Evidence for an alteration of the tonotopic map in the gerbil cochlea during development.

We have investigated developmental alterations in the tonotopic projection of the gerbil lateral superior olive. Single neurons were characterized in the frequency domain and the recording site marked with fast green. Transverse tissue sections from the auditory brainstem of each animal were visualized with a video-equipped microscope, and the image was digitized for subsequent alignment. The three-dimensional display indicated little variation in the rostrocaudal axis, allowing us to collapse the data into a two-dimensional tonotopic map. The tonotopic map was found to change with age such that the characteristic frequency of neurons in a given anatomical location became successively higher during development. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that the place code gradually shifts in the developing cochlea.