Voltage-gated potassium current and resonance in the toadfish saccular hair cell

Social Communication across Reproductive Boundaries: Hormones and the Auditory Periphery of Songbirds and Frogs

Most animals experience reproductive transitions in their lives; for example, reaching reproductive maturity or cycling in and out of breeding condition. Some reproductive transitions are abrupt, while others are more gradual. In most cases, changes in communication between the sexes follow the time course of these reproductive transitions and are typically thought to be coordinated by steroid hormones. We know a great deal about hormonal control of communication behaviors in birds and frogs, as well as the central neural control of these behaviors. There has also been significant interest in the effects of steroid hormones on central nervous system structures that control both the production and reception of communication signals associated with reproductive behaviors. However, peripheral sensory structures have typically received less attention, although there has been growing interest in recent years. It is becoming clear that peripheral sensory systems play an important role in reproductive communication, are plastic across reproductive conditions, and, in some cases, this plasticity may be mediated by steroid hormones. In this article, we discuss recent evidence for the role of peripheral auditory structures in reproductive communication in birds and frogs, the plasticity of the peripheral auditory system, and the role of steroid hormones in mediating the effects of the peripheral auditory system on reproductive communication. We focus on both seasonal and acute reproductive transitions, introduce new data on the role of hormones in modulating seasonal patterns, and make recommendations for future work.

Anatomic and Physiologic Heterogeneity of Subgroup-A Auditory Sensory Neurons in Fruit Flies

The antennal ear of the fruit fly detects acoustic signals in intraspecific communication, such as the courtship song and agonistic sounds. Among the five subgroups of mechanosensory neurons in the fly ear, subgroup-A neurons respond maximally to vibrations over a wide frequency range between 100 and 1,200 Hz. The functional organization of the neural circuit comprised of subgroup-A neurons, however, remains largely unknown. In the present study, we used 11 GAL4 strains that selectively label subgroup-A neurons and explored the diversity of subgroup-A neurons by combining single-cell anatomic analysis and Ca²⁺ imaging. Our findings indicate that the subgroup-A neurons that project into various combinations of subareas in the brain are more anatomically diverse than previously described. Subgroup-A neurons were also physiologically diverse, and some types were tuned to a narrow frequency range, suggesting that the response of subgroup-A neurons to sounds of a wide frequency range is due to the existence of several types of subgroup-A neurons. Further, we found that an auditory behavioral response to the courtship song of flies was attenuated when most subgroup-A neurons were silenced. Together, these findings characterize the heterogeneous functional organization of subgroup-A neurons, which might facilitate species-specific acoustic signal detection.

Hearing conspecific vocal signals alters peripheral auditory sensitivity

We investigated whether hearing advertisement calls over several nights, as happens in natural frog choruses, modified the responses of the peripheral auditory system in the green treefrog, Hyla cinerea. Using auditory evoked potentials (AEP), we found that exposure to 10 nights of a simulated male chorus lowered auditory thresholds in males and females, while exposure to random tones had no effect in males, but did result in lower thresholds in females. The threshold change was larger at the lower frequencies stimulating the amphibian papilla than at higher frequencies stimulating the basilar papilla. Suprathreshold responses to tonal stimuli were assessed for two peaks in the AEP recordings. For the peak P1 (assessed for 0.8-1.25 kHz), peak amplitude increased following chorus exposure. For peak P2 (assessed for 2-4 kHz), peak amplitude decreased at frequencies between 2.5 and 4.0 kHz, but remained unaltered at 2.0 kHz. Our results show for the first time, to our knowledge, that hearing dynamic social stimuli, like frog choruses, can alter the responses of the auditory periphery in a way that could enhance the detection of and response to conspecific acoustic communication signals.

Neuroendocrine control of seasonal plasticity in the auditory and vocal systems of fish

Seasonal changes in reproductive-related vocal behavior are widespread among fishes. This review highlights recent studies of the vocal plainfin midshipman fish, Porichthys notatus, a neuroethological model system used for the past two decades to explore neural and endocrine mechanisms of vocal-acoustic social behaviors shared with tetrapods. Integrative approaches combining behavior, neurophysiology, neuropharmacology, neuroanatomy, and gene expression methodologies have taken advantage of simple, stereotyped and easily quantifiable behaviors controlled by discrete neural networks in this model system to enable discoveries such as the first demonstration of adaptive seasonal plasticity in the auditory periphery of a vertebrate as well as rapid steroid and neuropeptide effects on vocal physiology and behavior. This simple model system has now revealed cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying seasonal and steroid-driven auditory and vocal plasticity in the vertebrate brain.

