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Ngodup T, Irie T, Elkins SP, Trussell LO. The Na + leak channel NALCN controls spontaneous activity and mediates synaptic modulation by α2-adrenergic receptors in auditory neurons. eLife 2024; 12:RP89520. [PMID: 38197879 PMCID: PMC10945507 DOI: 10.7554/elife.89520] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2024] Open
Abstract
Cartwheel interneurons of the dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN) potently suppress multisensory signals that converge with primary auditory afferent input, and thus regulate auditory processing. Noradrenergic fibers from locus coeruleus project to the DCN, and α2-adrenergic receptors inhibit spontaneous spike activity but simultaneously enhance synaptic strength in cartwheel cells, a dual effect leading to enhanced signal-to-noise for inhibition. However, the ionic mechanism of this striking modulation is unknown. We generated a glycinergic neuron-specific knockout of the Na+ leak channel NALCN in mice and found that its presence was required for spontaneous firing in cartwheel cells. Activation of α2-adrenergic receptors inhibited both NALCN and spike generation, and this modulation was absent in the NALCN knockout. Moreover, α2-dependent enhancement of synaptic strength was also absent in the knockout. GABAB receptors mediated inhibition through NALCN as well, acting on the same population of channels as α2 receptors, suggesting close apposition of both receptor subtypes with NALCN. Thus, multiple neuromodulatory systems determine the impact of synaptic inhibition by suppressing the excitatory leak channel, NALCN.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tenzin Ngodup
- Oregon Hearing Research Center and Vollum Institute, Oregon Health & Science UniversityPortlandUnited States
| | - Tomohiko Irie
- Department of Physiology, Kitasato University School of MedicineSagamiharaJapan
| | - Seán P Elkins
- Oregon Hearing Research Center and Vollum Institute, Oregon Health & Science UniversityPortlandUnited States
| | - Laurence O Trussell
- Oregon Hearing Research Center and Vollum Institute, Oregon Health & Science UniversityPortlandUnited States
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Ngodup T, Irie T, Elkins S, Trussell LO. The Na + leak channel NALCN controls spontaneous activity and mediates synaptic modulation by α2-adrenergic receptors in auditory neurons. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.06.23.546323. [PMID: 37987013 PMCID: PMC10659375 DOI: 10.1101/2023.06.23.546323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2023]
Abstract
Cartwheel interneurons of the dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN) potently suppress multisensory signals that converge with primary auditory afferent input, and thus regulate auditory processing. Noradrenergic fibers from locus coeruleus project to the DCN, and α2-adrenergic receptors inhibit spontaneous spike activity but simultaneously enhance synaptic strength in cartwheel cells, a dual effect leading to enhanced signal-to-noise for inhibition. However, the ionic mechanism of this striking modulation is unknown. We generated a glycinergic neuron-specific knockout of the Na+ leak channel NALCN, and found that its presence was required for spontaneous firing in cartwheel cells. Activation of α2-adrenergic receptors inhibited both NALCN and spike generation, and this modulation was absent in the NALCN knockout. Moreover, α2-dependent enhancement of synaptic strength was also absent in the knockout. GABAB receptors mediated inhibition through NALCN as well, acting on the same population of channels as α2 receptors, suggesting close apposition of both receptor subtypes with NALCN. Thus, multiple neuromodulatory systems determine the impact of synaptic inhibition by suppressing the excitatory leak channel, NALCN.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tenzin Ngodup
- Oregon Hearing Research Center and Vollum Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland OR USA
| | - Tomohiko Irie
- Department of Physiology, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Sagamihara, Japan
| | - Sean Elkins
- Oregon Hearing Research Center and Vollum Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland OR USA
| | - Laurence O Trussell
- Oregon Hearing Research Center and Vollum Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland OR USA
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MacLeod KM, Pandya S. Expression and Neurotransmitter Association of the Synaptic Calcium Sensor Synaptotagmin in the Avian Auditory Brain Stem. J Assoc Res Otolaryngol 2022; 23:701-720. [PMID: 35999323 PMCID: PMC9789253 DOI: 10.1007/s10162-022-00863-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2021] [Accepted: 07/12/2022] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
In the avian auditory brain stem, acoustic timing and intensity cues are processed in separate, parallel pathways via the two divisions of the cochlear nucleus, nucleus angularis (NA) and nucleus magnocellularis (NM). Differences in excitatory and inhibitory synaptic properties, such as release probability and short-term plasticity, contribute to differential processing of the auditory nerve inputs. We investigated the distribution of synaptotagmin, a putative calcium sensor for exocytosis, via immunohistochemistry and double immunofluorescence in the embryonic and hatchling chick brain stem (Gallus gallus). We found that the two major isoforms, synaptotagmin 1 (Syt1) and synaptotagmin 2 (Syt2), showed differential expression. In the NM, anti-Syt2 label was strong and resembled the endbulb terminals of the auditory nerve inputs, while anti-Syt1 label was weaker and more punctate. In NA, both isoforms were intensely expressed throughout the neuropil. A third isoform, synaptotagmin 7 (Syt7), was largely absent from the cochlear nuclei. In nucleus laminaris (NL, the target nucleus of NM), anti-Syt2 and anti-Syt7 strongly labeled the dendritic lamina. These patterns were established by embryonic day 18 and persisted to postnatal day 7. Double-labeling immunofluorescence showed that Syt1 and Syt2 were associated with vesicular glutamate transporter 2 (VGluT2), but not vesicular GABA transporter (VGAT), suggesting that these Syt isoforms were localized to excitatory, but not inhibitory, terminals. These results suggest that Syt2 is the major calcium binding protein underlying excitatory neurotransmission in the timing pathway comprising NM and NL, while Syt2 and Syt1 regulate excitatory transmission in the parallel intensity pathway via cochlear nucleus NA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katrina M MacLeod
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA.
