PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Luebke, Anne E.
AU  - Foster, Paul K.
TI  - Variation in Inter-Animal Susceptibility to Noise Damage Is Associated with α9 Acetylcholine Receptor Subunit Expression Level
AID  - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.22-10-04241.2002
DP  - 2002 May 15
TA  - The Journal of Neuroscience
PG  - 4241--4247
VI  - 22
IP  - 10
4099  - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/22/10/4241.short
4100  - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/22/10/4241.full
SO  - J. Neurosci.2002 May 15; 22
AB  - Large intersubject variabilities in acoustic injury are known to occur in both humans and animals; however, the mechanisms underlying such differences are poorly understood. The olivocochlear efferent system has been hypothesized to play a significant role in protecting the cochlea from noise overexposure. In this study, we demonstrate that a newly developed test for determining average efferent system strength can predict intersubject variations in acoustic injury. In addition, the intersubject variability in cochlear expression of the α9 subunit of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor was found to be proportional to an animals average efferent strength. Therefore, the inter-animal variability in the α9-containing acetylcholine receptor expression may be one mechanism contributing to the inter-animal variability in acoustic injury.