Hyperexcitability of the Nucleus Accumbens Is Involved in Noise-Induced Hyperacusis

Reduced tolerance to sound stimuli (hyperacusis) is commonly seen in tinnitus patients. Dysfunction of limbic systems, such as the nucleus accumbens (NAc), may be involved in emotional reactions to the sound stimuli in tinnitus patients. To study the functional changes in the NAc in hyperacusis, we...

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Main Authors: Yuying Liu, Ana’'am Alkharabsheh, Wei Sun
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2020-01-01
Series:Neural Plasticity
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/8814858
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author Yuying Liu
Ana’'am Alkharabsheh
Wei Sun
author_facet Yuying Liu
Ana’'am Alkharabsheh
Wei Sun
author_sort Yuying Liu
collection DOAJ
description Reduced tolerance to sound stimuli (hyperacusis) is commonly seen in tinnitus patients. Dysfunction of limbic systems, such as the nucleus accumbens (NAc), may be involved in emotional reactions to the sound stimuli in tinnitus patients. To study the functional changes in the NAc in hyperacusis, we have examined the neural activity changes of the NAc using c-Fos staining in an animal model of hyperacusis. The c-Fos staining was also examined in the medial geniculate nucleus (MGN), a central auditory pathway which has neural projections to the NAc. Postnatal rats (14 days) were exposed to loud noise (115 dB SPL, 4 hours for two consecutive days) to induce hyperacusis (n=4). Rats without noise exposure were used as the controls (n=4). After P35, rats in both groups were put in a behavioral training for sound detection. After they were trained to detect sound stimuli, their reaction time to noise bursts centered at 2 kHz (40-110 dB SPL) was measured. Rats in the noise group showed a significantly shorter reaction time than those in the control group to the noise bursts at high intensities, suggesting the noise exposure induced hyperacusis behavior. The c-Fos expressions in the NAc and the MGNs of the noise group were significantly higher than those of the control group. Our results suggested that early-age noise exposure caused hyperactivity in the NAc and the MGNs which may induce the loudness increase in these rats.
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spelling doaj-art-e142ecb404ac49ab98d144ea74ecce872025-08-20T02:21:01ZengWileyNeural Plasticity2090-59041687-54432020-01-01202010.1155/2020/88148588814858Hyperexcitability of the Nucleus Accumbens Is Involved in Noise-Induced HyperacusisYuying Liu0Ana’'am Alkharabsheh1Wei Sun2Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, No. 100 Haining Road, Shanghai, 200080, ChinaDepartment of Hearing and Speech Sciences, University of Jordan, Queen Rania Al Abdallah St., Amman, 11942, JordanDepartment of Communicative Disorders and Sciences, Center for Hearing and Deafness, State University of New York at Buffalo, 137 Cary Hall, 3435 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14214, USAReduced tolerance to sound stimuli (hyperacusis) is commonly seen in tinnitus patients. Dysfunction of limbic systems, such as the nucleus accumbens (NAc), may be involved in emotional reactions to the sound stimuli in tinnitus patients. To study the functional changes in the NAc in hyperacusis, we have examined the neural activity changes of the NAc using c-Fos staining in an animal model of hyperacusis. The c-Fos staining was also examined in the medial geniculate nucleus (MGN), a central auditory pathway which has neural projections to the NAc. Postnatal rats (14 days) were exposed to loud noise (115 dB SPL, 4 hours for two consecutive days) to induce hyperacusis (n=4). Rats without noise exposure were used as the controls (n=4). After P35, rats in both groups were put in a behavioral training for sound detection. After they were trained to detect sound stimuli, their reaction time to noise bursts centered at 2 kHz (40-110 dB SPL) was measured. Rats in the noise group showed a significantly shorter reaction time than those in the control group to the noise bursts at high intensities, suggesting the noise exposure induced hyperacusis behavior. The c-Fos expressions in the NAc and the MGNs of the noise group were significantly higher than those of the control group. Our results suggested that early-age noise exposure caused hyperactivity in the NAc and the MGNs which may induce the loudness increase in these rats.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/8814858
spellingShingle Yuying Liu
Ana’'am Alkharabsheh
Wei Sun
Hyperexcitability of the Nucleus Accumbens Is Involved in Noise-Induced Hyperacusis
Neural Plasticity
title Hyperexcitability of the Nucleus Accumbens Is Involved in Noise-Induced Hyperacusis
title_full Hyperexcitability of the Nucleus Accumbens Is Involved in Noise-Induced Hyperacusis
title_fullStr Hyperexcitability of the Nucleus Accumbens Is Involved in Noise-Induced Hyperacusis
title_full_unstemmed Hyperexcitability of the Nucleus Accumbens Is Involved in Noise-Induced Hyperacusis
title_short Hyperexcitability of the Nucleus Accumbens Is Involved in Noise-Induced Hyperacusis
title_sort hyperexcitability of the nucleus accumbens is involved in noise induced hyperacusis
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/8814858
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AT anaamalkharabsheh hyperexcitabilityofthenucleusaccumbensisinvolvedinnoiseinducedhyperacusis
AT weisun hyperexcitabilityofthenucleusaccumbensisinvolvedinnoiseinducedhyperacusis