| | - Sangeeta Pandya
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA
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Balmer TS, Trussell LO. Descending Axonal Projections from the Inferior Colliculus Target Nearly All Excitatory and Inhibitory Cell Types of the Dorsal Cochlear Nucleus. J Neurosci 2022; 42:3381-3393. [PMID: 35273085 PMCID: PMC9034789 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1190-21.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2021] [Revised: 02/24/2022] [Accepted: 02/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN) integrates auditory nerve input with nonauditory sensory signals and is proposed to function in sound source localization and suppression of self-generated sounds. The DCN also integrates activity from descending auditory pathways, including a particularly large feedback projection from the inferior colliculus (IC), the main ascending target of the DCN. Understanding how these descending feedback signals are integrated into the DCN circuit and what role they play in hearing requires knowing the targeted DCN cell types and their postsynaptic responses. In order to explore these questions, neurons in the DCN that received descending synaptic input from the IC were labeled with a trans-synaptic viral approach in male and female mice, which allowed them to be targeted for whole-cell recording in acute brain slices. We tested their synaptic responses to optogenetic activation of the descending IC projection. Every cell type in the granule cell domain received monosynaptic, glutamatergic input from the IC, indicating that this region, considered an integrator of nonauditory sensory inputs, processes auditory input as well and may have complex and underappreciated roles in hearing. Additionally, we found that DCN cell types outside the granule cell regions also receive descending IC signals, including the principal projection neurons, as well as the neurons that inhibit them, leading to a circuit that may sharpen tuning through feedback excitation and lateral inhibition.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Auditory processing starts in the cochlea and ascends through the dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN) to the inferior colliculus (IC) and beyond. Here, we investigated the feedback projection from IC to DCN, whose synaptic targets and roles in auditory processing are unclear. We found that all cell types in the granule cell regions, which process multisensory feedback, also process this descending auditory feedback. Surprisingly, all except one cell type in the entire DCN receive IC input. The IC-DCN projection may therefore modulate the multisensory pathway as well as sharpen tuning and gate auditory signals that are sent to downstream areas. This excitatory feedback loop from DCN to IC and back to DCN could underlie hyperexcitability in DCN, widely considered an etiology of tinnitus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy S Balmer
- Vollum Institute and Oregon Hearing Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon 97239
| | - Laurence O Trussell
- Vollum Institute and Oregon Hearing Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon 97239
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Ngodup T, Romero GE, Trussell LO. Identification of an inhibitory neuron subtype, the L-stellate cell of the cochlear nucleus. eLife 2020; 9:e54350. [PMID: 33141020 PMCID: PMC7744103 DOI: 10.7554/elife.54350] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2019] [Accepted: 11/02/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Auditory processing depends upon inhibitory signaling by interneurons, even at its earliest stages in the ventral cochlear nucleus (VCN). Remarkably, to date only a single subtype of inhibitory neuron has been documented in the VCN, a projection neuron termed the D-stellate cell. With the use of a transgenic mouse line, optical clearing, and imaging techniques, combined with electrophysiological tools, we revealed a population of glycinergic cells in the VCN distinct from the D-stellate cell. These multipolar glycinergic cells were smaller in soma size and dendritic area, but over ten-fold more numerous than D-stellate cells. They were activated by auditory nerve and T-stellate cells, and made local inhibitory synaptic contacts on principal cells of the VCN. Given their abundance, combined with their narrow dendritic fields and axonal projections, it is likely that these neurons, here termed L-stellate cells, play a significant role in frequency-specific processing of acoustic signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tenzin Ngodup
- Oregon Hearing Research Center and Vollum Institute, Oregon Health and Science UniversityPortlandUnited States
| | - Gabriel E Romero
- Physiology and Pharmacology Graduate Program, Oregon Health and Science UniversityPortlandUnited States
| | - Laurence O Trussell
- Oregon Hearing Research Center and Vollum Institute, Oregon Health and Science UniversityPortlandUnited States