Manipulation of BK channel expression is sufficient to alter auditory hair cell thresholds in larval zebrafish

Non-mammalian vertebrates rely on electrical resonance for frequency tuning in auditory hair cells. A key component of the resonance exhibited by these cells is an outward calcium-activated potassium current that flows through large-conductance calcium-activated potassium (BK) channels. Previous work in midshipman fish (Porichthys notatus) has shown that BK expression correlates with seasonal changes in hearing sensitivity and that pharmacologically blocking these channels replicates the natural decreases in sensitivity during the winter non-reproductive season. To test the hypothesis that reducing BK channel function is sufficient to change auditory thresholds in fish, morpholino oligonucleotides (MOs) were used in larval zebrafish (Danio rerio) to alter expression of slo1a and slo1b, duplicate genes coding for the pore-forming α-subunits of BK channels. Following MO injection, microphonic potentials were recorded from the inner ear of larvae. Quantitative real-time PCR was then used to determine the MO effect on slo1a and slo1b expression in these same fish. Knockdown of either slo1a or slo1b resulted in disrupted gene expression and increased auditory thresholds across the same range of frequencies of natural auditory plasticity observed in midshipman. We conclude that interference with the normal expression of individual slo1 genes is sufficient to increase auditory thresholds in zebrafish larvae and that changes in BK channel expression are a direct mechanism for regulation of peripheral hearing sensitivity among fishes.

Songbird frequency selectivity and temporal resolution vary with sex and season

Many species of songbirds exhibit dramatic seasonal variation in song output. Recent evidence suggests that seasonal changes in auditory processing are coincident with seasonal variation in vocal output. Here, we show, for the first time, that frequency selectivity and temporal resolution of the songbird auditory periphery change seasonally and in a sex-specific manner. Male and female house sparrows (Passer domesticus) did not differ in their frequency sensitivity during the non-breeding season, nor did they differ in their temporal resolution. By contrast, female house sparrows showed enhanced frequency selectivity during the breeding season, which was matched by a concomitant reduction of temporal resolution. However, males failed to show seasonal plasticity in either of these auditory properties. We discuss potential mechanisms generating these seasonal patterns and the implications of sex-specific seasonal changes in auditory processing for vocal communication.

Adaptive hearing in the vocal plainfin midshipman fish: getting in tune for the breeding season and implications for acoustic communication

The plainfin midshipman fish (Porichthys notatus Girard, 1854) is a vocal species of batrachoidid fish that generates acoustic signals for intraspecific communication during social and reproductive activity and has become a good model for investigating the neural and endocrine mechanisms of vocal-acoustic communication. Reproductively active female plainfin midshipman fish use their auditory sense to detect and locate "singing" males, which produce a multiharmonic advertisement call to attract females for spawning. The seasonal onset of male advertisement calling in the midshipman fish coincides with an increase in the range of frequency sensitivity of the female's inner ear saccule, the main organ of hearing, thus leading to enhanced encoding of the dominant frequency components of male advertisement calls. Non-reproductive females treated with either testosterone or 17β-estradiol exhibit a dramatic increase in the inner ear's frequency sensitivity that mimics the reproductive female's auditory phenotype and leads to an increased detection of the male's advertisement call. This novel form of auditory plasticity provides an adaptable mechanism that enhances coupling between sender and receiver in vocal communication. This review focuses on recent evidence for seasonal reproductive-state and steroid-dependent plasticity of auditory frequency sensitivity in the peripheral auditory system of the midshipman fish. The potential steroid-dependent mechanism(s) that lead to this novel form of auditory and behavioral plasticity are also discussed.

Seasonal plasticity of auditory hair cell frequency sensitivity correlates with plasma steroid levels in vocal fish

Vertebrates displaying seasonal shifts in reproductive behavior provide the opportunity to investigate bidirectional plasticity in sensory function. The midshipman teleost fish exhibits steroid-dependent plasticity in frequency encoding by eighth nerve auditory afferents. In this study, evoked potentials were recorded in vivo from the saccule, the main auditory division of the inner ear of most teleosts, to test the hypothesis that males and females exhibit seasonal changes in hair cell physiology in relation to seasonal changes in plasma levels of steroids. Thresholds across the predominant frequency range of natural vocalizations were significantly less in both sexes in reproductive compared with non-reproductive conditions, with differences greatest at frequencies corresponding to call upper harmonics. A subset of non-reproductive males exhibiting an intermediate saccular phenotype had elevated testosterone levels, supporting the hypothesis that rising steroid levels induce non-reproductive to reproductive transitions in saccular physiology. We propose that elevated levels of steroids act via long-term (days to weeks) signaling pathways to upregulate ion channel expression generating higher resonant frequencies characteristic of non-mammalian auditory hair cells, thereby lowering acoustic thresholds.

Structural and functional effects of acoustic exposure in goldfish: evidence for tonotopy in the teleost saccule

BACKGROUND

Mammalian and avian auditory hair cells display tonotopic mapping of frequency along the length of the cochlea and basilar papilla. It is not known whether the auditory hair cells of fishes possess a similar tonotopic organization in the saccule, which is thought to be the primary auditory receptor in teleosts. To investigate this question, we determined the location of hair cell damage in the saccules of goldfish (Carassius auratus) following exposure to specific frequencies. Subjects were divided into six groups of six fish each (five treatment groups plus control). The treatment groups were each exposed to one of five tones: 100, 400, 800, 2000, and 4000 Hz at 176 dB re 1 μPa root mean squared (RMS) for 48 hours. The saccules of each fish were dissected and labeled with phalloidin in order to visualize hair cell bundles. The hair cell bundles were counted at 19 specific locations in each saccule to determine the extent and location of hair cell damage. In addition to quantification of anatomical injury, hearing tests (using auditory evoked potentials) were performed on each fish immediately following sound exposure. Threshold shifts were calculated by subtracting control thresholds from post-sound exposure thresholds.

