Evaluating the plasticity potential of the auditory brain stem nucleus in the rat
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 31, 2026
Slicing the Embryonic Chicken Auditory Brainstem to Evaluate Tonotopic Gradients and Microcircuits
Published on: July 12, 2022
R B Illing1, C R Förster, M Horváth
1Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University of Freiburg, Germany.
Objective:
To study the adaptation of the auditory brainstem to auditory loss.
Study Design:
Growth-associated protein 43 (GAP-43) immunoreactivity was studied in in rats whose cochleas had been removed.
Results And Discussion:
Neurons in the lateral superior olive were found to synthesize GAP-43 in a pattern that paralleled the changes in GAP-43 immunoreactivity in the cochlear nucleus after cochlear ablation. These findings suggest that new patterns of synaptic communication can be established after damage to the cochlea.
