August 19, 2021 EXPO 2021 Poster

Spontaneous Auditory Neuron Activity

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”3.22.6″][et_pb_fullwidth_post_title author=”off” comments=”off” featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”3.23.3″ title_font=”Standard||||||||” title_text_color=”#ffffff” title_font_size=”61px” title_line_height=”1.3em” meta_font=”Standard2||||||||” meta_text_color=”#ffffff” background_color=”#000000″ custom_padding=”||60px” title_font_size_tablet=”39px” title_font_size_phone=”28px” title_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone”][/et_pb_fullwidth_post_title][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.23.3″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.23.3″ max_width=”1221px”][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”3.23.3″][et_pb_image src=”https://thenurj.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/222002513_509335343483343_6061088003011813848_n.jpg” align_tablet=”center” align_last_edited=”on|phone” module_id=”circle-image” _builder_version=”3.23.3″ width=”40%” width_tablet=”26%” width_last_edited=”on|desktop”][/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.23.3″ text_font=”Standard2||||||||” text_font_size=”27px” min_height=”40px” custom_padding=”18px||”]Shreya Sriram[/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.23.3″ inline_fonts=”Times New Roman”]

Adviser: Dr. Jason Tait Sanchez
Subject: Life Sciences
DOI: 10.21985/n2-0xny-pr68

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Shreya Sriram ‘22 is a rising senior majoring in Economics and Communication Sciences and Disorders on the Pre-Medicine track. As co-Editor-in-Chief of the NURJ, Shreya believes that promoting student research on all platforms is imperative to growth and is looking forward to adding more facets to the NURJ publications. Shreya pursues her professional interests through her independent research in the Central Auditory Physiology Lab. She is also in the Auditory Research Laboratory to spearhead development of optical cochlear implants through the Summer Undergraduate Research Grant. Shreya hopes to develop her scholarly concentrations in medical school. Outside of research, Shreya loves to be on stage making people laugh, then off stage, eating food with them.

[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”3.23.3″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.23.3″ text_font=”Standard2|600|||||||” text_font_size=”25px”]Abstract[/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.23.3″ text_font=”Times New Roman||||||||” text_font_size=”19px” text_line_height=”1.5em”]An action potential (AP) is a shift in the membrane voltage of a neuron generally caused by a sudden ion influx, resulting in excitation, allowing for the cell to send signals across its neural network. Spontaneous excitation can be crucial for organizing neural circuits, especially in sensory modalities. For hearing specifically, the auditory brainstem area contains a low-frequency subset of neurons best studied in the avian cochlear nucleus magnocellularis (NM) area termed NMc. Nearly 40% of NMc neurons exhibit spontaneity due to their intrinsic properties allowing for high excitability. Given that NM neurons receive glutamatergic (excitatory) input from the auditory nerve, we hypothesize that NMc neuron spontaneous activity is influenced by glutamate transmission. We used whole cell patch clamp electrophysiology and identified glutamate as our neurotransmitter of interest by recording spontaneous synaptic events when blocking non-glutamate receptors. Thus, we predicted that any spontaneous excitatory post synaptic currents (EPSCs) are AMPA (glutamate receptor) dependent. To test this, we used blocked AMPA and GABA receptors and observed resulting EPSCs after washout of the chemical. We found that while EPSC characteristics varied, the kinetics suggest expression of AMPA and GABA receptors in NMc neurons, supported by elimination of EPSCs with blocking of the AMPA and GABA receptors. Better understanding spontaneous synaptic events in NMc will help characterize their function in the avian auditory brainstem. Additionally, the relationship between spontaneous synaptic events and intrinsic activity allows insight into the modulation of spontaneous firing rates, a mechanism crucial in the development of sensory systems.[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.23.3″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.23.3″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.23.3″][et_pb_code _builder_version=”3.23.3″][/et_pb_code][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]