Kathleen T. Yee, Ph.D.

The Research

Tufts University School of Medicine

The role of Neuregulin1 signaling in the developing cochlear nucleus

The long-term objective of this study is to understand the genetics of cochlear nucleus neuronal differentiation and specification to examine how information-transmitting cells in the brain (neurons) obtain their identity and acquire specific characteristics that endow them to perform very specific functions.

A role for Pax6 in cochlear nucleus development

We are interested in how information-transmitting cells in the brain (neurons) obtain their identity and acquire characteristics that allow them to perform very specific functions. To address these questions, we study a region of the brain that forms the cochlear nucleus, the first and only direct target for cochlear input. While a large body of data exists on features of mature cochlear nucleus neurons, studies are only beginning to examine the role of genes during development. Our preliminary data shows that the molecule, Pax6, a transcription factor, is expressed in the developing cochlear nucleus. The Pax6 gene has long been known to produce deficits in eye development, often manifesting as aniridia, type II (AN2) in humans. Only recently has it been recognized that these patients also have hearing deficits. Studies have implicated higher order brain centers as the sites of aberrant auditory processing. Our data demonstrating Pax6 gene expression in the cochlear nucleus suggests that AN2 patients may hearing problems much earlier in the primary auditory pathway. Our r data indicate that there are structural changes in the cochlear nucleus in heterozygous mouse mutants. This proposal will examine the extent of anatomical changes and how these changes affect function.