RESULTS

All sound-exposed fish exhibited significant hair cell and hearing loss following sound exposure. The location of hair cell loss varied along the length of the saccule in a graded manner with the frequency of sound exposure, with lower and higher frequencies damaging the more caudal and rostral regions of the saccule, respectively. Similarly, fish exposed to lower frequency tones exhibited greater threshold shifts at lower frequencies, while high-frequency tone exposure led to hearing loss at higher frequencies. In general, both hair cell and hearing loss declined as a function of increasing frequency of exposure tone, and there was a significant linear relationship between hair cell loss and hearing loss.

CONCLUSIONS

The pattern of hair cell loss as a function of exposure tone frequency and saccular rostral-caudal location is similar to the pattern of hearing loss as a function of exposure tone frequency and hearing threshold frequency. This data suggest that the frequency analysis ability of goldfish is at least partially driven by peripheral tonotopy in the saccule.

Frequency tuning and intensity coding of sound in the auditory periphery of the lake sturgeon, Acipenser fulvescens

Acipenser fulvescens, the lake sturgeon, belongs to one of the few extant non-teleost ray-finned (bony) fishes. The sturgeons (family Acipenseridae) have a phylogenetic history that dates back about 250 million years. The study reported here is the first investigation of peripheral coding strategies for spectral analysis in the auditory system in a non-teleost bony fish. We used a shaker system to simulate the particle motion component of sound during electrophysiological recordings of isolated single units from the eighth nerve innervating the saccule and lagena. Background activity and response characteristics of saccular and lagenar afferents (such as thresholds, response-level functions and temporal firing) resembled the ones found in teleosts. The distribution of best frequencies also resembled data in teleosts (except for Carassius auratus, goldfish) tested with the same stimulation method. The saccule and lagena in A. fulvescens contain otoconia, in contrast to the solid otoliths found in teleosts, however, this difference in otolith structure did not appear to affect threshold, frequency tuning, intensity- or temporal responses of auditory afferents. In general, the physiological characteristics common to A. fulvescens, teleosts and land vertebrates reflect important functions of the auditory system that may have been conserved throughout the evolution of vertebrates.

Spikes and membrane potential oscillations in hair cells generate periodic afferent activity in the frog sacculus

To look for membrane potential oscillations that may contribute to sensory coding or amplification in the ear, we made whole-cell and perforated-patch recordings from hair cells and postsynaptic afferent neurites in the explanted frog sacculus, with mechanoelectrical transduction (MET) blocked. Small depolarizing holding currents, which may serve to replace the in vivo resting MET current, evoked all-or-none calcium spikes (39-75 mV amplitude) in 37% of hair cells tested, and continuous membrane potential oscillations (14-28 mV; 15-130 Hz) in an additional 14% of cells. Spiking hair cells were on average taller and thinner than nonspiking hair cells, and had smaller outward currents through delayed rectifier channels (I(KV)) and noninactivating calcium-activated potassium channels (I(BK,steady)), and larger inward rectifier currents (I(K1)). Some spiking hair cells fired only a brief train at the onset of a current step, but others could sustain repetitive firing (3-70 Hz). Partial blockade of I(BK) changed the amplitude and frequency of oscillations and spikes, and converted some nonspiking cells into spiking cells. Oscillatory hair cells preferentially amplified sinusoidal stimuli at frequencies near their natural oscillation frequency. Postsynaptic recordings revealed regularly timed bursts of EPSPs in some afferent neurites. EPSP bursts were able to trigger afferent spikes, which may be initiated at the sodium channel cluster located adjacent to the afferent axon's most peripheral myelin segment. These results show that some frog saccular hair cells can generate spontaneous rhythmic activity that may drive periodic background activity in afferent axons.

Seasonal plasticity of auditory saccular sensitivity in the vocal plainfin midshipman fish, Porichthys notatus

The plainfin midshipman fish, Porichthys notatus, is a seasonally breeding species of marine teleost fish that generates acoustic signals for intraspecific social and reproductive-related communication. Female midshipman use the inner ear saccule as the main acoustic endorgan for hearing to detect and locate vocalizing males that produce multiharmonic advertisement calls during the breeding season. Previous work showed that the frequency sensitivity of midshipman auditory saccular afferents changed seasonally with female reproductive state such that summer reproductive females became better suited than winter nonreproductive females to encode the dominant higher harmonics of the male advertisement calls. The focus of this study was to test the hypothesis that seasonal reproductive-dependent changes in saccular afferent tuning is paralleled by similar changes in saccular sensitivity at the level of the hair-cell receptor. Here, I examined the evoked response properties of midshipman saccular hair cells from winter nonreproductive and summer reproductive females to determine if reproductive state affects the frequency response and threshold of the saccule to behaviorally relevant single tone stimuli. Saccular potentials were recorded from populations of hair cells in vivo while sound was presented by an underwater speaker. Results indicate that saccular hair cells from reproductive females had thresholds that were approximately 8 to 13 dB lower than nonreproductive females across a broad range of frequencies that included the dominant higher harmonic components and the fundamental frequency of the male's advertisement call. These seasonal-reproductive-dependent changes in thresholds varied differentially across the three (rostral, middle, and caudal) regions of the saccule. Such reproductive-dependent changes in saccule sensitivity may represent an adaptive plasticity of the midshipman auditory sense to enhance mate detection, recognition, and localization during the breeding season.

