Optogenetic stimulation of cochlear neurons activates the auditory pathway and restores auditory-driven behavior in deaf adult gerbils

Christian Wrobel; Alexander Dieter; Antoine Huet; Daniel Keppeler; Carlos J. Duque-Afonso; Christian Vogl; Gerhard Hoch; Marcus Jeschke; Tobias Moser

doi:10.1126/scitranslmed.aao0540

Research ArticleOPTOGENETICS

Optogenetic stimulation of cochlear neurons activates the auditory pathway and restores auditory-driven behavior in deaf adult gerbils

View ORCID ProfileChristian Wrobel¹,²,³,*,†,
View ORCID ProfileAlexander Dieter¹,⁴,⁵,*,
View ORCID ProfileAntoine Huet¹,⁵,‡,
View ORCID ProfileDaniel Keppeler¹,⁴,‡,
View ORCID ProfileCarlos J. Duque-Afonso¹,⁴,
View ORCID ProfileChristian Vogl²,⁶,
Gerhard Hoch¹,²,⁵,
View ORCID ProfileMarcus Jeschke¹,⁵,§ and
View ORCID ProfileTobias Moser ¹,²,⁴,⁵,⁷,⁸,§

¹Institute for Auditory Neuroscience and InnerEarLab, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany.
²Collaborative Research Center 889, University of Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany.
³Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Ruhr University Bochum, St. Elisabeth Hospital, 44787 Bochum, Germany.
⁴Göttingen Graduate School for Neurosciences and Molecular Biosciences, University of Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany.
⁵Auditory Neuroscience and Optogenetics Group, German Primate Center, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.
⁶Presynaptogenesis and Intracellular Transport in Hair Cells Group, Institute for Auditory Neuroscience and InnerEarLab, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany.
⁷Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, University of Göttingen, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.
⁸Center for Nanoscale Microscopy and Molecular Physiology of the Brain, University of Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany.

↵§Corresponding author. Email: marcus.jeschke{at}med.uni-goettingen.de (M.J.); tmoser{at}gwdg.de (T.M.)

↵* These authors contributed equally to this work.
↵† Present address: Department of Otorhinolaryngology and InnerEarLab, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany.
↵‡ These authors contributed equally to this work.

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Science Translational Medicine 11 Jul 2018:
Vol. 10, Issue 449, eaao0540
DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aao0540

Christian Wrobel

1Institute for Auditory Neuroscience and InnerEarLab, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany.

2Collaborative Research Center 889, University of Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany.

3Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Ruhr University Bochum, St. Elisabeth Hospital, 44787 Bochum, Germany.

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Alexander Dieter

1Institute for Auditory Neuroscience and InnerEarLab, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany.

4Göttingen Graduate School for Neurosciences and Molecular Biosciences, University of Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany.

5Auditory Neuroscience and Optogenetics Group, German Primate Center, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.

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Antoine Huet

1Institute for Auditory Neuroscience and InnerEarLab, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany.

5Auditory Neuroscience and Optogenetics Group, German Primate Center, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.

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Daniel Keppeler

1Institute for Auditory Neuroscience and InnerEarLab, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany.

4Göttingen Graduate School for Neurosciences and Molecular Biosciences, University of Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany.

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Carlos J. Duque-Afonso

1Institute for Auditory Neuroscience and InnerEarLab, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany.

4Göttingen Graduate School for Neurosciences and Molecular Biosciences, University of Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany.

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Christian Vogl

2Collaborative Research Center 889, University of Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany.

6Presynaptogenesis and Intracellular Transport in Hair Cells Group, Institute for Auditory Neuroscience and InnerEarLab, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany.

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Gerhard Hoch

1Institute for Auditory Neuroscience and InnerEarLab, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany.

2Collaborative Research Center 889, University of Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany.

5Auditory Neuroscience and Optogenetics Group, German Primate Center, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.

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Marcus Jeschke

1Institute for Auditory Neuroscience and InnerEarLab, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany.

5Auditory Neuroscience and Optogenetics Group, German Primate Center, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.

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For correspondence: marcus.jeschke@med.uni-goettingen.de tmoser@gwdg.de

Tobias Moser

1Institute for Auditory Neuroscience and InnerEarLab, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany.

2Collaborative Research Center 889, University of Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany.

4Göttingen Graduate School for Neurosciences and Molecular Biosciences, University of Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany.

5Auditory Neuroscience and Optogenetics Group, German Primate Center, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.

7Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, University of Göttingen, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.

8Center for Nanoscale Microscopy and Molecular Physiology of the Brain, University of Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany.

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For correspondence: marcus.jeschke@med.uni-goettingen.de tmoser@gwdg.de

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Listening to light

Cochlear implants rely on electrical stimulation of the auditory nerve to provide a sense of sound to a person with severe hearing loss. However, the resolution of complex sounds is limited by the spreading of the current around the electrode. Wrobel et al. leveraged optogenetics to develop an optical cochlear implant that uses light for spatially and temporally precise stimulation of the auditory nerve in deaf adult gerbils. After virus-mediated expression of a light-sensitive protein in cochlear neurons, the optical implant was able to stimulate the auditory pathway and restored auditory-driven behavior in deaf gerbils. Further studies testing the resolution potential of optical cochlear implants are warranted.

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Virus-mediated expression of channelrhodopsin enables optogenetic stimulation of auditory pathways and restoration of auditory-driven behavior in deaf adult gerbils.

Optogenetic stimulation of cochlear neurons activates the auditory pathway and restores auditory-driven behavior in deaf adult gerbils

Listening to light

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