Spontaneous Discharge Patterns in Cochlear Spiral Ganglion Cells Before the Onset of Hearing in Cats

Abstract

Spontaneous neural activity has been recorded in the auditory nerve of cats as early as 2 days postnatal (P2), yet individual auditory neurons do not respond to ambient sound levels i = 2.9 ± 1.6) and burst index of 5.2 ± 3.5 across ganglion cells. Spontaneous bursting patterns in these neonatal mammals were similar to those reported for cochlear ganglion cells of the embryonic chicken, suggesting this may be a general phenomenon that is common across animal classes. Rhythmic spontaneous discharge of retinal ganglion cells has been shown to be important in the development of central retinotopic projections and normal binocular vision. Bursting rhythms in cochlear ganglion cells may play a similar role in the auditory system during prehearing periods.