Auditory pathway and auditory activation of primary visual targets in the blind mole rat (Spalax ehrenbergi): I. 2-deoxyglucose study of subcortical centers.
The blind mole rat Spalax ehrenbergi is a subterranean rodent that shows striking behavioral, structural, and physiological adaptations to fossorial life including highly degenerated eyes and optic nerves and a behavioral audiogram that indicates high specialization for low-frequency hearing. A 2-deoxyglucose functional mapping of acoustically activated structures, in conjunction with Nissl/Klüver-Barrera-stained material, revealed a typical mammalian auditory pathway with some indications for specialized low-frequency hearing such as a poorly differentiated lateral nucleus and a well-developed medial nucleus in the superior olive complex. The most striking finding was a marked 2-deoxyglucose labeling of the dorsal lateral geniculate body and of cortical regions that correspond to visual areas in sighted rodents. The results render the blind mole rat a good model system for studying natural neural plasticity and intermodal compensation. In this report, we confine ourselves to the subcortical levels. The cortical level will be dealt comprehensively in a following paper.
Bronchti
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Department of Zoology, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel-Aviv University, Israel.
Heil
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Scheich
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Wollberg
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D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000818:Animals; D001306:Auditory Pathways / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000378:metabolism; D001766:Blindness / Q000235:genetics; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D003056:Cochlear Nerve / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D003847:Deoxyglucose / Q000378:metabolism; D005829:Geniculate Bodies / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D007245:Inferior Colliculi / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D008954:Models, Biological; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity; D012377:Rodentia / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D014795:Visual Pathways / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000378:metabolism
D003847:Deoxyglucose