Calcium-activated potassium (BK) channels are encoded by duplicate slo1 genes in teleost fishes

Calcium-activated, large conductance potassium (BK) channels in tetrapods are encoded by a single slo1 gene, which undergoes extensive alternative splicing. Alternative splicing generates a high level of functional diversity in BK channels that contributes to the wide range of frequencies electrically tuned by the inner ear hair cells of many tetrapods. To date, the role of BK channels in hearing among teleost fishes has not been investigated at the molecular level, although teleosts account for approximately half of all extant vertebrate species. We identified slo1 genes in teleost and nonteleost fishes using polymerase chain reaction and genetic sequence databases. In contrast to tetrapods, all teleosts examined were found to express duplicate slo1 genes in the central nervous system, whereas nonteleosts that diverged prior to the teleost whole-genome duplication event express a single slo1 gene. Phylogenetic analyses further revealed that whereas other slo1 duplicates were the result of a single duplication event, an independent duplication occurred in a basal teleost (Anguilla rostrata) following the slo1 duplication in teleosts. A third, independent slo1 duplication (autotetraploidization) occurred in salmonids. Comparison of teleost slo1 genomic sequences to their tetrapod orthologue revealed a reduced number of alternative splice sites in both slo1 co-orthologues. For the teleost Porichthys notatus, a focal study species that vocalizes with maximal spectral energy in the range electrically tuned by BK channels in the inner ear, peripheral tissues show the expression of either one (e.g., vocal muscle) or both (e.g., inner ear) slo1 paralogues with important implications for both auditory and vocal physiology. Additional loss of expression of one slo1 paralogue in nonneural tissues in P. notatus suggests that slo1 duplicates were retained via subfunctionalization. Together, the results predict that teleost fish achieve a diversity of BK channel subfunction via gene duplication, rather than increased alternative splicing as witnessed for the tetrapod and invertebrate orthologue.

Steroid-dependent auditory plasticity for the enhancement of acoustic communication: recent insights from a vocal teleost fish

The vocal plainfin midshipman fish (Porichthys notatus) has become an excellent model for identifying neural mechanisms of auditory perception that may be shared by all vertebrates. Recent neuroethological studies of the midshipman fish have yielded strong evidence for the steroid-dependent modulation of hearing sensitivity that leads to enhanced coupling of sender and receiver in this vocal-acoustic communication system. Previous work shows that non-reproductive females treated with either testosterone or 17beta-estradiol exhibit an increase in the degree of temporal encoding by the auditory saccular afferents to the dominant frequency content of male vocalizations produced during social-reproductive behaviors. The expanded frequency sensitivity of steroid treated females mimics the reproductive female's auditory phenotype and is proposed to improve the detection and localization of calling conspecific mates during the summer breeding season. This review focuses on the novel form of steroid-dependent auditory plasticity that is found in the adult midshipman fish and its association with the reproductive biology and behavior of this species. Evidence for midshipman reproductive-state and steroid-dependent auditory plasticity is reviewed and the potential mechanisms that lead to this novel form of adaptive plasticity are discussed.

Linear and nonlinear processing in hair cells

Mechanosensory hair cells in the ear are exquisitely responsive to minute sensory inputs, nearly to the point of instability. Active mechanisms bias the transduction apparatus and subsequent electrical amplification away from saturation in either the negative or positive direction, to an operating point where the response to small signals is approximately linear. An active force generator coupled directly to the transducer enhances sensitivity and frequency selectivity, and counteracts energy loss to viscous drag. Active electrical amplification further enhances gain and frequency selectivity. In both cases, nonlinear properties may maintain the system close to instability, as evidenced by small spontaneous oscillations, while providing a compressive nonlinearity that increases the cell's operating range. Transmitter release also appears to be frequency selective and biased to operate most effectively near the resting potential. This brief overview will consider the resting stability of hair cells, and their responses to small perturbations that correspond to soft sounds or small accelerations.

Afferent innervation of the utricular macula in pigeons

Biotinylated dextran amine (BDA) was used to retrogradely label afferents innervating the utricular macula in adult pigeons. The pigeon utriclar macula consists of a large rectangular-shaped neuroepithelium with a dorsally curved anterior edge and an extended medioposterior tail. The macula could be demarcated into several regions based on cytoarchitectural differences. The striola occupied 30% of the macula and contained a large density of type I hair cells with fewer type II hair cells. Medial and lateral extrastriola zones were located outside the striola and contained only type II hair cells. A six- to eight-cell-wide band of type II hair cells existed near the center of the striola. The reversal line marked by the morphological polarization of hair cells coursed throughout the epithelium, near the peripheral margin, and through the center of the type II band. Calyx afferents innervated type I hair cells with calyceal terminals that contained between 2 and 15 receptor cells. Calyx afferents were located only in the striola region, exclusive of the type II band, had small total fiber innervation areas and low innervation densities. Dimorph afferents innervated both type I and type II hair cells with calyceal and bouton terminals and were primarily located in the striola region. Dimorph afferents had smaller calyceal terminals with few type I hair cells, extended fiber branches with bouton terminals and larger innervation areas. Bouton afferents innervated only type II hair cells in the extrastriola and type II band regions. Bouton afferents innervating the type II band had smaller terminal fields with fewer bouton terminals and smaller innervation areas than fibers located in the extrastriolar zones. Bouton afferents had the most bouton terminals on the longest fibers, the largest innervation areas with the highest innervation densities of all afferents. Among all afferents, smaller terminal innervation fields were observed in the striola and large fields were located in the extrastriola. The cellular organization and innervation patterns of the utricular maculae in birds appear to represent an organ in adaptive evolution, different from that observed for amphibians or mammals.

