| First Author | Pirone A | Year | 2014 |
| Journal | J Neurosci | Volume | 34 |
| Issue | 2 | Pages | 434-45 |
| PubMed ID | 24403143 | Mgi Jnum | J:205581 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:5545844 | Doi | 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3085-13.2014 |
| Citation | Pirone A, et al. (2014) alpha2delta3 is essential for normal structure and function of auditory nerve synapses and is a novel candidate for auditory processing disorders. J Neurosci 34(2):434-45 |
| abstractText | The auxiliary subunit alpha2delta3 modulates the expression and function of voltage-gated calcium channels. Here we show that alpha2delta3 mRNA is expressed in spiral ganglion neurons and auditory brainstem nuclei and that the protein is required for normal acoustic responses. Genetic deletion of alpha2delta3 led to impaired auditory processing, with reduced acoustic startle and distorted auditory brainstem responses. alpha2delta3(-/-) mice learned to discriminate pure tones, but they failed to discriminate temporally structured amplitude-modulated tones. Light and electron microscopy analyses revealed reduced levels of presynaptic Ca(2+) channels and smaller auditory nerve fiber terminals contacting cochlear nucleus bushy cells. Juxtacellular in vivo recordings of sound-evoked activity in alpha2delta3(-/-) mice demonstrated impaired transmission at these synapses. Together, our results identify a novel role for the alpha2delta3 auxiliary subunit in the structure and function of specific synapses in the mammalian auditory pathway and in auditory processing disorders. |
