Bridging the gap between presynaptic hair cell function and neural sound encoding.

ABSTRACT: Neural diversity can expand the encoding capacity of a circuitry. A striking example of diverse structure and function is presented by the afferent synapses between inner hair cells (IHCs) and spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs) in the cochlea. Presynaptic active zones at the pillar IHC side activate at lower IHC potentials than those of the modiolar side that have more presynaptic Ca²⁺ channels. The postsynaptic SGNs differ in their spontaneous firing rates, sound thresholds, and operating ranges. While a causal relationship between synaptic heterogeneity and neural response diversity seems likely, experimental evidence linking synaptic and SGN physiology has remained difficult to obtain. Here, we aimed at bridging this gap by ex vivo paired recordings of murine IHCs and postsynapti

SUBMITTER: Jaime Tobon LM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11668530 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature