Ruili Xie, Ph.D.

The Research

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Synaptic transmission in the principal cells of the anteroventral cochlear nucleus during age-related hearing loss

Age-related hearing loss (AHL) is a common disorder that affects most individuals as they age and causes conditions from deteriorated hearing sensitivity to complete deafness. Anatomical and physiological changes in the auditory system during AHL underlie the perceptual loss of hearing. Changes in cochlear nucleus, which is the first processing center of the central auditory system, are of special interest in studying AHL. However, little is known about the changes of synaptic transmission in principal cells of the cochlear nucleus during AHL except a pioneering study from this lab. This project will utilize DBA/2j mice as the animal model for AHL to study the changes of synaptic transmission in principal cells of anteroventral cochlear nucleus (AVCN) during AHL. Specifically, the study will use whole-cell recording techniques to evaluate the glycinergic transmission in bushy cells as well as both glycinergic and glutamatergic transmission in stellate cells of the AVCN in brain slices prepared from DBA/2j mice at three age groups, which represent three different developmental stages of AHL (normal hearing, intermediate hearing loss, and complete hearing loss). The study seeks to identify physiological changes in synaptic transmission in the principal cells of AVCN during AHL that may underlie the perceptual loss of hearing.