Seasonal plasticity of peripheral auditory frequency sensitivity

Female midshipman fish (Porichthys notatus) use the auditory sense to detect and locate vocalizing males during the breeding season. Detection of conspecific vocal signals is essential to their reproductive success and can evoke strong phonotactic responses in gravid females but not in spent females that have released all of their eggs. Here, we test the hypothesis that seasonal variation in reproductive state affects the neurophysiological response properties of the peripheral auditory system in female midshipman fish. Iso-intensity responses of eighth nerve afferents from the sacculus, the main auditory end organ of the inner ear, to individual tones were measured for spike rate and vector strength (VS) of synchronization. Most auditory saccular units in reproductive, summer females showed robust temporal encoding up to 340 Hz, whereas nonreproductive winter females showed comparable encoding only up to 100 Hz. The dramatic upward shift in temporal encoding among summer fish was paralleled by increases in best frequency (BF), maximum evoked spike rate at BF, VS values at BF, and the percentage of units that showed significant VS to iso-intensity tones >140 Hz. Reproductive summer females were best suited to encode the higher harmonic components of male advertisement calls. This first demonstration of a natural cyclicity in peripheral auditory frequency sensitivity among vertebrates may represent, in this case, an adaptive plasticity of the female midshipman's auditory system to enhance the acquisition of auditory information needed for mate identification and localization during the breeding season.

Electrical response properties of avian lagena type II hair cells: a model system for vestibular filtering

Data presented represent the first electrical recordings from avian lagena type II hair cells. The perforated-patch variant of the whole cell recording technique was used to investigate how the macroscopic currents shaped the voltage response of the hair cells. Voltage-clamp data separated cells into two broad classes on the basis of differences in activation rates, rates and degree of inactivation, and pharmacological sensitivity. Current-clamp recordings revealed low-quality membrane voltage oscillations (Qc < 1) during pulse current injections. Oscillation frequency correlated with activation rate of the macroscopic currents. The quality of membrane oscillations (Qc) varied linearly with frequency for cells with little inactivation. For cells with rapid inactivation, no relationship was found between Qc and frequency. Rapid inactivation may serve to extend the bandwidth of vestibular hair cells. The frequency measured from voltage responses to pulsed currents may reflect the corner frequency of the cell. The filtering properties of avian lagena hair cells are like those found in all other vestibular end organs, suggesting that the electrical membrane properties of these cells are not responsible for specializing them to a particular stimulus modality.

Mechanisms of hair cell tuning

Mechanosensory hair cells of the vertebrate inner ear contribute to acoustic tuning through feedback processes involving voltage-gated channels in the basolateral membrane and mechanotransduction channels in the apical hair bundle. The specific number and kinetics of calcium-activated (BK) potassium channels determine the resonant frequency of electrically tuned hair cells. Kinetic variation among BK channels may arise through alternative splicing of slo gene mRNA and combination with modulatory beta subunits. The number of transduction channels and their rate of adaptation rise with hair cell response frequency along the cochlea's tonotopic axis. Calcium-dependent feedback onto transduction channels may underlie active hair bundle mechanics. The relative contributions of electrical and mechanical feedback to active tuning of hair cells may vary as a function of sound frequency.

Neurotrophic factors modulate hair cells and their potassium currents in chick otocyst explants

Neurotrophins, retinoids and their receptors are present in the sensory epithelia of the inner ear during development. We show that these factors modulate the proliferation of hair cells and their K+-currents when the embryonic day 3 (ED 3) presumptive inner ear (i.e. otocyst) is maintained in organ culture. All trans-retinoic acid (RA) increases hair cell differentiation and enhances the acquisition of outward currents, including a delayed rectifier and a fast activating, transient type, voltage-gated potassium current. In contrast, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) decrease ionic current activity, and the addition of RA with the neurotrophins enhances this inhibitory response in an age-dependent manner. We measured the total number of cells per explant over time to determine precisely when and how these factors inhibit explant growth. We found that high concentrations of BDNF and NT-3 administered together, and low concentrations of both neurotrophins combined and administered with RA suppress otocyst cell numbers after 24 h in vitro. This suppressive response is induced by RA and NT-3, not by RA and BDNF. The suppressive or inhibitory influence of NT-3 and RA is the result of NT-3 binding to the low affinity receptor, p75NTR, not the result of RA increasing mRNA levels for the high affinity receptor, trkC. However, trk may act with p75NTR, as disruption of trk signalling alleviates the inhibitory response induced by NT-3 and RA. Our data suggest that various combinations and/or concentration gradients of these factors can differentially regulate inner ear development and hair cell excitability.