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Manis PB, Kasten MR, Xie R. Classification of neurons in the adult mouse cochlear nucleus: Linear discriminant analysis. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0223137. [PMID: 31581200 PMCID: PMC6776397 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0223137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2019] [Accepted: 09/13/2019] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The cochlear nucleus (CN) transforms the spike trains of spiral ganglion cells into a set of sensory representations that are essential for auditory discriminations and perception. These transformations require the coordinated activity of different classes of neurons that are embryologically derived from distinct sets of precursors. Decades of investigation have shown that the neurons of the CN are differentiated by their morphology, neurotransmitter receptors, ion channel expression and intrinsic excitability. In the present study we have used linear discriminant analysis (LDA) to perform an unbiased analysis of measures of the responses of CN neurons to current injections to objectively categorize cells on the basis of both morphology and physiology. Recordings were made from cells in brain slices from CBA/CaJ mice and a transgenic mouse line, NF107, crossed against the Ai32 line. For each cell, responses to current injections were analyzed for spike rate, spike shape, input resistance, resting membrane potential, membrane time constant, hyperpolarization-activated sag and time constant. Cells were filled with dye for morphological classification, and visually classified according to published accounts. The different morphological classes of cells were separated with the LDA. Ventral cochlear nucleus (VCN) bushy cells, planar multipolar (T-stellate) cells, and radiate multipolar (D-stellate) cells were in separate clusters and separate from all of the neurons from the dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN). Within the DCN, the pyramidal cells and tuberculoventral cells were largely separated from a distinct cluster of cartwheel cells. principal axes, whereas VCN cells were in 3 clouds approximately orthogonal to this plane. VCN neurons from the two mouse strains overlapped but were slightly separated, indicating either a strain dependence or differences in slice preparation methods. We conclude that cochlear nucleus neurons can be objectively distinguished based on their intrinsic electrical properties, but such distinctions are still best aided by morphological identification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul B. Manis
- Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Michael R. Kasten
- Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Ruili Xie
- Department of Otolaryngology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, United States of America
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Yin TC, Smith PH, Joris PX. Neural Mechanisms of Binaural Processing in the Auditory Brainstem. Compr Physiol 2019; 9:1503-1575. [DOI: 10.1002/cphy.c180036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
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The ion channels and synapses responsible for the physiological diversity of mammalian lower brainstem auditory neurons. Hear Res 2018; 376:33-46. [PMID: 30606624 DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2018.12.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2018] [Revised: 12/12/2018] [Accepted: 12/22/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The auditory part of the brainstem is composed of several nuclei specialized in the computation of the different spectral and temporal features of the sound before it reaches the higher auditory regions. There are a high diversity of neuronal types in these nuclei, many with remarkable electrophysiological and synaptic properties unique to these structures. This diversity reflects specializations necessary to process the different auditory signals in order to extract precisely the acoustic information necessary for the auditory perception by the animal. Low threshold Kv1 channels and HCN channels are expressed in neurons that use timing clues for auditory processing, like bushy and octopus cells, in order to restrict action potential firing and reduce input resistance and membrane time constant. Kv3 channels allow principal neurons of the MNTB and pyramidal DCN neurons to fire fast trains of action potentials. Calcium channels on cartwheel DCN neurons produce complex spikes characteristic of these neurons. Calyceal synapses compensate the low input resistance of bushy and principal neurons of the MNTB by releasing hundreds of glutamate vesicles resulting in large EPSCs acting in fast ionotropic glutamate receptors, in order to reduce temporal summation of synaptic potentials, allowing more precise correspondence of pre- and post-synaptic potentials, and phase-locking. Pre-synaptic calyceal sodium channels have fast recovery from inactivation allowing extremely fast trains of action potential firing, and persistent sodium channels produce spontaneous activity of fusiform neurons at rest, which expands the dynamic range of these neurons. The unique combinations of different ion channels, ionotropic receptors and synaptic structures create a unique functional diversity of neurons extremely adapted to their complex functions in the auditory processing.
