Co-release of GABA and ACh from medial olivocochlear neurons fine tunes cochlear efferent inhibition.

ABSTRACT: During development, inner hair cells (IHCs) in the mammalian cochlea are unresponsive to acoustic stimuli but instead exhibit spontaneous activity. During this same period, neurons originating from the medial olivocochlear complex (MOC) transiently innervate IHCs, regulating their firing pattern which is crucial for the correct development of the auditory pathway. Although the MOC-IHC is a cholinergic synapse, previous evidence indicates the widespread presence of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) signaling markers, including presynaptic GABA_B receptors (GABA_BR). In this study, we explore the source of GABA by optogenetically activating either cholinergic or GABAergic fibers. The optogenetic stimulation of MOC terminals from GAD;ChR2-eYFP and ChAT;ChR2-eYFP mice evoked s

SUBMITTER: Castagnola T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11343139 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature