing puzzle. Because voltage-dependent Na+ (Nav) channels are essential for action potential generation, we investigated the detailed distribution of Nav1.6 and Nav1.2 in the cochlear ganglion, cochlear nerve, and organ of Corti, including the type I and type II ganglion cells. In most type I ganglion cells, Nav1.6 was present at the first nodes flanking the myelinated bipolar cell body and at subsequent nodes of Ranvier. In the other ganglion cells, including type II, Nav1.6 clustered in the initial segments of both of the axons that flank the unmyelinated bipolar ganglion cell bodies. In the organ of Corti, Nav1.6 was localized in the short segments of the afferent axons and their sensory endings beneath each inner hair cell. Surprisingly, the outer spiral fibers and their sensory endings were well labeled beneath the outer hair cells over their entire trajectory. In contrast, Nav1.2 in the organ of Corti was localized to the unmyelinated efferent axons and their endings on the inner and outer hair cells. We present a computational model illustrating the potential role of the Nav channel distribution described here. In the deaf mutant quivering mouse, the localization of Nav1.6 was disrupted in the sensory epithelium and ganglion. Together, these results suggest that distinct Nav channels generate and regenerate action potentials at multiple sites along the cochlear ganglion cells and nerve fibers, including the afferent endings, ganglionic initial segments, and nodes of Ranvier.

A clockwork hypothesis: synaptic release by rod photoreceptors must be regular

We can see at light intensities much lower than an average of one photon per rod photoreceptor, demonstrating that rods must be able to transmit a signal after absorption of a single photon. However, activation of one rhodopsin molecule (Rh*) hyperpolarizes a mammalian rod by just 1 mV. Based on the properties of the voltage-dependent Ca2+ channel and data on [Ca2+] in the rod synaptic terminal, the 1 mV hyperpolarization should reduce the rate of release of quanta of neurotransmitter by only 20%. If quantal release were Poisson, the distributions of quantal count in the dark and in response to one Rh* would overlap greatly. Depending on the threshold quantal count, the overlap would generate too frequent false positives in the dark, too few true positives in response to one Rh*, or both. Therefore, quantal release must be regular, giving narrower distributions of quantal count that overlap less. We model regular release as an Erlang process, essentially a mechanism that counts many Poisson events before release of a quantum of neurotransmitter. The combination of appropriately narrow distributions of quantal count and a suitable threshold can give few false positives and appropriate (e.g., 35%) efficiency for one Rh*.

Time and intensity coding at the hair cell's ribbon synapse

The activity of individual afferent neurones in the mammalian cochlea can be driven by neurotransmitter released from a single synaptic ribbon in a single inner hair cell. Thus, a ribbon synapse must be able to transmit all the information on sound frequency, intensity and timing carried centrally. This task is made still more demanding by the process of binaural sound localization that utilizes separate computations of time and intensity, with temporal resolution as fine as 10 micros in central nuclei. These computations may rely in part on the fact that the response phase (at the characteristic frequency) of individual afferent neurones is invariant with intensity. Somehow, the ribbon synapse can provide stronger synaptic drive to signal varying intensity, without accompanying changes in transmission time that ordinarily occur during chemical neurotransmission. Recent ultrastructural and functional studies suggest features of the ribbon that may underlie these capabilities.

Structure and function of ribbon synapses

Sensory neurons with short conduction distances can use nonregenerative, graded potentials to modulate transmitter release continuously. This mechanism can transmit information at much higher rates than spiking. Graded signaling requires a synapse to sustain high rates of exocytosis for relatively long periods, and this capacity is the special virtue of ribbon synapses. Vesicles tethered to the ribbon provide a pool for sustained release that is typically fivefold greater than the docked pool available for fast release. The current article, which is part of the TINS Synaptic Connectivity series, reviews recent evidence for this fundamental computational strategy and its underlying cell biology.

The afferent synapse of cochlear hair cells

Mechanosensory hair cells of the cochlea must serve as both transducers and presynaptic terminals, precisely releasing neurotransmitter to encode acoustic signals for the postsynaptic afferent neuron. Remarkably, each inner hair cell serves as the sole input for 10-30 individual afferent neurons, which requires extraordinary precision and reliability from the synaptic ribbons that marshal vesicular release onto each afferent. Recent studies of hair cell membrane capacitance and postsynaptic currents suggest that the synaptic ribbon may operate by simultaneous multi-vesicular release. This mechanism could serve to ensure the accurate timing of transmission, and further challenges our understanding of this synaptic nano-machine.

