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New EM, Hurd JA, Alarcon GA, Miller CS, Williams PA, Greene NT, Sergott CE, Li BZ, Lei TC, McCullagh EA. Hearing ability of prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster). THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2024; 155:555-567. [PMID: 38259128 PMCID: PMC10807928 DOI: 10.1121/10.0024357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2023] [Revised: 12/21/2023] [Accepted: 12/27/2023] [Indexed: 01/24/2024]
Abstract
The hearing abilities of mammals are impacted by factors such as social cues, habitat, and physical characteristics. Despite being used commonly to study social behaviors, hearing of the monogamous prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster) has never been characterized. In this study, anatomical features are measured and auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) are used to measure auditory capabilities of prairie voles, characterizing monaural and binaural hearing and hearing range. Sexually naive male and female voles were measured to characterize differences due to sex. It was found that prairie voles show a hearing range with greatest sensitivity between 8 and 32 kHz, binaural hearing across interaural time difference ranges appropriate for their head sizes. No differences are shown between the sexes in binaural hearing or hearing range (except at 1 kHz), however, female voles have increased amplitude of peripheral ABR waves I and II and longer latency of waves III and IV compared to males. The results confirm that prairie voles have a broad hearing range, binaural hearing consistent with rodents of similar size, and differences in amplitudes and thresholds of monaural physiological measures between the sexes. These data further highlight the necessity to understand sex-specific differences in neural processing that may underly variability in responses between sexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily M New
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma 74078, USA
| | - Jessica A Hurd
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma 74078, USA
| | - Genesis A Alarcon
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma 74078, USA
| | - Cameron S Miller
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma 74078, USA
| | - Peyton A Williams
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma 74078, USA
| | - Nathaniel T Greene
- Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado 80045, USA
| | - Casey E Sergott
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma 74078, USA
| | - Ben-Zheng Li
- Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, Colorado 80204, USA
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado 80045, USA
| | - Tim C Lei
- Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, Colorado 80204, USA
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado 80045, USA
| | - Elizabeth A McCullagh
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma 74078, USA
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Yu X, Wang Y. Peripheral Fragile X messenger ribonucleoprotein is required for the timely closure of a critical period for neuronal susceptibility in the ventral cochlear nucleus. Front Cell Neurosci 2023; 17:1186630. [PMID: 37305436 PMCID: PMC10248243 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2023.1186630] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2023] [Accepted: 05/08/2023] [Indexed: 06/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Alterations in neuronal plasticity and critical periods are common across neurodevelopmental diseases, including Fragile X syndrome (FXS), the leading single-gene cause of autism. Characterized with sensory dysfunction, FXS is the result of gene silencing of Fragile X messenger ribonucleoprotein 1 (FMR1) and loss of its product, Fragile X messenger ribonucleoprotein (FMRP). The mechanisms underlying altered critical period and sensory dysfunction in FXS are obscure. Here, we performed genetic and surgical deprivation of peripheral auditory inputs in wildtype and Fmr1 knockout (KO) mice across ages and investigated the effects of global FMRP loss on deafferentation-induced neuronal changes in the ventral cochlear nucleus (VCN) and auditory brainstem responses. The degree of neuronal cell loss during the critical period was unchanged in Fmr1 KO mice. However, the closure of the critical period was delayed. Importantly, this delay was temporally coincidental with reduced hearing sensitivity, implying an association with sensory inputs. Functional analyses further identified early-onset and long-lasting alterations in signal transmission from the spiral ganglion to the VCN, suggesting a peripheral site of FMRP action. Finally, we generated conditional Fmr1 KO (cKO) mice with selective deletion of FMRP in spiral ganglion but not VCN neurons. cKO mice recapitulated the delay in the VCN critical period closure in Fmr1 KO mice, confirming an involvement of cochlear FMRP in shaping the temporal features of neuronal critical periods in the brain. Together, these results identify a novel peripheral mechanism of neurodevelopmental pathogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Yuan Wang
- Program in Neuroscience, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Florida State University College of Medicine, Tallahassee, FL, United States
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Malhotra AS, Kulesza R. Abnormal auditory brainstem responses in an animal model of autism spectrum disorder. Hear Res 2023; 436:108816. [PMID: 37285705 DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2023.108816] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2023] [Revised: 04/15/2023] [Accepted: 05/24/2023] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Auditory dysfunction is a common feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and ranges from deafness to hypersensitivity. The auditory brainstem response (ABR) permits study of the amplitude and latency of synchronized electrical activity along the ascending auditory pathway in response to clicks and pure tone stimuli. Indeed, numerous studies have shown that subjects with ASD have ABR abnormalities. In utero exposure to the antiepileptic drug valproic acid (VPA) is associated with human cases of ASD and is used as an animal model of ASD. Previous studies have shown that VPA-exposed animals have significantly fewer neurons in the auditory brainstem and thalamus, reduced ascending projections to the auditory midbrain and thalamus and increased neuronal activation in response to pure tone stimuli. Accordingly, we hypothesized that VPA-exposed animals would have abnormal ABRs throughout their lifespans. We approached this hypothesis in two cohorts. First, we examined ABRs from both ears on postnatal day 22 (P22). Then, we examined monaural ABRs in animals at P28, 60, 120, 180, 240, 300 and 360. Our results suggest that at P22, VPA-exposed animals have elevated thresholds and increased peak latencies. However, by P60 these differences largely normalize with differences appearing only near hearing threshold. Additionally, our analysis revealed that maturation of ABR waves occurred at different trajectories in control and VPA-exposed animals. These results, together with our previous work, suggest that VPA exposure not only impacts total neuron number and connectivity, but also auditory evoked responses. Finally, our longitudinal analysis suggests that delayed maturation of auditory brainstem circuits may impact ABRs throughout the lifespan of the animal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arjun S Malhotra
- Department of Anatomy Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, Erie, Pennsylvania, USA; Millcreek Community Hospital LECOM Health, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Erie, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Randy Kulesza
- Department of Anatomy Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, Erie, Pennsylvania, USA.