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Serotonergic Modulation of Sensory Representation in a Central Multisensory Circuit Is Pathway Specific. Cell Rep 2018; 20:1844-1854. [PMID: 28834748 PMCID: PMC5600294 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2017.07.079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2016] [Revised: 05/12/2017] [Accepted: 07/27/2017] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Many studies have explored how neuromodulators affect synaptic function, yet little is known about how they modify computations at the microcircuit level. In the dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN), a region that integrates auditory and multisensory inputs from two distinct pathways, serotonin (5-HT) enhances excitability of principal cells, predicting a generalized reduction in sensory thresholds. Surprisingly, we found that when looked at from the circuit level, 5-HT enhances signaling only from the multisensory input, while decreasing input from auditory fibers. This effect is only partially explained by an action on auditory nerve terminals. Rather, 5-HT biases processing for one input pathway by simultaneously enhancing excitability in the principal cell and in a pathway-specific feed-forward inhibitory interneuron. Thus, by acting on multiple targets, 5-HT orchestrates a fundamental shift in representation of convergent auditory and multisensory pathways, enhancing the potency of non-auditory signals in a classical auditory pathway.
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11
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Manis PB, Campagnola L. A biophysical modelling platform of the cochlear nucleus and other auditory circuits: From channels to networks. Hear Res 2017; 360:76-91. [PMID: 29331233 DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2017.12.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2017] [Revised: 11/27/2017] [Accepted: 12/23/2017] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Models of the auditory brainstem have been an invaluable tool for testing hypotheses about auditory information processing and for highlighting the most important gaps in the experimental literature. Due to the complexity of the auditory brainstem, and indeed most brain circuits, the dynamic behavior of the system may be difficult to predict without a detailed, biologically realistic computational model. Despite the sensitivity of models to their exact construction and parameters, most prior models of the cochlear nucleus have incorporated only a small subset of the known biological properties. This confounds the interpretation of modelling results and also limits the potential future uses of these models, which require a large effort to develop. To address these issues, we have developed a general purpose, biophysically detailed model of the cochlear nucleus for use both in testing hypotheses about cochlear nucleus function and also as an input to models of downstream auditory nuclei. The model implements conductance-based Hodgkin-Huxley representations of cells using a Python-based interface to the NEURON simulator. Our model incorporates most of the quantitatively characterized intrinsic cell properties, synaptic properties, and connectivity available in the literature, and also aims to reproduce the known response properties of the canonical cochlear nucleus cell types. Although we currently lack the empirical data to completely constrain this model, our intent is for the model to continue to incorporate new experimental results as they become available.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul B Manis
- Dept. of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, B027 Marsico Hall, 125 Mason Farm Road, UNC Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7070, USA.
| | - Luke Campagnola
- Dept. of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, B027 Marsico Hall, 125 Mason Farm Road, UNC Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7070, USA
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12
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Abstract
UNLABELLED Many neurons fire spontaneously, and the rate of this firing is subject to neuromodulation. How this firing affects functional connectivity within a neural network remains largely unexplored. Here we show that changes in spontaneous firing of cartwheel interneurons in the mouse dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN) alter the effective convergence ratio of interneurons onto their postsynaptic targets through short-term synaptic plasticity. Spontaneous firing of cartwheel cells led to activity-dependent synaptic depression of individual cartwheel synapses. Depression was rapid and profound at stimulation frequencies between 10 and 200 Hz, suggesting the presence of high release probability (Pr) vesicles at these inhibitory synapses. Weak, transient synaptic facilitation could be induced after synapses were predepressed, indicating that low-Pr vesicles are also recruited, and may thus support steady-state transmission. A two-pool vesicle depletion model with 10-fold differences in Pr could account for the synaptic depression over a wide range of stimulus conditions. As a result of depression during high spontaneous activity, more cartwheel interneurons were required for effective inhibition. Convergence of four interneurons was sufficient to compensate for the effects of depression during physiologically expected rates of activity. By simulating synaptic release during spontaneous firing, we found that recruitment of low-Pr vesicles at the synapse plays a critical role in maintaining effective inhibition within a small population of interneurons. The interplay between spontaneous spiking, short-term synaptic plasticity, and vesicle recruitment thus determines the effective size of a convergent neural network. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT We examined the relationship between the structure of a small neural circuit and the properties of its individual synapses. Successful synaptic inhibition of a target cell firing requires a critical inhibitory synaptic strength. Synapses often become depressed during spontaneous presynaptic activity, and this increases the number of presynaptic neurons needed to mediate inhibition. We show that depression is limited by the presence of a pool of vesicles that resist depletion. Thus, the size of this vesicle pool determines the size of the circuit needed to mediate inhibition during different patterns of activity.
