What the African naked mole-rat can tell us about mammalian hearing and acoustic communication

Le résumé fourni par la source

African naked mole-rats are eusocial rodents that live underground in narrow burrows. Likely reflecting adaptations to their subterranean environment, naked mole-rats (NMRs) have poor high frequency hearing, relatively high auditory thresholds, and limited ability to localize sound thus providing a unique opportunity to investigate the mechanisms required for high frequency hearing and sound localization. Despite their poor hearing sensitivity, NMRs display a functional coupled auditory-vocal communication system. Prior work revealed they use 17 different vocalizations to communicate within their colonies. Due to their unusual hearing, investigation of NMRs, especially in comparison to other rodent models, provides a unique opportunity to identify features of the auditory system that underlie high frequency hearing, sound localization, and discrimination of vocalizations. Our recent anatomical characterization indicates the NMR cochlea undergoes stunted maturation of peripheral synaptic organization and altered expression of ion channels compared to other mammals. Our more recent function auditory assessments indicate multiple mechanisms that may result in their poor hearing. Overall, these studies provide a framework for comparative insight into the peripheral mechanisms required for high frequency hearing and sound localization.

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