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Updated: Jul 23, 2026

Postsynaptic Recordings at Afferent Dendrites Contacting Cochlear Inner Hair Cells: Monitoring Multivesicular Release at a Ribbon Synapse
Published on: February 10, 2011
The AMPA receptors of auditory neurons
1Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, USA. tom.parks@hsc.utah.edu
Abstract:
The ionotropic glutamate receptor (GluR) subtype known as the AMPA receptor, which mediates rapid excitatory synaptic transmission in many regions of the nervous system, is composed of four different protein subunits, termed GluRs 1-4. The functional properties of each AMPA receptor are determined by the relative levels of GluRs 1-4 and by post-transcriptional modifications of these proteins through mRNA editing and alternative exon splicing. The present paper reviews the published evidence for (1) localization of mRNAs and immunoreactivity for GluRs 1-4 in the cochlea and subcortical central nervous system auditory pathways of mammals and birds, and (2) involvement of AMPA receptors in synaptic transmission in the auditory system. Recent biochemical and electrophysiological evidence concerning the specialized properties of AMPA receptors on brainstem auditory neurons is also reviewed, along with data concerning how these properties emerge during normal development.
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