Electrical properties of frog saccular hair cells: distortion by enzymatic dissociation

Although it is widely accepted that the electrical resonance seen in many types of auditory and vestibular hair cells contributes to frequency selectivity in these sensory systems, unexplained discrepancies in the frequency (f) and sharpness (Q) of tuning have raised serious questions. For example, enzymatically dissociated hair cells from bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) sacculus resonate at frequencies well above the range of auditory and seismic stimuli to which the sacculus is most responsive. Such disparities, in addition to others, have led to the proposal that electrical resonance alone cannot account for frequency tuning. Using grassfrog (Rana pipiens) saccular hair cells, we show that the reported discrepancies in f and Q in this organ can be explained by the deleterious effects of enzyme (papain) exposure during cell dissociation. In patch-clamp studies of hair cells in a semi-intact epithelial preparation, we observed a variety of voltage behaviors with frequencies of 35-75 Hz. This range is well below the range of resonant frequencies observed in enzymatically dissociated hair cells and more in tune with the frequency range of natural stimuli to which the sacculus is maximally responsive. The sharpness of tuning also agreed with previous studies using natural stimuli. In contrast to results from enzymatically dissociated hair cells, both a calcium-activated K+ (KCa) current and a voltage-dependent K+ (KV) current contributed to the oscillatory responses of hair cells in the semi-intact preparation. The properties of the KCa and the Ca2+ current were altered by enzymatic dissociation. KV and a small-conductance calcium-activated K+ current were apparently eliminated.

Diversity in frequency response properties of saccular afferents of the toadfish, Opsanus tau

The frequency response of primary saccular afferents of toadfish (Opsanus tau) was studied in the time and frequency domains using the reverse correlation (revcor) method. Stimuli were noise bands with flat acceleration spectra delivered as whole-body motion. The recorded acceleration waveform was averaged over epochs preceding and following each spike. This average, termed the revcor, is an estimate of the response of an equivalent linear filter intervening between body motion and spike initiation. The spectrum of the revcor estimates the shape of the equivalent linear filter. Revcor responses were brief, damped oscillations indicative of relatively broadly tuned filters. Filter shapes were generally band-pass and differed in bandwidth, band edge slope, and characteristic frequency (74 Hz to 140 Hz). Filter shapes tend to be independent of stimulus level. Afferents can be placed into two groups with respect to characteristic frequency (74-88 Hz and 140 Hz). Some high-frequency afferents share a secondary peak at the characteristic frequency of low-frequency afferents, suggesting that an afferent may receive differently tuned peripheral inputs. For some afferents having similar filter shapes, revcor responses often differ only in polarity, probably reflecting inputs from hair cells oriented in opposite directions. The origin of frequency selectivity and its diversity among saccular afferents may arise from a combination of hair cell resonance and micromechanical processes. The resulting frequency analysis is the simplest yet observed among vertebrate animals. During courtship, male toadfish produce the 'boatwhistle' call, a periodic vocalization having several harmonics of a 130 Hz fundamental frequency. The saccule encodes the waveform of acoustic particle acceleration between < 50 and about 250 Hz. Thus, the fundamental frequency component of the boatwhistle is well encoded, but the successive higher harmonics are filtered out. The boatwhistle is thus encoded as a time-domain representation of its fundamental frequency or pulse repetition rate.

Directional response properties of saccular afferents of the toadfish, Opsanus tau

The displacement sensitivity, frequency response, and directional response properties of primary saccular afferents of toadfish (Opsanus tau) were studied in response to a simulation of acoustic particle motion for which displacement magnitudes and directions were manipulated in azimuth and elevation. Stimuli were 50, 100, and 200 Hz sinusoidal, translatory oscillations of the animal at various axes in the horizontal and midsagittal planes. Thresholds in these planes defined a cell's characteristic axis (the axis having the lowest threshold) in spherical coordinates. Recordings were made from afferents in rostral, middle, and caudal bundles of the saccular nerve. The most sensitive saccular afferents responded with a phase-locked response to displacements as small as 0.1 nm. This sensitivity rivals that of the mammalian cochlea and is probably common to the sacculi and other otolith organs of most fishes. Most afferents showed lower thresholds at 100 Hz than at 50 or 200 Hz. Eighty percent of afferents have three-dimensional directional properties that would be expected if they innervated a group of hair cells having the same directional orientation on the saccular epithelium. Of the afferents that are not perfectly directional, most appear to innervate just two groups of hair cells having different orientations. The directional characteristics of afferents are qualitatively correlated with anatomically defined patterns of hair cell orientation on the saccule. In general, azimuths of best sensitivity tend to lie parallel to the plane of the otolith and sensory epithelium. Elevations of best sensitivity correspond well with hair cell orientation patterns in different regions of the saccular epithelium. Directional hearing in the horizontal plane probably depends upon the processing of interaural differences in overall response magnitude. These response differences arise from the gross orientations of the sacculi and are represented, in part, as time differences among nonspontaneous afferents that show level-dependent phase angles of synchronization. Directional hearing in the vertical plane may be derived from the processing of across-afferent profiles of activity within each saccule. Fishes were probably the first vertebrates to solve problems in sound source localization, and we suggest that their solutions formed a model for those of their terrestrial inheritors.

