Central Gain Restores Auditory Processing following Near-Complete Cochlear Denervation.

ABSTRACT: Sensory organ damage induces a host of cellular and physiological changes in the periphery and the brain. Here, we show that some aspects of auditory processing recover after profound cochlear denervation due to a progressive, compensatory plasticity at higher stages of the central auditory pathway. Lesioning >95% of cochlear nerve afferent synapses, while sparing hair cells, in adult mice virtually eliminated the auditory brainstem response and acoustic startle reflex, yet tone detection behavior was nearly normal. As sound-evoked responses from the auditory nerve grew progressively weaker following denervation, sound-evoked activity in the cortex-and, to a lesser extent, the midbrain-rebounded or surpassed control levels. Increased central gain supported the recovery of rudimentary sound

SUBMITTER: Chambers AR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4760846 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature