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Seminar Series – “Pre- and postsynaptic modulation of synaptic transmission in the mammalian cochlea”

Event Details:
Seminar Flyer - Elisabeth Glowatzki

Summary:
Hair cells in the cochlea of the inner ear transmit the sound signal to auditory nerve fibers via highly specialized ribbon synapses. Multiple such afferent synapses contact single hair cells, however, exhibit diverse response patterns to a sound signal, and this diversity is needed to cover the dynamic range of the transmitted sound signals. We study the pre- and postsynaptic mechanisms that set the specific response properties of individual auditory nerve fibers. One such mechanisms is the highly specialized transmitter release mechanisms in hair cells. Secondly, modulation of postsynaptic properties in auditory nerve fiber dendrites occurs via input from efferent fibers that originate in the brain stem, that provide a feedback mechanisms to the periphery in resonse to the sound signal. The talk will provide an overview of the complex regulation of this first synapse in the auditory pathway.