Synaptic ribbon. Conveyor belt or safety belt?

The synaptic ribbon in neurons that release transmitter via graded potentials has been considered as a conveyor belt that actively moves vesicles toward their release sites. But evidence has accumulated to the contrary, and it now seems plausible that the ribbon serves instead as a safety belt to tether vesicles stably in mutual contact and thus facilitate multivesicular release by compound exocytosis.

A revised model of the inner-hair cell and auditory-nerve complex

A revised computational model of the inner-hair cell (IHC) and auditory-nerve (AN) complex is presented and evaluated. Building on previous models, the algorithm is intended as a component for use in more comprehensive models of the auditory periphery. It combines smaller components that aim to be faithful to physiology in so far as is practicable and known. Transduction between cochlear mechanical motion and IHC receptor potential (RP) is simulated using a modification of an existing biophysical IHC model. Changes in RP control the opening of calcium ion channels near the synapse, and local calcium levels determine the probability of the release of neurotransmitter. AN adaptation results from transmitter depletion. The exact timing of AN action potentials is determined by the quantal and stochastic release of neurotransmitter into the cleft. The model reproduces a wide range of animal RP and AN observations. When the input to the model is taken from a suitably nonlinear simulation of the motion of the cochlear partition, the new algorithm is able to simulate the rate-intensity functions of low-, medium-, and high-spontaneous rate AN fibers in response to stimulation both at best frequency and at other frequencies. The variation in fiber type arises in large part from the manipulation of a single parameter in the model: maximum calcium conductance. The model also reproduces quantitatively phase-locking characteristics, relative refractory effects, mean-to-variance ratio, and first- and second-order discharge history effects.

Auditory steady-state responses to exponential modulation envelopes

OBJECTIVE

This study examined the steady-state responses evoked by tones modulated with exponential envelopes. The hypothesis was that stimuli with envelopes containing more rapid changes would evoke larger responses.

DESIGN

Multiple auditory steady-state responses were recorded simultaneously to eight tonal stimuli, four in each ear. The carrier frequencies of the stimuli ranged from 500 to 6000 Hz and the modulation rates were between 75 and 95 Hz. The modulation envelopes were based on functions using sin' where N was 1, 2, 3, or 4. Setting N to 1 produced the traditional sinusoidal modulation.

RESULTS

Exponential envelopes with N greater than 1 produced larger steady-state responses than a sinusoidal envelope. For amplitude-modulation (AM), exponential envelopes increased response amplitudes by 21% at 55 dB pSPL, and by 29% at 35 dB pSPL. The increases were smaller for carrier frequencies of 1500 to 2000 Hz than for lower and higher carrier frequencies. Latencies calculated from phase data increased significantly with increasing N. This was likely caused by the point of maximal envelope-slope shifting later in time as N increased. For frequency modulation (FM), the steady-state responses did not significantly change with changes in the power of the exponential envelopes.

CONCLUSIONS

When tones are amplitude-modulated with exponential envelopes based on sin(N), the amplitude and latency of the steady-state response increased significantly with increasing N. Using exponential envelopes with N greater than 1 should considerably shorten the time needed for responses to become significant when using steady-state responses in objective audiometry.

Transmitter release at the hair cell ribbon synapse

Neurotransmitters are released continuously at ribbon synapses in the retina and cochlea. Notably, a single ribbon synapse of inner hair cells provides the entire input to each cochlear afferent fiber. We investigated hair cell transmitter release in the postnatal rat cochlea by recording excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) from afferent boutons directly abutting the ribbon synapse. EPSCs were carried by rapidly gating AMPA receptors. EPSCs were clustered in time, indicating the possibility of coordinate release. Amplitude distributions of spontaneous EPSCs were highly skewed, peaking at 0.4 nS and ranging up to 20 times larger. Hair cell depolarization increased EPSC frequency up to 150 Hz without altering the amplitude distribution. We propose that the ribbon synapse operates by multivesicular release, possibly to achieve high-frequency transmission.

