In the study, differences in the hearing ability of mice without hearing problems were examined by making changes in the synapse density between the spiral ganglion neurons and sensory receptors in the cochlea, the auditory part of the ear.
In the study conducted on healthy, young mice with no hearing problems, the hearing senses of the genetically modified mice were tested between 8 and 15 weeks, while the neurotrophin 3 protein and synapse density in the cochlea tissues were measured in the 16th week.
In the research, which was obtained by increasing or decreasing the activity of the neurotrophin 3 protein in sensory receptor cells, it was discovered that the hearing sense of mice with increased synapse density improved.
The study stated that a similar study had previously been tried on mice with hearing loss, but it was also successful in healthy mice.
The study, which compared the hearing of genetically unmodified mice with those whose synapse density was increased, revealed that the mice with increased synapse density heard much better than the others and responded better to auditory stimuli.
The study concluded that the synapse density in sensory receptors is directly related to hearing ability, and that this finding could be used to improve people’s hearing ability.
The research was published in the journal “PLOS Biology”.
