Anxiety-like behavior in deaf Ebf1 conditional knockout mice

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Genetics
• Auditory Science

Background:

• Hearing loss is linked to mental health issues like anxiety and social isolation in humans.
• Deaf animal models are crucial for studying hearing loss effects, controlling for genetic and environmental factors.
• Otic-specific deletion of Ebf1 gene causes deafness, creating a potential model for congenital deafness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if otic-specific Ebf1 knockout (KO) mice exhibit neurobehavioral changes associated with congenital deafness.
• To validate the use of these deaf mice as a model for studying the behavioral correlates of hearing loss.

Main Methods:

• Generated otic-specific Ebf1 conditional KO mice by crossing Slc26a9P2A-Cre and Ebf1 floxed mice.
• Assessed auditory function using auditory brainstem response.
• Evaluated behavior using elevated plus maze, acoustic startle, locomotor activity, forced swim, and Y-maze tests.

Main Results:

• Otic-specific Ebf1 KO mice showed reduced time in open arms and increased latency to enter open arms on the elevated plus maze, indicating anxiety-like behavior.
• KO mice exhibited decreased acoustic startle response and reduced pre-pulse inhibition, consistent with elevated hearing thresholds.
• No significant differences were observed in exploratory behavior or forced swim immobility between KO and WT mice.

Conclusions:

• Deaf otic-specific Ebf1 KO mice serve as a valid model for studying the behavioral effects of hearing loss.
• The findings provide empirical evidence that hearing loss contributes to anxiety, aligning with clinical observations in older adults.