Temporal integration of sound pressure determines thresholds of auditory-nerve fibers

Current propositions of the quantity of sound driving the central auditory system, specifically around threshold, are diverse and at variance with one another. They include sound pressure, sound power, or intensity, which are proportional to the square of pressure, and energy, i.e., the integral of sound power over time. Here we show that the relevant sound quantity and the nature of the threshold can be obtained from the timing of the first spike of auditory-nerve (AN) fibers after the onset of a stimulus. We reason that the first spike is triggered when the stimulus reaches threshold and occurs with fixed delay thereafter. By probing cat AN fibers with characteristic frequency tones of different sound pressure levels and rise times, we show that the differences in relative timing of the first spike (including latencies >100 msec of fibers with low spontaneous rates) can be well accounted for by essentially linear integration of pressure over time. The inclusion of a constant pressure loss or gain to the integrator improves the fit of the model and also accounts for most of the variation of spontaneous rates across fibers. In addition, there are tight correlations among delay, threshold, and spontaneous rate. First-spike timing cannot be explained by models based on a fixed pressure threshold, a fixed power or intensity threshold, or an energy threshold. This suggests that AN fiber thresholds are best measured in units of pressure by time. Possible mechanisms of pressure integration by the inner hair cell-AN fiber complex are discussed.

Spontaneous activity in the statoacoustic ganglion of the chicken embryo

Statoacoustic ganglion cells in the mature bird include neurons that are responsive to sound (auditory) and those that are not (nonauditory). Those that are nonauditory have been shown to innervate an otolith organ, the macula lagena, whereas auditory neurons innervate the basilar papilla. In the present study, single-unit recordings of statoacoustic ganglion cells were made in embryonic (E19, mean = 19.2 days of incubation) and hatchling (P6-P14, mean = 8.6 days posthatch) chickens. Spontaneous activity from the two age groups was compared with developmental changes. Activity was evaluated for 47 auditory, 11 nonauditory, and 6 undefined eighth nerve neurons in embryos and 29 auditory, 26 nonauditory, and 1 undefined neurons in hatchlings. For auditory neurons, spontaneous activity displayed an irregular pattern [discharge interval coefficient of variation (CV) was >0.5, mean CV for embryos was 1.46 +/- 0.58 and for hatchlings was 1.02 +/- 0.25; means +/- SD]. Embryonic discharge rates ranged from 0.05 to 97.6 spikes per second (sp/s) for all neurons (mean 18.6 +/- 16.9 sp/s). Hatchling spontaneous rates ranged from 1.2 to 185.2 sp/s (mean 66.5 +/- 39.6 sp/s). Discharge rates were significantly higher for hatchlings (P < 0.001). Many embryonic auditory neurons displayed long silent periods between irregular bursts of neural activity, a feature not seen posthatch. All regular bursting discharge patterns were correlated with heart rate in both embryos and hatchlings. Preferred intervals were visible in the time interval histograms (TIHs) of only one embryonic neuron in contrast to 55% of the neurons in posthatch animals. Generally, the embryonic auditory TIH displayed a modified quasi-Poisson distribution. Nonauditory units generally displayed regular (CV <0.5) or irregular (CV >0.5) activity and Gaussian and modified-Gaussian TIHs. Long silent periods or bursting patterns were not a characteristic of embryonic nonauditory neurons. CV varied systematically as a function of discharge rate in nonauditory but not auditory primary afferents. Minimum spike intervals (dead time) and interval modes for auditory neurons were longer in embryos (dead time: embryos 2.88 +/- 6.85 ms; hatchlings 1.50 +/- 1.76 ms; modal intervals: embryo 10.09 +/- 22.50 ms, hatchling 3.54 +/- 3.29 ms). The results show that significant developmental changes occur in spontaneous activity between E19 and posthatch. It is likely that both presynaptic and postsynaptic changes in the neuroepithelium contribute to maturational refinements during this period of development.

