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Dynamic Changes in Synaptic Plasticity Genes in Ipsilateral and Contralateral Inferior Colliculus Following
Senthilvelan Manohar1, Francesca Yoshie Russo2, Gail M Seigel1
1Center for Hearing and Deafness, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14214, USA.
Neuroscience
|April 13, 2020
Summary
Unilateral hearing loss causes significant, time-dependent changes in synaptic plasticity genes within the inferior colliculus (IC). These gene expression alterations in the IC reveal compensatory mechanisms following noise-induced hearing loss.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Auditory Neuroscience
- Synaptic Plasticity
Background:
- Unilateral noise-induced hearing loss disrupts auditory pathway input, affecting the inferior colliculus (IC), a key binaural processing center.
- Compensatory synaptic changes in the IC following unilateral hearing loss are not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate time-dependent, asymmetric changes in synaptic plasticity gene expression in the IC after unilateral noise-induced hearing loss.
Main Methods:
- Sprague-Dawley rats experienced unilateral noise exposure causing severe hearing loss.
- Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) array analyzed 84 synaptic plasticity genes in contralateral and ipsilateral IC tissues at 2 and 28 days post-exposure.
- In situ hybridization validated expression of Arc and Egr1 genes.
Main Results:
- No genes were upregulated; many were downregulated post-exposure.
- At 2 days, >75% of genes were downregulated in the contralateral IC, versus only two in the ipsilateral IC.
- At 28 days, >85% of genes were downregulated in the ipsilateral IC, with most contralateral genes recovering.
Conclusions:
- Time-dependent, asymmetric changes in synaptic plasticity gene expression occur in the IC following unilateral hearing loss.
- These findings offer insights into perceptual deficits and dynamic changes in the IC after unilateral noise-induced hearing loss.