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4
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Sibille J, Kremkow J, Koch U. Absence of the Fragile X messenger ribonucleoprotein alters response patterns to sounds in the auditory midbrain. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:987939. [PMID: 36188480 PMCID: PMC9523263 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.987939] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2022] [Accepted: 08/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Among the different autism spectrum disorders, Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most common inherited cause of intellectual disability. Sensory and especially auditory hypersensitivity is a key symptom in patients, which is well mimicked in the Fmr1 -/- mouse model. However, the physiological mechanisms underlying FXS’s acoustic hypersensitivity in particular remain poorly understood. Here, we categorized spike response patterns to pure tones of different frequencies and intensities from neurons in the inferior colliculus (IC), a central integrator in the ascending auditory pathway. Based on this categorization we analyzed differences in response patterns between IC neurons of wild-type (WT) and Fmr1 -/- mice. Our results report broadening of frequency tuning, an increased firing in response to monaural as well as binaural stimuli, an altered balance of excitation-inhibition, and reduced response latencies, all expected features of acoustic hypersensitivity. Furthermore, we noticed that all neuronal response types in Fmr1 -/- mice displayed enhanced offset-rebound activity outside their excitatory frequency response area. These results provide evidence that the loss of Fmr1 not only increases spike responses in IC neurons similar to auditory brainstem neurons, but also changes response patterns such as offset spiking. One can speculate this to be an underlying aspect of the receptive language problems associated with Fragile X syndrome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jérémie Sibille
- Institute for Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Neuroscience Research Center, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Institute for Theoretical Biology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Einstein Center for Neurosciences Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- *Correspondence: Jérémie Sibille, ,
| | - Jens Kremkow
- Neuroscience Research Center, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Institute for Theoretical Biology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Einstein Center for Neurosciences Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Ursula Koch
- Institute for Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Einstein Center for Neurosciences Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Ursula Koch,
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McCullagh EA, Peacock J, Lucas A, Poleg S, Greene NT, Gaut A, Lagestee S, Zhang Y, Kaczmarek LK, Park TJ, Tollin DJ, Klug A. Auditory brainstem development of naked mole-rats ( Heterocephalus glaber). Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20220878. [PMID: 35946148 PMCID: PMC9363996 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.0878] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Life underground often leads to animals having specialized auditory systems to accommodate the constraints of acoustic transmission in tunnels. Despite living underground, naked mole-rats use a highly vocal communication system, implying that they rely on central auditory processing. However, little is known about these animals' central auditory system, and whether it follows a similar developmental time course as other rodents. Naked mole-rats show slowed development in the hippocampus suggesting they have altered brain development compared to other rodents. Here, we measured morphological characteristics and voltage-gated potassium channel Kv3.3 expression and protein levels at different key developmental time points (postnatal days 9, 14, 21 and adulthood) to determine whether the auditory brainstem (lateral superior olive and medial nucleus of the trapezoid body) develops similarly to two common auditory rodent model species: gerbils and mice. Additionally, we measured the hearing onset of naked mole-rats using auditory brainstem response recordings at the same developmental timepoints. In contrast with other work in naked mole-rats showing that they are highly divergent in many aspects of their physiology, we show that naked mole-rats have a similar hearing onset, between postnatal day (P) 9 and P14, to many other rodents. On the other hand, we show some developmental differences, such as a unique morphology and Kv3.3 protein levels in the brainstem.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - John Peacock
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Alexandra Lucas
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Shani Poleg
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Nathaniel T. Greene
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Addison Gaut
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, USA
| | - Samantha Lagestee
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL USA
| | - Yalan Zhang
- Department of Pharmacology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Leonard K. Kaczmarek
- Department of Pharmacology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Thomas J. Park
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL USA
| | - Daniel J. Tollin
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Achim Klug
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
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