Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 23, 2026

Morphological and Functional Evaluation of Ribbon Synapses at Specific Frequency Regions of the Mouse Cochlea
Published on: May 10, 2019
Maternal high-decibel acoustic exposure elevates prenatal stress, impairing postnatal hearing thresholds associated
Fei Yu1, Xueying Xu1, Zhongjuan Ren1
1School of Public Health, He University, No.66 Sishui Street, Hunnan New District, Shenyang, 110163, China.
Maternal stress may affect the fetal auditory system than direct sound exposure. The objective of this study was to evaluate the role of prenatal stress due to high-decibel (dB) sound exposure on postnatal hearing and cochlear structure. Pregnant rats were exposed to 95 or 65 dB noise or music for 2 h once a day from gestational day 15 until delivery. The serum corticosterone was measured in the pregnant dams and pups. On postnatal day 22, pups underwent auditory brainstem response (ABR) testing. Then, the cochleae were immediately harvested for biochemical and molecular investigations. Prenatal stress impaired reproductive parameters, increased serum corticosterone and ABR thresholds with the decrease in wave I peak amplitude and the number of pre-synaptic ribbon. Thus, prenatal stress induces postnatal hearing loss in young rats, which are related to the reduction of ribbon synapses.
Maternal stress may affect the fetal auditory system than direct sound exposure. The objective of this study was to evaluate the role of prenatal stress due to high-decibel (dB) sound exposure on postnatal hearing and cochlear structure. Pregnant rats were exposed to 95 or 65 dB noise or music for 2 h once a day from gestational day 15 until delivery. The serum corticosterone was measured in the pregnant dams and pups. On postnatal day 22, pups underwent auditory brainstem response (ABR) testing. Then, the cochleae were immediately harvested for biochemical and molecular investigations. Prenatal stress impaired reproductive parameters, increased serum corticosterone and ABR thresholds with the decrease in wave I peak amplitude and the number of pre-synaptic ribbon. Thus, prenatal stress induces postnatal hearing loss in young rats, which are related to the reduction of ribbon synapses.
Related Concept Videos
The Synapse
Hearing
Freezing Point Depression and Boiling Point Elevation
The boiling point of a liquid is the temperature at which its vapor pressure is equal to ambient atmospheric pressure. Since the vapor pressure of a solution is lowered due to the presence of nonvolatile solutes, it stands to reason that the solution’s boiling point will subsequently be increased. Vapor pressure increases with temperature, and so a solution will require a higher temperature than will pure solvent to achieve any given vapor pressure, including one...
Decreasing Function
Decreased Body Temperature
Decreased pulse rate
There are specific risk factors that can elevate the likelihood of developing bradycardia. Advanced age is a significant factor, with...

