The changing auditory system: Development, learning, aging and diseaseInhibitory synaptogenesis in the rat anteroventral cochlear nucleus
Section snippets
Preparation of animals and tissue
Thirty-three male Wistar rats from postnatal day (P) 0 to adulthood (P90) were used. Their care and handling were approved and supervised by institutional animal care and use committees, following national and European Union regulations on the matter. Every effort was made to minimize the number of animals used and their suffering.
For each developmental age, animals came from different litters and were grouped as follows: day of birth=P0 (n=3), P3 (n=3); P5 (n=3), P7 (n=3), P10 (n=3), P12 (n
Adult AVCN
As previously reported (Kolston et al 1992, Juiz et al 1996) numerous GABA and/or glycine immunoreactive puncta and fibers were seen in this CN division (Fig. 1). Both with postembedding immunoperoxidase (Fig. 1A–B) and immunofluorescence (Fig. 1C–E), punctate labeling was particularly dense around unlabeled spherical cell bodies identifiable in rostral portions of the AVCN, where our observations were focused. Puncta and fibers co-labeled for both inhibitory amino acids were abundant (Fig. 1A,
Discussion
Using a combination of high resolution immunocytochemical methods at the light and electron microscopic levels we have followed the postnatal structural development of GABAergic and glycinergic synapses in the AVCN. The emerging picture is that of a protracted postnatal period of structural and neurochemical development of inhibitory synapses in the rat AVCN extending well beyond hearing onset. This may represent a structural background for experience driven adjustments in inhibition, which may
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to Mrs. Adelaida Baso for excellent technical assistance and Mr. Stuart Ingham for photographic assistance. Dr. Mari Luz Campos provided expertise in confocal microscopy, through the core facility (SS. TT. II.) of the Universidad Miguel Hernández. Prof. Peter Somogyi and Dr. R. J. Wenthold kindly provided antibodies against GABA and glycine, respectively. Work supported by Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología (BFI2003-09147-C02-02 and BFU 2006-13974) to J.M.J.; Ministerio
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The aging human cochlear nucleus: Changes in the glial fibrillary acidic protein, intracellular calcium regulatory proteins, GABA neurotransmitter and cholinergic receptor
2014, Journal of Chemical NeuroanatomyCitation Excerpt :In the present study a decreased GABA expression was observed in decade 1 as compare to decade 2, 3 and 8. It was reported that there is a steady increase in the immunoreactivity from post natal day (PD) 0 to PD 21 and thereafter average levels of immunoreactivity remained unchanged (Lujan et al., 2008). All principal cells of the VCN receive GABAergic inhibitory innervations (Saint Marie et al., 1989; Lujan et al., 2008) and this GABAergic modulation in VCN neurons arises from an inhibitory feedback loop comprising lateral and ventral nuclei of trapezoid body (Friauf and Ostwald, 1988; Smith et al., 1991; Thompson and Thompson, 1991).
Interaction between taurine and GABA<inf>A</inf>/glycine receptors in neurons of the rat anteroventral cochlear nucleus
2012, Brain ResearchCitation Excerpt :However, little is known regarding the physiological effects of taurine in the AVCN, which is the first synaptic station along the central auditory pathway and plays an important role in conveying and processing peripheral auditory information (Oertel, 1999; Tzounopoulos and Kraus, 2009). It is known that GABA, glycine, and glutamate are major neurotransmitters in the cochlear nucleus (Godfrey et al., 2000; Hackney et al., 1996; Luján et al., 2008; Mahendrasingam et al., 2004). Whether taurine interacts with these neurotransmitters or their receptors in the AVCN remains unclear.
Chloride cotransporters, chloride homeostasis, and synaptic inhibition in the developing auditory system
2011, Hearing ResearchCitation Excerpt :Aside from the excitatory input from auditory nerve fibers, spherical cells in the AVCN receive GABAergic and glycinergic inhibition originating from other sources. Synapses containing GABA or glycine are deployed on the somata over a time period that extends well beyond hearing onset in rats, reaching the adult situation by P21 (Gleich and Vater, 1998; Luján et al., 2008). In addition, GABAergic and glycinergic terminals appear to grow in size from P0 until P15, suggesting strengthening of inhibitory input.
Differences in glutamate-mediated calcium responses in the ventral cochlear nucleus and inferior colliculus of the developing rat
2010, Hearing ResearchCitation Excerpt :In the present work, we have investigated the effect of glutamate stimulation of iGluRs and mGluRs on [Ca2+]i in neurons from two auditory nuclei, the VCN in the caudal brainstem and the CIC in the midbrain, with different hierarchical positions in signal processing in the auditory pathway. In our hands, the middle of the second postnatal week (P9-P11), is a time period which represents an optimal compromise between a highly effective loading of the Ca2+-sensitive dye and neurons and circuits in which, although still undergoing development, structural traits of maturity are already observed (Lujan et al., 2008; Juiz et al., 2010). By using Fura-2 optical recordings during stimulation with glutamate agonists of slices containing either nuclei, we have demonstrated that NMDA, AMPA and group I mGluRs are involved in [Ca2+]i increases in neurons in the VCN and CIC.
From cochlea to cortex: A tribute to Kirsten Kjelsberg Osen
2008, NeuroscienceCitation Excerpt :Two papers in this volume report studies of the development of GABA/glycinergic synapses in brain stem nuclei. Luján et al. (2008) investigate such synapses on stellate cells in the anteroventral cochlear nucleus of the rat, and find that their development is characterized by two periods of rapid change. One occurs by the end of the first postnatal week, prior to hearing onset, and the second during the third postnatal week, after hearing onset.
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Present address: Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Albacete, Unidad de Investigación, C/Hermanos Falcó No. 37, E-02006, Albacete, Spain.