Regeneration of Synapses in the Cochlear Nucleus

[Steve]

LLLT, Neurotrophins

 

[Beste]

Can someone please tell us how LLLT would be beneficial for regeneration of synapses? Regeneration means to give life something is already dead right? So does it mean that our neurons are not dead but just quit working properly amd this light will help them get in order? But how can we be sure if it will be temporary or permanently?

 

[Nick Pyzik]

Can someone please tell us how LLLT would be beneficial for regeneration of synapses? Regeneration means to give life something is already dead right? So does it mean that our neurons are not dead but just quit working properly amd this light will help them get in order? But how can we be sure if it will be temporary or permanently?

Beste, read this article. The two professors mentioned, Charles Liberman and Sharon Kujawa are working on learning more about these neurons you're talking about.

Here is a quote I've taken out of the article stated by Charles M. Liberman ("it" refers to the disconnected neurons or in other words the spiral ganglion neurons that make up the bipolar efferent afferent nerve fibers of our auditory nerve) (Quote) - it will never reconnect," Liberman noted. "It no longer responds to sound, and, within a few months or years, the rest of the neuron will disappear." (End quote)

This article was released close to 2 years ago, but still holds much information - Link: http://www.newswise.com/articles/noise-induced-hidden-hearing-loss-mechanism-discovered

Connect the information of the top article to the recently posted document/article on the bottom and from there you can start to see connections between hidden hearing loss and tinnitus.

Second link -
Tinnitus is associated with reduced sound level tolerance in adolescents with normal audiograms and otoacoustic emissions:
http://www.nature.com/articles/srep27109

 

[Samir]

How would LLLT be helpful here? Liberman talks about neurotrophins.

A class of secreted proteins called "neurotrophins" has shown to play a key role in the survival of cochlear nerve fibers, and Liberman and Corfas recently found that overexpression of neurotrophin, in a genetically modified mouse line, partially rescued the post-exposure synaptic loss. "Our work is ongoing in this area," he said.

Where does he mention LLLT?

Also, this does not relate to regeneration of synapses in the cochlear nucleus, does it?

Cocchlear nucleai are found higher up the auditory pathway, in the trapezoid body, in the pons of the brainstem.

Second, the most vulnerable part of the neuron turns out to be the synapse between the nerve terminal and the hair cell, and it happens to be difficult to see. "Until recently, they could only be seen and counted by using an electron microscope," Liberman said.

Take note of "synapse between the nerve terminal and the hair cell". That likely means the efferent nerve synapses from the spiral ganglion neurons to the inner and outer hair cells.