AUTHOR=Bartikofsky Dylan , Hertz Mikayla Jade , Bauer David S. , Altschuler Richard , King W. Michael , Stewart Courtney Elaine 

TITLE=Balance beam crossing times are slower after noise exposure in rats

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience

VOLUME=Volume 17 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/integrative-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnint.2023.1196477

DOI=10.3389/fnint.2023.1196477

ISSN=1662-5145

ABSTRACT=Tables: 1 Total Number of Pages: 34 Contribution to the Field: Our previous work has shown noise-induced changes in VsEP amplitude and latency in the rat with reduced calyx-only afferent terminal calretinin immunoreactivity in the saccule. Although previous work highlighted a significant consequence of noise exposure at cellular and electro-physiological levels, the functional consequences of our data were unclear. The current study showed the same 120-decibel sound pressure level 1.5 kilohertz 3-octave band noise exposure paradigm that has been reported previously (6hours, free-field) significantly decreased balance beam crossing speed with a timeline of recovery to a crossing speed that is elevated from, but statistically similar to baseline 5-weeks after noise exposure. To our knowledge, this is the first study to document this time course with rigorous timing and scoring methods that strongly suggest a change in walking speed that can be linked to noise-induced vestibular injury, previously measured with VsEP and identified in saccular tissue.