Stochastic resonance in cochlear signal transduction

The use of a stochastic resonance model contributes crucially to our comprehension of the intensity resolution characteristics of the mammalian cochlea. In guinea pigs, as demonstrated by different statistical methods, the temporal distribution of the interspike intervals of the spontaneous activity reflects an intrinsic cochlear white noise process, demanded as basic requirement for manifest stochastic resonance phenomena. Brownian motion of cochlear fluids is discussed as the underlying white noise motor. Following our model, the amount of white noise, adjusted at the level of the stereocilia of the inner hair cells, determines the threshold, dynamic range and intensity discrimination limen of an individual afferent neuron of the mammalian cochlea.

Further results with the 'uniquantal EPSP' hypothesis

The hypothesis of Geisler (Brain Res. 212 (1981) 198-201), in which the different spontaneous-rate classes of primary auditory neurons were accounted for by the different sizes of uniquantal EPSPs relative to the gap between resting membrane and threshold potentials, was represented with an expanded model which included relative refractory effects. The spike rates generated by the expanded model, when plotted vs. estimated sound level, are qualitatively similar to those of experimentally obtained rate-level curves. The hypothesis is also consistent with recent ultrastructural data which suggest that average quantal-release rates for any particular primary auditory neuron are inversely related to its spontaneous rate. The model's recovery processes following spike generation (hazard functions) are also similar to those observed experimentally.

Stochastic threshold characterization of the intensity of active channel dynamical action potential generation

Stochastic threshold characterization of the intensity of active channel dynamical action potential generation. J. Neurophysiol. 78: 2616-2630, 1997. This paper develops a stochastic intensity description for action potential generation formulated in terms of stochastic processes, which are direct analogues of the physiological processes of the pre- and postsynaptic complex of the cochlear nerve: 1) neurotransmitter release is modeled as an inhomogeneous Poisson counting process with release intensity mu t, 2) the excitatory postsynaptic conductance (EPSC) process is modeled as a marked, linearly filtered Poisson process resulting from the linear superposition of standard shaped postsynaptic conductances of size G, and 3) action potential generation is modeled as resulting from the EPSC exceeding a random threshold determined by active channel dynamics of the Hodgkin-Huxley type. The random threshold is defined to be the least upper bound in the size of a standard-shaped neurotransmitter release injected at time t given the previous action potential time and the number of releases occurring in a short preconditioning time increment. The action potential process is modeled as a self-exciting point process with stochastic intensity resulting from the probability that the random threshold process crosses the threshold in some small time increment that is a function of time since previous action potential, release intensity, and the probability that a single synaptic event exceeds the stochastic threshold. The stochastic intensity model is consistent with a direct simulation of the nonlinear Hodgkin-Huxley differential equations over a variety of parameters for the vesicle release intensity, vesicle size, vesicle duration, and temperatures. Results are presented showing that the regularity properties seen in the vestibular primary afferent in the lizard, Calotes versicolor, associated with a slow-to-activate potassium channel resulting in a long afterhyperpolarization can be accommodated directly by the stochastic intensity description. The stimulus dependence of the model is attributed to synaptic transmission and the probabilistic nature to the threshold conductance process, which is dependent upon the EPSC process. The stochastic intensity is seen to have a form consistent with the phenomenologically based Siebert-Gaumond model, a stimulus-related function of time multiplied by a refractory-related function of time since previous action potential.

Transmitter release in inner hair cell synapses: a model analysis of spontaneous and driven rate properties of cochlear nerve fibres

The inner hair cell (IHC) synapse is one of the stages of cochlear processing that determine the relation between sound pressure level and spike rate in auditory nerve fibres. Transmitter released in the non-stimulated condition is held responsible for the wide range of spontaneous spike rates (SR) observed in these fibres. Properties of stimulated spike activity in auditory nerve fibres, including rate threshold and operating range of a fibre, are known to systematically vary with SR. This paper presents a model analysis of the relation between IHC transmembrane potential and transmitter release rate as becoming manifest in these spontaneous and driven rate properties. A previously developed computational model is used to identify those transfer properties of its synapse section which lead to reproduction of the variation of rate thresholds, shapes of rate-intensity functions and maximal driven rate with SR known from the literature. First a simple additive release model, in which driven transmitter release depends linearly on IHC potential, is elaborated. Its results lead to the hypothesis that the true release function is non-linear and variable across synapses generating different SR. An exponential release function is then introduced, with parameters varying across SR in a physiologically dictated way. This approach leads to adequate reproduction of the variation in rate thresholds and rate-intensity functions with SR. Finally, the model is applied in an inverse way to directly estimate the release function from given rate-intensity functions. The conclusion of both forward and inverse model analyses is that transmitter release is a non-linear function of IHC potential which, by the systematic variation of its parameters across SR, effectively leads to the physiological variation in dynamic range across fibres of different SR. Possible relations of these results with ultrastructural morphology and basic physiology of IHC synapses are discussed.