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Zugaib J, Ceballos CC, Leão RM. High doses of salicylate reduces glycinergic inhibition in the dorsal cochlear nucleus of the rat. Hear Res 2016; 332:188-198. [DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2015.10.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2015] [Revised: 10/07/2015] [Accepted: 10/15/2015] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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Heeringa AN, Stefanescu RA, Raphael Y, Shore SE. Altered vesicular glutamate transporter distributions in the mouse cochlear nucleus following cochlear insult. Neuroscience 2015; 315:114-24. [PMID: 26705736 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2015.12.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2015] [Revised: 11/30/2015] [Accepted: 12/04/2015] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Vesicular glutamate transporters 1 and 2 (VGLUT1 and VGLUT2) have distinct distributions in the cochlear nucleus that correspond to sources of the labeled terminals. VGLUT1 is mainly associated with terminals of auditory nerve fibers, whereas VGLUT2 is mainly associated with glutamatergic terminals deriving from other sources that project to the cochlear nucleus (CN), including somatosensory and vestibular terminals. Previous studies in guinea pig have shown that cochlear damage results in a decrease of VGLUT1-labeled puncta and an increase in VGLUT2-labeled puncta. This indicates cross-modal compensation that is of potential importance in somatic tinnitus. To examine whether this effect is consistent across species and to provide a background for future studies, using transgenesis, the current study examines VGLUT expression profiles upon cochlear insult by intracochlear kanamycin injections in the mouse. Intracochlear kanamycin injections abolished ipsilateral ABR responses in all animals and reduced ipsilateral spiral ganglion neuron densities in animals that were sacrificed after four weeks, but not in animals that were sacrificed after three weeks. In all unilaterally deafened animals, VGLUT1 density was decreased in CN regions that receive auditory nerve fiber terminals, i.e., in the deep layer of the dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN), in the interstitial region where the auditory nerve enters the CN, and in the magnocellular region of the antero- and posteroventral CN. In contrast, density of VGLUT2 expression was upregulated in the fusiform cell layer of the DCN and in the granule cell lamina, which are known to receive somatosensory and vestibular terminals. These results show that a cochlear insult induces cross-modal compensation in the cochlear nucleus of the mouse, confirming previous findings in guinea pig, and that these changes are not dependent on the occurrence of spiral ganglion neuron degeneration.
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Affiliation(s)
- A N Heeringa
- Kresge Hearing Research Institute, Otolaryngology, University of Michigan, United States
| | - R A Stefanescu
- Kresge Hearing Research Institute, Otolaryngology, University of Michigan, United States
| | - Y Raphael
- Kresge Hearing Research Institute, Otolaryngology, University of Michigan, United States
| | - S E Shore
- Kresge Hearing Research Institute, Otolaryngology, University of Michigan, United States; Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan, United States; Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, United States.
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Ono M, Ito T. Functional organization of the mammalian auditory midbrain. J Physiol Sci 2015; 65:499-506. [PMID: 26362672 PMCID: PMC10718034 DOI: 10.1007/s12576-015-0394-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2015] [Accepted: 08/22/2015] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
The inferior colliculus (IC) is a critical nexus between the auditory brainstem and the forebrain. Parallel auditory pathways that emerge from the brainstem are integrated in the IC. In this integration, de-novo auditory information processed as local and ascending inputs converge via the complex neural circuit of the IC. However, it is still unclear how information is processed within the neural circuit. The purpose of this review is to give an anatomical and physiological overview of the IC neural circuit. We address the functional organization of the IC where the excitatory and inhibitory synaptic inputs interact to shape the responses of IC neurons to sound.
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Affiliation(s)
- Munenori Ono
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT, 06030-3401, USA.
- Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Kanazawa Medical University, Uchinada, Ishikawa, 920-0293, Japan.
| | - Tetsufumi Ito
- Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Fukui, Eiheiji, Fukui, 910-1193, Japan
- Research and Education Program for Life Science, University of Fukui, Fukui, Fukui, 910-8507, Japan
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16
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Synaptic plasticity in the auditory system: a review. Cell Tissue Res 2015; 361:177-213. [PMID: 25896885 DOI: 10.1007/s00441-015-2176-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2015] [Accepted: 03/18/2015] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Synaptic transmission via chemical synapses is dynamic, i.e., the strength of postsynaptic responses may change considerably in response to repeated synaptic activation. Synaptic strength is increased during facilitation, augmentation and potentiation, whereas a decrease in synaptic strength is characteristic for depression and attenuation. This review attempts to discuss the literature on short-term and long-term synaptic plasticity in the auditory brainstem of mammals and birds. One hallmark of the auditory system, particularly the inner ear and lower brainstem stations, is information transfer through neurons that fire action potentials at very high frequency, thereby activating synapses >500 times per second. Some auditory synapses display morphological specializations of the presynaptic terminals, e.g., calyceal extensions, whereas other auditory synapses do not. The review focuses on short-term depression and short-term facilitation, i.e., plastic changes with durations in the millisecond range. Other types of short-term synaptic plasticity, e.g., posttetanic potentiation and depolarization-induced suppression of excitation, will be discussed much more briefly. The same holds true for subtypes of long-term plasticity, like prolonged depolarizations and spike-time-dependent plasticity. We also address forms of plasticity in the auditory brainstem that do not comprise synaptic plasticity in a strict sense, namely short-term suppression, paired tone facilitation, short-term adaptation, synaptic adaptation and neural adaptation. Finally, we perform a meta-analysis of 61 studies in which short-term depression (STD) in the auditory system is opposed to short-term depression at non-auditory synapses in order to compare high-frequency neurons with those that fire action potentials at a lower rate. This meta-analysis reveals considerably less STD in most auditory synapses than in non-auditory ones, enabling reliable, failure-free synaptic transmission even at frequencies >100 Hz. Surprisingly, the calyx of Held, arguably the best-investigated synapse in the central nervous system, depresses most robustly. It will be exciting to reveal the molecular mechanisms that set high-fidelity synapses apart from other synapses that function much less reliably.
