title: Stochastic resonance in the synaptic transmission between hair cells and vestibular primary afferents in development.
abstract: The stochastic resonance (SR) is a phenomenon of nonlinear systems in which the addition of an intermediate level of noise improves the response of such system. Although SR has been studied in isolated hair cells and in the bullfrog sacculus, the occurrence of this phenomenon in the vestibular system in development is unknown. The purpose of the present study was to explore for the existence of SR via natural mechanical-stimulation in the hair cell-vestibular primary afferent transmission. In vitro experiments were performed on the posterior semicircular canal of the chicken inner ear during development. Our experiments showed that the signal-to-noise ratio of the afferent multiunit activity from E15 to P5 stages of development exhibited the SR phenomenon, which was characterized by an inverted U-like response as a function of the input noise level. The inverted U-like graphs of SR acquired their higher amplitude after the post-hatching stage of development. Blockage of the synaptic transmission with selective antagonists of the NMDA and AMPA/Kainate receptors abolished the SR of the afferent multiunit activity. Furthermore, computer simulations on a model of the hair cell - primary afferent synapse qualitatively reproduced this SR behavior and provided a possible explanation of how and where the SR could occur. These results demonstrate that a particular level of mechanical noise on the semicircular canals can improve the performance of the vestibular system in their peripheral sensory processing even during embryonic stages of development.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Fisiología, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Mexico. Electronic address: amira.flores@correo.buap.mx.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Flores
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Fisiología, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Mexico.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Manilla
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Fisiología, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Mexico.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Huidobro
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Fisiología, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Mexico.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: De la Torre-Valdovinos
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Freiburg, Breisacherstraße 64, 79106 Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kristeva
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Psicología, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Mexico.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mendez-Balbuena
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Fisiología, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Mexico.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Galindo
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Plasticidad Cortical y Aprendizaje Perceptual, Instituto de Neurociencias, Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Treviño
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Fisiología, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Mexico. Electronic address: eliasmanjarrez@gmail.com.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Manjarrez
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002645:Chickens; D003056:Cochlear Nerve / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology; D003198:Computer Simulation; D018069:Hair Cells, Vestibular / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D006309:Hearing / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D008959:Models, Neurological; D010812:Physical Stimulation; D018091:Receptors, AMPA / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D018092:Kainic Acid Receptors / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D012665:Semicircular Canals / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000502:physiology*; D013269:Stochastic Processes; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D018091:Receptors, AMPA; D018092:Kainic Acid Receptors; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate
keywords: development; inner ear; mechanoreceptor; noise; primary afferents; vestibular