Reduced spontaneous activity in the dorsal cochlear nucleus of Scn8a mutant mice

Spontaneous activity was recorded in the dorsal cochlear nucleus of brain slices from mice homozygous for the med-J and jolting mutations in the neuronal sodium channel alpha-subunit Scn8a. Densities of spontaneously active neurons in slices from both mutants were significantly lower than in control slices. Spontaneous firing patterns with bursts of action potentials were recorded from approximately 50% of the neurons in control slices, but the typical bursting patterns were not observed in neurons of med-J and jolting mouse slices. The results suggest that this voltage-gated sodium channel is essential for the spontaneous bursting firing of cochlear nucleus cartwheel neurons. This mutant animal model may be useful for the study of the functional roles of cochlear nucleus neurons.