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Perez-Rosello T, Anderson CT, Ling C, Lippard SJ, Tzounopoulos T. Tonic zinc inhibits spontaneous firing in dorsal cochlear nucleus principal neurons by enhancing glycinergic neurotransmission. Neurobiol Dis 2015; 81:14-9. [PMID: 25796568 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2015.03.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2014] [Revised: 03/02/2015] [Accepted: 03/12/2015] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
In many synapses of the CNS, mobile zinc is packaged into glutamatergic vesicles and co-released with glutamate during neurotransmission. Following synaptic release, the mobilized zinc modulates ligand- and voltage-gated channels and receptors, functioning as an inhibitory neuromodulator. However, the origin and role of tonic, as opposed to phasically released, zinc are less well understood. We investigated tonic zinc in the dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN), a zinc-rich, auditory brainstem nucleus. Our results show that application of a high-affinity, extracellular zinc chelator (ZX1) enhances spontaneous firing in DCN principal neurons (fusiform cells), consistent with inhibition of this neuronal property by tonic zinc. The enhancing effect was prevented by prior application of strychnine, a glycine receptor antagonist, suggesting that ZX1 interferes with zinc-mediated modulation of spontaneous glycinergic inhibition. In particular, ZX1 decreased the amplitude and the frequency of glycinergic miniature inhibitory postsynaptic currents in fusiform cells, from which we conclude that tonic zinc enhances glycinergic inhibitory neurotransmission. The observed zinc-mediated inhibition in spontaneous firing is present in mice lacking the vesicular zinc transporter (ZnT3), indicating that non-vesicular zinc inhibits spontaneous firing. Noise-induced increase in the spontaneous firing of fusiform cells is crucial for the induction of tinnitus. In this context, tonic zinc provides a powerful break of spontaneous firing that may protect against pathological run-up of spontaneous activity in the DCN.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tamara Perez-Rosello
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh, 3501 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
| | - Charles T Anderson
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh, 3501 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
| | - Cindy Ling
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh, 3501 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
| | - Stephen J Lippard
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Thanos Tzounopoulos
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh, 3501 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA.
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Zhou M, Li YT, Yuan W, Tao HW, Zhang LI. Synaptic mechanisms for generating temporal diversity of auditory representation in the dorsal cochlear nucleus. J Neurophysiol 2014; 113:1358-68. [PMID: 25475349 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00573.2014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
In central auditory pathways, neurons exhibit a great diversity of temporal discharge patterns, which may contribute to the parallel processing of auditory signals. How such response diversity emerges in the central auditory circuits remains unclear. Here, we investigated whether synaptic mechanisms can contribute to the generation of the temporal response diversity at the first stage along the central auditory neuraxis. By in vivo whole-cell voltage-clamp recording in the dorsal cochlear nucleus of rats, we revealed excitatory and inhibitory synaptic inputs underlying three different firing patterns of fusiform/pyramidal neurons in response to auditory stimuli: "primary-like," "pauser," and "buildup" patterns. We found that primary-like neurons received strong, fast-rising excitation, whereas pauser and buildup neurons received accumulating excitation with a relatively weak fast-rising phase, followed by a slow-rising phase. Pauser neurons received stronger fast-rising excitation than buildup cells. On the other hand, inhibitory inputs to the three types of cells exhibited similar temporal patterns, all with a strong fast-rising phase. Dynamic-clamp recordings demonstrated that the differential temporal patterns of excitation could primarily account for the different discharge patterns. In addition, discharge pattern in a single neuron varied in a stimulus-dependent manner, which could be attributed to the modulation of excitation/inhibition balance by different stimuli. Further examination of excitatory inputs to vertical/tuberculoventral and cartwheel cells suggested that fast-rising and accumulating excitation might be conveyed by auditory nerve and parallel fibers, respectively. A differential summation of excitatory inputs from the two sources may thus contribute to the generation of response diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mu Zhou
- Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California; Graduate Programs, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California; and
| | - Ya-Tang Li
- Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California; Graduate Programs, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California; and
| | - Wei Yuan
- Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California; Department of Otolaryngology of Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Huizhong W Tao
- Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California; Department of Cell and Neurobiology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
| | - Li I Zhang
- Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California; Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California;
