Summary
The volumes of the auditory brainstem nuclei and age-related auditory brainstem response (ABR) thresholds were analyzed in homozygote (je/je) and heterozygote (je/+) jerker mutant mice. Altogether 97 mice were used in the study. Je/je mice never develop any hearing. The dorsal (DCN) and ventral (VCN) cochlear nuclei were found to have stopped their growth at 56 days after birth. In je/+ mutants, ABR thresholds remained normal or nearnormal for 3–6 months, whereas VCN and DCN volumes remained unchanged at least after 56 days after birth. There is no significant difference in DCN volume in je/je and je/+ mice. However, the VCN volume and the cross-sectional area of globular cells were both significantly larger in je/+ than in je/je mice (P<0.01). These findings show that auditory deprivation during the maturation of hearing in je/je mutants causes an incomplete maturation of only the ventral cochlear nucleus.
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Supported by grants from the Swedish Medical Research Council (12X-7305), the National Institutes of Health (NS-19238), the Foundation Tysta Skolan (MA), the Ragnar and Torsten Söderberg Foundation (MA) and the University of Umeå
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Anniko, M., Sjöström, B. & Webster, D. The effects of auditory deprivation on morphological maturation of the ventral cochlear nucleus. Arch Otorhinolaryngol 246, 43–47 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00454133
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00454133