Synaptopathy in Guinea Pigs Induced by Noise Mimicking Human Experience and Associated Changes in Auditory Signal Processing

Li Xia; Sara Ripley; Zhenhua Jiang; Xue Yin; Zhiping Yu; Steve J. Aiken; Jian Wang; Jian Wang

doi:10.3389/fnins.2022.935371

Frontiers in Neuroscience (Jul 2022)

Synaptopathy in Guinea Pigs Induced by Noise Mimicking Human Experience and Associated Changes in Auditory Signal Processing

Li Xia,
Sara Ripley,
Zhenhua Jiang,
Xue Yin,
Zhiping Yu,
Steve J. Aiken,
Jian Wang,
Jian Wang

Affiliations

Li Xia: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Mianyang Central Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Mianyang, China
Sara Ripley: School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
Zhenhua Jiang: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Mianyang Central Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Mianyang, China
Xue Yin: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Mianyang Central Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Mianyang, China
Zhiping Yu: School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
Steve J. Aiken: School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
Jian Wang: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Mianyang Central Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Mianyang, China
Jian Wang: School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2022.935371
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 16

Abstract

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Noise induced synaptopathy (NIS) has been researched extensively since a large amount of synaptic loss without permanent threshold shift (PTS) was found in CBA mice after a brief noise exposure. However, efforts to translate these results to humans have met with little success—and might not be possible since noise exposure used in laboratory animals is generally different from what is experienced by human subjects in real life. An additional problem is a lack of morphological data and reliable functional methods to quantify loss of afferent synapses in humans. Based on evidence for disproportionate synaptic loss for auditory nerve fibers (ANFs) with low spontaneous rates (LSR), coding-in-noise deficits (CIND) have been speculated to be the major difficulty associated with NIS without PTS. However, no robust evidence for this is available in humans or animals. This has led to a re-examination of the role of LSR ANFs in signal coding in high-level noise. The fluctuation profile model has been proposed to support a role for high-SR ANFs in the coding of high-level noise in combination with efferent control of cochlear gain. This study aimed to induce NIS by a low-level, intermittent noise exposure mimicking what is experienced in human life and examined the impact of the NIS on temporal processing under masking. It also evaluated the role of temporal fluctuation in evoking efferent feedback and the effects of NIS on this feedback.

Published in Frontiers in Neuroscience

ISSN: 1662-4548 (Print); 1662-453X (Online)
Publisher: Frontiers Media S.A.
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Medicine: Internal medicine: Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry
Website: http://www.frontiersin.org/neuroscience

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