Abstract
Auditory development was studied in the Brazilian short-tailed opossum, Monodelphis domestica, using the brainstem auditory, evoked potential (BAEP). Consistent responses can first be recorded 29 days after birth. The hearing range at the onset of hearing is limited to 5–20 kHz with lowest thresholds of 60 dB SPL at 8–12 kHz. During ontogeny, the hearing range expands towards lower and higher frequencies and thresholds decrease until the adult audiogram is obtained by about day 40. Peak latencies and central conduction times are very long at the onset of hearing and decrease until about day 37. In Monodelphis, ontogenetic changes of auditory function are in good agreement with those described for eutherian mammals, suggesting that this small marsupial species can be used as a general model system for auditory development in mammals.
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