Department of Otolaryngology-HNS, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
Department of Otolaryngology-HNS, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
Hear Res. 2021 Dec;412:108377. doi: 10.1016/j.heares.2021.108377. Epub 2021 Oct 21.
Bats are long-lived animals that show presumed resistance to noise-induced and age-related hearing loss, which has been attributed to their dependence on sound processing for survival. Echolocation and basic auditory functions have been studied extensively in the big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus), an insectivorous microchiropteran species. We conducted hearing tests and analysis of cochlear sensory cells in a group of big brown bats that exhibited anomalies in behavioral sonar tracking experiments and/or lacked neural responses to acoustic stimulation in subcortical auditory nuclei. We show for the first time the presence of profound deafness and extensive cochlear damage in an echolocating bat species. Auditory brainstem responses were abnormal or absent in these bats, and histological analyses of their cochleae revealed extensive loss of hair cells, supporting cells, and spiral ganglion neurons. The underlying cause of deafness is unknown.
蝙蝠是一种长寿动物，它们表现出对噪声诱导和与年龄相关的听力损失的假定抗性，这归因于它们对声音处理的生存依赖。回声定位和基本听觉功能已在大棕蝠（Eptesicus fuscus）中得到广泛研究，大棕蝠是一种食虫的小蝙蝠物种。我们对一组在行为声纳跟踪实验中表现出异常且/或缺乏对皮质下听觉核声音刺激的神经反应的大棕蝠进行了听力测试和耳蜗感觉细胞分析。我们首次在回声定位蝙蝠物种中发现了严重的耳聋和广泛的耳蜗损伤。这些蝙蝠的听觉脑干反应异常或缺失，耳蜗组织学分析显示毛细胞、支持细胞和螺旋神经节神经元广泛缺失。耳聋的根本原因尚不清楚。
