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Cochlear electrical stimulation: Influence of age of implantation on Fos immunocytochemical reactions in inferior colliculi and dorsal cochlear nuclei of the rat
Author(s) -
Hsu WeiChung,
CamposTorres Antonio,
Portier Frederic,
Lecain Eric,
Van Den Abbeele Thierry,
De Waele Catherine,
Tran Ba Huy Patrice
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
journal of comparative neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.855
H-Index - 209
eISSN - 1096-9861
pISSN - 0021-9967
DOI - 10.1002/cne.1311
Subject(s) - stimulation , immunocytochemistry , inferior colliculi , cochlea , biology , dorsal cochlear nucleus , cochlear implantation , neuroscience , anatomy , dorsum , immediate early gene , inferior colliculus , cochlear nucleus , endocrinology , cochlear implant , gene expression , nucleus , gene , biochemistry
Abstract The influence of age at the time of implantation of a stimulating electrode unilaterally in the inner ear on central auditory pathways was investigated in rats deafened shortly after birth. Immunoreactivity for Fos served as a functional marker of neuronal activity. Electrodes were implanted in the left cochlea of rats aged 3 weeks or 4 months. Stimulation lasted 45 minutes, then rats were sacrificed and tissues processed for immunocytochemistry. The younger animals showed significantly more neurons with Fos immunoreactivity bilaterally in the dorsal cochlear nuclei (DCN) and inferior colliculi (IC) than the older rats or control animals with normal hearing receiving the same stimulation. Activity was more prominent in the left DCN and right IC. The results show that electrical stimulation of the inner ear is more effective in younger animals in eliciting gene expression associated with development of a functional network in the auditory pathways. This suggests that deaf children should be provided with cochlear implants as early as possible. J. Comp. Neurol. 438:226–238, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.