Endogenous firing patterns of murine spiral ganglion neurons

Current-clamp recordings with the use of the whole cell configuration of the patch-clamp technique were made from postnatal mouse spiral ganglion neurons in vitro. Cultures contained neurons that displayed monopolar, bipolar, and pseudomonopolar morphologies. Additionally, a class of neurons having exceptionally large somata was observed. Frequency histograms of the maximum number of action potentials fired from 240-ms step depolarizations showed that neurons could be classified as either slowly adapting or rapidly adapting. Most neurons (85%) were in the rapidly adapting category (58 of 68 recordings). Measurements of elementary properties were used to define the endogenous firing characteristics of both the neuron classes. Action potential number varied with step and holding potential, spike amplitude decayed during prolonged depolarizations, and spike frequency adaptation was observed in both rapidly and slowly adapting neurons. The apparent input resistance, spike amplitude decrement, and instantaneous firing frequency differed significantly between rapidly and slow adapting neurons. Inward rectification was evaluated in response to hyperpolarizing contrast current injections. Present in both electrophysiological classes, its magnitude was graded from neuron to neuron, reflecting differences in number, type, and/or voltage dependence of the underlying channels. These data suggest that spiral ganglion neurons possess intrinsic firing properties that regulate action potential number and timing, features that may be crucial to signal coding in the auditory periphery.

Ultrastructural differences among afferent synapses on cochlear hair cells: correlations with spontaneous discharge rate

The major class of cochlear afferent fibers, the type-I or radial-fiber (RF) population, has been subdivided into three functional groups according to spontaneous discharge rate (SR): those with low SR have the highest acoustic thresholds, high SR fibers have the lowest thresholds and medium SR fibers are of intermediate sensitivity (Liberman [1978] J. Acoust. Soc. Amer. 63:442-455). Existing evidence from intracellular labeling studies at the light microscopic level (Liberman [1982a] Science 216:1239-1241) suggests that a single cochlear inner hair cell makes synaptic contact with representatives of all three functional groups; however, low and medium SR fibers are spatially segregated from high SR fibers around the hair cell circumference, and low and medium SR fibers are smaller in caliber than those with high SR. The present study extends to the ultrastructural level the structure-function correlations available via intracellular labeling. Analysis is based on serial section reconstruction of the synaptic contacts between 11 radial fibers of known SR and their target hair cells. Results suggest systematic differences in synaptic ultrastructure among fibers of the three SR groups: with decreasing SR, the size and complexity of the synaptic body (a presynaptic specialization characteristic of the peripheral afferent synapses in all hair cell systems and some other peripheral receptors) tend to increase, as does the associated number of synaptic vesicles. The possible functional significance of these trends is discussed in the context of other known structural and functional differences among the three SR groups.

Recovery characteristics of auditory nerve fibres in the normal and noise-damaged guinea pig cochlea

Spontaneous activity was analysed in auditory-nerve fibres innervating normal and noise-damaged cochleas. Spike occurrences were conceived as point processes. Joint interval distributions and serial correlation coefficients reveal a weak history effect for succeeding intervals. The point process is regarded as a renewal and the recovery function, being proportional to the hazard function, is determined from the interval probability density function. In 29 out of 60 fibres the latter shows peculiarities which result in a deviation from a monotonically increasing recovery function. For three fibers of low characteristic frequency the interval probability function shows an oscillatory pattern and for 26 fibres this function exhibits an early, sharp peak around 1.1 ms irrespective of characteristic frequency, spontaneous rate, or cochlear damage. The recovery function is not different between fibres with normal and those with abnormally high thresholds and exhibits an exponential recovery with one time constant of average value 1.6 ms. Bursting activity is found in only one fibre from the abnormally high threshold group.