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19
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Muniak MA, Ryugo DK. Tonotopic organization of vertical cells in the dorsal cochlear nucleus of the CBA/J mouse. J Comp Neurol 2014; 522:937-49. [PMID: 23982998 DOI: 10.1002/cne.23454] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2013] [Revised: 07/30/2013] [Accepted: 08/16/2013] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
The systematic and topographic representation of frequency is a first principle of organization throughout the auditory system. The dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN) receives direct tonotopic projections from the auditory nerve (AN) as well as secondary and descending projections from other sources. Among the recipients of AN input in the DCN are vertical cells (also called tuberculoventral cells), glycinergic interneurons thought to provide on- or near-best-frequency feed-forward inhibition to principal cells in the DCN and various cells in the anteroventral cochlear nucleus (AVCN). Differing lines of physiological and anatomical evidence suggest that vertical cells and their projections are organized with respect to frequency, but this has not been conclusively demonstrated in the intact mammalian brain. To address this issue, we retrogradely labeled vertical cells via physiologically targeted injections in the AVCN of the CBA/J mouse. Results from multiple cases were merged with a normalized 3D template of the cochlear nucleus (Muniak et al. [2013] J. Comp. Neurol. 521:1510-1532) to demonstrate quantitatively that the arrangement of vertical cells is tonotopic and aligned to the innervation pattern of the AN. These results suggest that vertical cells are well positioned for providing immediate, frequency-specific inhibition onto cells of the DCN and AVCN to facilitate spectral processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael A Muniak
- Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, 21205; Hearing Research Program, Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Sydney, New South Wales, 2010, Australia
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20
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Sedlacek M, Brenowitz SD. Cell-type specific short-term plasticity at auditory nerve synapses controls feed-forward inhibition in the dorsal cochlear nucleus. Front Neural Circuits 2014; 8:78. [PMID: 25071459 PMCID: PMC4081852 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2014.00078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2014] [Accepted: 06/18/2014] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Feed-forward inhibition (FFI) represents a powerful mechanism by which control of the timing and fidelity of action potentials in local synaptic circuits of various brain regions is achieved. In the cochlear nucleus, the auditory nerve provides excitation to both principal neurons and inhibitory interneurons. Here, we investigated the synaptic circuit associated with fusiform cells (FCs), principal neurons of the dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN) that receive excitation from auditory nerve fibers and inhibition from tuberculoventral cells (TVCs) on their basal dendrites in the deep layer of DCN. Despite the importance of these inputs in regulating fusiform cell firing behavior, the mechanisms determining the balance of excitation and FFI in this circuit are not well understood. Therefore, we examined the timing and plasticity of auditory nerve driven FFI onto FCs. We find that in some FCs, excitatory and inhibitory components of FFI had the same stimulation thresholds indicating they could be triggered by activation of the same fibers. In other FCs, excitation and inhibition exhibit different stimulus thresholds, suggesting FCs and TVCs might be activated by different sets of fibers. In addition, we find that during repetitive activation, synapses formed by the auditory nerve onto TVCs and FCs exhibit distinct modes of short-term plasticity. Feed-forward inhibitory post-synaptic currents (IPSCs) in FCs exhibit short-term depression because of prominent synaptic depression at the auditory nerve-TVC synapse. Depression of this feedforward inhibitory input causes a shift in the balance of fusiform cell synaptic input towards greater excitation and suggests that fusiform cell spike output will be enhanced by physiological patterns of auditory nerve activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miloslav Sedlacek
- Section on Synaptic Transmission, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institutes of Health Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Stephan D Brenowitz
- Section on Synaptic Transmission, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institutes of Health Bethesda, MD, USA
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21
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Schofield BR, Motts SD, Mellott JG, Foster NL. Projections from the dorsal and ventral cochlear nuclei to the medial geniculate body. Front Neuroanat 2014; 8:10. [PMID: 24634646 PMCID: PMC3942891 DOI: 10.3389/fnana.2014.00010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2013] [Accepted: 02/18/2014] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Direct projections from the cochlear nucleus (CN) to the medial geniculate body (MG) mediate a high-speed transfer of acoustic information to the auditory thalamus. Anderson etal. (2006) used anterograde tracers to label the projection from the dorsal CN (DCN) to the MG in guinea pigs. We examined this pathway with retrograde tracers. The results confirm a pathway from the DCN, originating primarily from the deep layers. Labeled cells included a few giant cells and a larger number of small cells of unknown type. Many more labeled cells were present in