RESUMEN
Age-related decoupling of auditory nerve fibers from hair cells (cochlear synaptopathy) has been linked to temporal processing deficits and impaired speech recognition performance. The link between both is elusive. We have previously demonstrated that cochlear synaptopathy, if centrally compensated through enhanced input/output function (neural gain), can prevent age-dependent temporal discrimination loss. It was also found that central neural gain after acoustic trauma was linked to hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP) and upregulation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Using middle-aged and old BDNF-live-exon-visualization (BLEV) reporter mice we analyzed the specific recruitment of LTP and the activity-dependent usage of Bdnf exon-IV and -VI promoters relative to cochlear synaptopathy and central (temporal) processing. For both groups, specimens with higher or lower ability to centrally compensate diminished auditory nerve activity were found. Strikingly, low compensating mouse groups differed from high compensators by prolonged auditory nerve latency. Moreover, low compensators exhibited attenuated responses to amplitude-modulated tones, and a reduction of hippocampal LTP and Bdnf transcript levels in comparison to high compensators. These results suggest that latency of auditory nerve processing, recruitment of hippocampal LTP, and Bdnf transcription, are key factors for age-dependent auditory processing deficits, rather than cochlear synaptopathy or aging per se.
RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: On the one hand, stimulating the motor cortex at different spots may activate the same muscle and result in a muscle-specific cortical map. Maps of different muscles, which are functionally coupled, may present with a large overlap but may also show a relevant variability. On the other hand, stimulation of the motor cortex at one spot with different stimulation intensities results in a characteristic input-output (IO) curve for one specific muscle but may simultaneously also activate different, functionally coupled muscles. A comparison of the cortical map overlap of synergistic muscles and their IO curves has not yet been carried out. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to probe functional synergies of forearm muscles with transcranial magnetic stimulation by harnessing the convergence and divergence of the corticospinal output. METHODS: We acquired bihemispheric cortical maps and IO curves of the extensor carpi ulnaris, extensor carpi radialis, and extensor digitorum communis muscles by subjecting 11 healthy subjects to both monophasic and biphasic pulse waveforms. RESULTS: The degree of synergy between pairs of forearm muscles was captured by the overlap of the cortical motor maps and the respective IO curves which were influenced by the pulse waveform. Monophasic and biphasic stimulation were particularly suitable for disentangling synergistic muscles in the right and left hemisphere, respectively. CONCLUSION: Combining IO curves and different pulse waveforms may provide complementary information on neural circuit dynamics and corticospinal recruitment patterns of synergistic muscles and their neuroplastic modulation.
