Open AccessTowards the optical cochlear implant: optogenetic approaches for hearing restoration
Author(s) -
Dieter Alexander,
Keppeler Daniel,
Moser Tobias
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
embo molecular medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.923
H-Index - 107
eISSN - 1757-4684
pISSN - 1757-4676
DOI - 10.15252/emmm.201911618
Subject(s) - optogenetics , cochlear implant , audiology , cochlear implantation , medicine , neuroscience , biology
Cochlear implants ( CI s) are considered the most successful neuroprosthesis as they enable speech comprehension in the majority of half a million CI users suffering from sensorineural hearing loss. By electrically stimulating the auditory nerve, CI s constitute an interface re‐connecting the brain and the auditory scene, providing the patient with information regarding the latter. However, since electric current is hard to focus in conductive environments such as the cochlea, the precision of electrical sound encoding—and thus quality of artificial hearing—is limited. Recently, optogenetic stimulation of the cochlea has been suggested as an alternative approach for hearing restoration. Cochlear optogenetics promises increased spectral selectivity of artificial sound encoding, hence improved hearing, as light can conveniently be confined in space to activate the auditory nerve within smaller tonotopic ranges. In this review, we discuss the latest experimental and technological developments of cochlear optogenetics and outline the remaining challenges on the way to clinical translation.