the ventral CN (VCN). These cells, identifiable as multipolar (stellate) or small cells, were found throughout much of the VCN. Most of the labeled cells were located contralateral to the injection site. The CN to MG pathway bypasses the inferior colliculus (IC), where most ascending auditory information is processed. Anderson etal. (2006) hypothesized that CN-MG axons are collaterals of axons that reach the IC. We tested this hypothesis by injecting different fluorescent tracers into the MG and IC and examining the CN for double-labeled cells. After injections on the same side of the brain, double-labeled cells were found in the contralateral VCN and DCN. Most double-labeled cells were in the VCN, where they accounted for up to 37% of the cells labeled by the MG injection. We conclude that projections from the CN to the MG originate from the VCN and, less so, from the DCN. A significant proportion of the cells send a collateral projection to the IC. Presumably, the collateral projections send the same information to both the MG and the IC. The results suggest that T-stellate cells of the VCN are a major source of direct projections to the auditory thalamus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brett R Schofield
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Northeast Ohio Medical University Rootstown, OH, USA ; School of Biomedical Sciences, Kent State University Kent, OH, USA
| | - Susan D Motts
- Department of Physical Therapy, Arkansas State University Jonesboro, AR, USA
| | - Jeffrey G Mellott
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Northeast Ohio Medical University Rootstown, OH, USA
| | - Nichole L Foster
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Northeast Ohio Medical University Rootstown, OH, USA ; School of Biomedical Sciences, Kent State University Kent, OH, USA
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22
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Xie R, Manis PB. Glycinergic synaptic transmission in the cochlear nucleus of mice with normal hearing and age-related hearing loss. J Neurophysiol 2013; 110:1848-59. [PMID: 23904491 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00151.2013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
The principal inhibitory neurotransmitter in the mammalian cochlear nucleus (CN) is glycine. During age-related hearing loss (AHL), glycinergic inhibition becomes weaker in CN. However, it is unclear what aspects of glycinergic transmission are responsible for weaker inhibition with AHL. We examined glycinergic transmission onto bushy cells of the anteroventral CN in normal-hearing CBA/CaJ mice and in DBA/2J mice, a strain that exhibits an early onset AHL. Glycinergic synaptic transmission was examined in brain slices of mice at 10-15 postnatal days old, 20-35 days old, and at 6-7 mo old. Spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic current (sIPSC) event frequency and amplitude were the same among all three ages in both strains of mice. However, the amplitudes of IPSCs evoked (eIPSC) from stimulating the dorsal CN were smaller, and the failure rate was higher, with increasing age due to decreased quantal content in both mouse strains, independent of hearing status. The coefficient of variation of the eIPSC amplitude also increased with age. The decay time constant (τ) of sIPSCs and eIPSCs were constant in CBA/CaJ mice at all ages, but were significantly slower in DBA/2J mice at postnatal days 20-35, following the onset of AHL, and not at earlier or later ages. Our results suggest that glycinergic inhibition at the synapses onto bushy cells becomes weaker and less reliable with age through changes in release. However, the hearing loss in DBA/2J mice is accompanied by a transiently enhanced inhibition, which could disrupt the balance of excitation and inhibition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruili Xie
- Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina; and
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Generation of intensity selectivity by differential synaptic tuning: fast-saturating excitation but slow-saturating inhibition. J Neurosci 2013; 32:18068-78. [PMID: 23238722 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.3647-12.2012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Intensity defines one fundamental aspect of sensory information and is specifically represented in each sensory modality. Interestingly, only in the central auditory system are intensity-selective neurons evolved. These neurons are characterized by nonmonotonic response-level functions. The synaptic circuitry mechanisms underlying the generation of intensity selectivity from nonselective auditory nerve inputs remain largely unclear. Here, we performed in vivo whole-cell recordings from pyramidal neurons in the rat dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN), where intensity selectivity first emerges along the auditory neuraxis. Our results revealed that intensity-selective cells received fast-saturating excitation but slow-saturating inhibition with intensity increments, whereas in intensity-nonselective cells excitation and inhibition were similarly slow-saturating. The differential intensity tuning profiles of the monotonic excitation and inhibition qualitatively determined the intensity selectivity of output responses. In addition, the selectivity was further strengthened by significantly lower excitation/inhibition ratios at high-intensity levels compared with intensity-nonselective neurons. Our results demonstrate that intensity selectivity in the DCN is generated by extracting the difference between tuning profiles of nonselective excitatory and inhibitory inputs, which we propose can be achieved through a differential circuit mediated by feedforward inhibition.
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