Complete Elimination of Peripheral Auditory Input Before Onset of Hearing Causes Long-Lasting Impaired Social Memory in Mice.

Rui Guo,Yang Li,Ke Liu,Shusheng Gong,Jiao Liu

doi:10.3389/fnins.2021.723658

Rui Guo, Yang Li + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2021.723658

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Abstract

Hearing is one of the most important senses needed for survival, and its loss is an independent risk factor for dementia. Hearing loss (HL) can lead to communication difficulties, social isolation, and cognitive dysfunction. The hippocampus is a critical brain region being greatly involved in the formation of learning and memory and is critical not only for declarative memory but also for social memory. However, until today, whether HL can affect learning and memory is poorly understood. This study aimed to identify the relationship between HL and hippocampal-associated cognitive function. Mice with complete auditory input elimination before the onset of hearing were used as the animal model. They were first examined via auditory brainstem response (ABR) to confirm hearing elimination, and behavior estimations were applied to detect social memory capacity. We found significant impairment of social memory in mice with HL compared with the controls (p < 0.05); however, no significant differences were seen in the tests of novel object recognition, Morris water maze (MWM), and locomotion in the open field (p > 0.05). Therefore, our study firstly demonstrates that hearing input is required for the formation of social memory, and hearing stimuli play an important role in the development of normal cognitive ability.

Highlights

Hearing is one of the most important senses needed for survival, and its loss is a highly prevalent sensory deficit in humans
No visible auditory brainstem response (ABR) waveforms were detected at any point (Otof−/−, Figure 1A), and normal waveforms were detected in the control mice (WT, Figure 1A)
This shows that peripheral hearing input was eliminated, and no hearing information was being delivered from the ear to the brain in these deaf mice

Summary

Introduction

Hearing is one of the most important senses needed for survival, and its loss is a highly prevalent sensory deficit in humans. 1.57 billion people in the world have hearing loss (HL), with increasing prevalence over the years (Haile et al, 2021). HL can lead to communication difficulties, social isolation, and cognitive dysfunction. A series of epidemiological studies have shown that HL may be an independent risk factor for dementia (Taljaard et al, 2016; Livingston et al, 2017; Loughrey et al, 2018; Griffiths et al, 2020).

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