Electrophysiology and pharmacology of outward potassium currents in semicircular canal hair cells of toadfish, Opsanus tau

Outward currents from hair cells from the horizontal semicircular canal (HSCC) of the toadfish were investigated using whole cell patch clamp methods. Two classes of hair cells are found. One class (approx. 10% of cells) showed only a non-inactivating current (IKCa) which was blocked by 2 mM TEA. A second class had both inactivating and non-inactivating currents. The former (IA) was blocked by 4-AP (1 mM) and the latter (IKCa) by TEA (2-20 mM) . While the majority of the cells expressed both these outward currents, due to IA inactivation both currents are functionally present in the same cell only between -60 and -40 mV. At more depolarized membrane potentials, IA was inactivated, suggesting that a single hair cell may have two distinct signalling modes, one dominated by IA at more hyperpolarized membrane potentials and the other by IKCa at depolarized values where ICa is beginning to grow, increasing both amplitude and activation rate of IKCa. The switch between modes will be determined by the amplitude and frequency characteristics of the stimulus and possibly also by actions of efferent transmitters. In current clamp mode, 10% of the HSCC hair cells showed high Q and high frequency resonance, from 44 to 360 Hz at 12 degrees C. These cells expressed only one outward calcium dependent, non-inactivating, TEA sensitive current, characteristic of IKCa. A suggested role for high frequency resonance is as positive feedback to produce a high frequency updating of the stereociliary compliance to most faithfully transduce angular acceleration.

Expression of cytochrome oxidase in hair cells of the teleost utricle

Ultrastructural variation in some cytoplasmic organelles and synaptic structures is one characteristic distinguishing the types of hair cells in the teleost ear. In this study, we explored differences in mitochondria by analyzing mitochondrial reactivity for cytochrome oxidase (COX) in hair cells of the teleost utricle. The reactivity for COX within mitochondria in the subcuticular compartment directly beneath the cuticular plate differentiated among hair cells in utricles of three teleost species, Carassius auratus, Pantodon buchholzi, and Astronotus ocellatus. Mitochondria in the subcuticular region of hair cells in the striola reacted intensely. Within juxtastriola and extrastriolar hair cells near the striola, mitochondria reacted at a lowered intensity than in striolar hair cells. Subcuticular mitochondria of extrastriolar hair cells located distant from the striola reacted negligibly. The reactivity of mitochondria in other cytoplasmic compartments did not provide similar evidence for distinguishing among teleost hair cells. Mitochondria within intraepithelial branches of the eighth nerve terminals in the different utricular regions reacted to COX histochemistry commensurate with their respective presynaptic hair cells. Branches of sensory afferent neurons innervating striolar hair cells displayed a dense COX reaction. Sensory afferents innervating the extrastriolar hair cells did not display many mitochondria at synapses nor, when present, was the staining as dense. The presynaptic side of the hair cell-afferent nerve synapse usually, but not always, contained reactive mitochondria. The presynaptic side of the efferent nerve-hair cell synapse did not necessarily contain mitochondria. Mitochondria filling the cytoplasm in a type of juxtamacula cell revealed uniformly dense COX reactivity.

Variations in the ensemble of potassium currents underlying resonance in turtle hair cells

1. Potassium currents were characterized in turtle cochlear hair cells by whole-cell voltage clamp during superfusion with the potassium channel antagonists, tetraethylammonium (TEA) and 4-aminopyridine (4-AP). The estimated resonant frequency, f0, was inferred from tau, the time constant of deactivation of outward current upon repolarization to -50 mV, according to the empirical relation, f0 = k1 tau-1/2 + k2. 2. Dose-response relations for TEA and 4-AP were obtained by exposing single cells to ten concentrations exponentially distributed over four orders of magnitude. Potassium current in cells tuned to low frequencies was carried by a single class of channels with an apparent affinity constant, K1, for TEA of 35.9 mM. Half-blocking concentrations of 4-AP were correlated with the time constant of deactivation and varied between 26.2 and 102 microM. In cells tuned to higher frequencies, K+ current was carried by a single class of channels with high affinity for TEA (K1 = 0.215 mM) and low affinity for 4-AP (K1 = 12.3 mM). This pharmacological profile suggests that K+ current in low frequency cells is purely voltage gated and in high frequency cells, it is gated by both Ca2+ and voltage. 3. For each current type, the voltage dependence of activation was determined from tail current amplitude at -50 mV. The purely voltage-gated current, IK(V), was found to increase e-fold in 4.0 +/- 0.3 mV (n = 3) in low frequency cells exposed to TEA (25 mM). The Ca(2+)- and voltage-gated current, IK(Ca), was more steeply voltage dependent, increasing e-fold in 1.9 mV (n = 2) in high frequency cells exposed to 4-AP (0.8 mM). 4. IK(V) was found to inactivate slowly during prolonged voltage steps (approximately 10 s). Steady-state inactivation increased with depolarization from -70 mV and was incomplete such that on average IK(v) did not fall below approximately 0.39 of its maximum value. 5. Superfusion of 4-AP (0.8 mM) reversibly depolarized a low frequency cell and eliminated steady voltage oscillations, while TEA (6 mM) had no effect. In a high frequency cell, voltage oscillations were abolished by TEA, but not by 4-AP. 6. The differential pharmacology of IK(V) and IK(Ca) was used to measure their contribution to K+ current in cells tuned to different frequencies. Both currents exhibited a frequency-dependent increase in maximum conductance. IK(V) accounted for nearly all K+ current in cells tuned to less than 60 Hz, while IK(Ca) was the dominant current in higher frequency cells. 7. Mapping resonant frequency onto epithelial position suggests an exponential relation between K+ current size and position. IK(V) appeared to be limited to the apical or low frequency portion of the basilar papilla and coincided with maximal expression of a K(+)-selective inward rectifier, IK(IR). This finding is consistent with the notion that low frequency resonance is produced by interaction of IK(V) and IK(IR) with the voltage-gated Ca2+ current, ICa, and the cell's capacitance. The ionic events underlying higher frequency resonance are dominated by the action of IK(Ca) and ICa and include a contribution from IK(IR).

Potassium currents underlying the oscillatory response in hair cells of the goldfish sacculus

1. Ionic currents underlying the oscillatory response of membrane potential were studied in oscillatory-type hair cells isolated from the goldfish sacculus with the whole-cell recording method using a patch pipette. 2. Bath application of 4-aminopyridine (4-AP; 10 mM) reversibly produced moderate depolarization of the resting potential along with complete suppression of the oscillatory response. Sustained injection of a small depolarizing current also suppressed the oscillatory response. 3. A 4-AP-sensitive atypical A-type K+ current which had a high threshold voltage for inactivation (IA(H)) was found to be a major outward current underlying the oscillatory response. 4. IA(H) was activated with a time constant of 0.4-10 ms and was inactivated slowly with a time constant of 0.6-2 s. IA(H) activation and inactivation occurred mostly at membrane potentials more positive than -70 mV. 5. There was a clear correlation between activation speed of IA(H) and the frequency of pulse-evoked oscillation. A 'hump'-type response was produced in about one-quarter of the oscillatory-type hair cells.

Hair cell orientation patterns on the saccules of juvenile and adult toadfish, Opsanus tau

Saccules from 10 adult (five female, five male) toadfish (Opsanus tau) 13.5-26 cm standard length, were examined for individual/sexual variation in the hair cell orientation pattern. In addition, saccules from two juveniles (5 and 6 cm standard length) were compared with those of the adults to determine whether maturational differences exist in the hair cell orientations. The hair cell orientation pattern is unlike any reported previously for this species or its congener, O. beta. There are no major differences between the hair cell orientations of males and females, nor between the juveniles and the adults. A slight individual variation is present in the proportion of hair cells oriented in a particular direction in a specific area of the sensory epithelium. Potential ramifications of this hair cell orientation pattern are discussed with regard to development and auditory processing.

Hair cells of different shapes and their placement along the frog crista ampullaris

The list of distinguishing morphological features of hair cells includes: Type I and Type II afferent innervation, and length, shapes and arrangements of stereo- and kinocilia. We now add to this list the shapes of the hair cells themselves and their placement within the mechanosensory organ, in this case the semicircular canal. Although hair cells of the crista ampullaris of the frog are only of Type II they may now be further classified into three sub-groups according to shape: club-, cigar- and pear-shaped. The cigar- and club-shaped hair cells are each about 40% while the pear-shaped cells are about 20% of the total numbers of hair cells in the crista. The differently-shaped hair cells also distribute differently along the crista. The cigar- and club-shaped are more-or-less uniformly distributed with somewhat higher concentrations at the ends of the crista than in the center. The pear-shaped hair cells, on the other hand, are mostly concentrated toward the center of the crista. This distribution of the pear-shaped hair cells, and their shape is reminiscent of the distribution of calyceal endings (Type I hair cell) in the cristae of amniotes [Goldberg et al., Hear. Res. 49, 89-102 (1990) in Chinchilla; Fernandez et al., Soc. Neurosci. Abstr. 17, 312 (1991) in Monkey]. There are some quantitative differences between hair cells of the same shape but from different portions of the crista. For instance, pear-shaped hair cells of the center are generally of greater cross-sectional area than those of the ends.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Two types of sensory hair cell in the saccule of a teleost fish

Previous investigations have demonstrated significant ultrastructural differences in hair cells located in various regions of the utricle of the oscar, Astronotus ocellatus. In this study, we used TEM and SEM to examine cells from the central and marginal regions of the saccule to determine if similar hair cell ultrastructural differences exist in this endorgan. Based upon ultrastructural characteristics, central saccular cells closely resemble utricular striolar cells while marginal cells are intermediate in ultrastructure between striolar and extrastriolar cells of the utricle.

Heterogeneity of sensory hair cells in a fish ear

The ultrastructure of sensory hair cells in the utricle of the cichlid fish, Astronotus ocellatus, the oscar, was studied by transmission electron microscopy of serial ultrathin sections from different regions of the epithelium. Two distinctly different types of hair cell were found, one located in the striolar region of the epithelium and the other in the extrastriolar region. Striolar hair cells have a well-defined perinuclear cisterna located just below the nucleus, and large perinuclear mitochondria. Synaptic bodies of striolar cells are small and located in clusters, while those in extrastriolar cells are relatively large and individually dispersed. The extrastriolar hair cell closely resembles the amniote type II hair cell. On the basis of these data, and consistent with earlier studies, it appears that the striolar hair cells closely resemble amniote type I hair cells in many significant ways. Thus we have called them type I-like cells. The extrastriolar hair cells appear to be typical of eighth nerve mechanoreceptors commonly described for fish and closely resemble the amniote type II hair cell.