Name: simple surgical induction of conductive hearing loss with verification using otoscope visualization and behavioral clap startle response in rat
Uploaded: 2019-10-26T12:30:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Simple Surgical Induction of Conductive Hearing Loss with Verification Using Otoscope Visualization and Behavioral Clap Startle Response in Rat at JoVE.com

This work was supported in part by the Hong Kong Research Grants Council, Early Career Scheme, Project #21201217 to C. L., for the project Brain mapping guided electrophysiology with applications in hearing and noise pollution research. We thank the Posgrado en Ciencias Biom&#233;dicas, the Instituto de Neurobiolog&#237;a of the Universidad Nacional Aut&#243;noma de M&#233;xico (UNAM), the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnolog&#237;a (CONACyT) M&#233;xico for the Graduate Fellowship 578458 to FAM Manno.

The present study and procedures were approved by the animal research ethics committees of the City University of Hong Kong, the University of Hong Kong, and the Department of Health of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
1. Animals
<ol>
	<li>Use Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats of two months (N = 90, 200-250 g). 
	NOTE: Rodents were provided by the accredited Laboratory Animal Unit of the University of Hong Kong.</li>
	<li>Maintain the rats under a constant 25 &#176;C temperature and ...

<ol>
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N., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=A+sensitive+period+for+the+impact+of+hearing+loss+on+auditory+perception.">A sensitive period for the impact of hearing loss on auditory perception.</a> The Journal of Neuroscience. 34 (6), 2276-2284 (2014).</li><li>Finck, A., Sofouglu, M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Auditory+sensitivity+of+the+Mongolian+gerbil.">Auditory sensitivity of the Mongolian gerbil.</a> The Journal of Auditory Research. 6, 313-319 (1966).</li><li>Finck, A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Auditory+sensitivity+of+the+Mongolian+Gerbil+(Merionesunguiculatus).">Auditory sensitivity of the Mongolian Gerbil (Merionesunguiculatus).</a> The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. 41 (60), 1579 (1967).</li><li>Finck, A., Schneck, C. 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F., Li, H. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Surgical+anatomy+of+the+rat+middle+ear.">Surgical anatomy of the rat middle ear.</a> Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. 117, 438-447 (1997).</li><li>Hellstr&#246;m, S., Sal&#233;n, B., Stenfors, L. E. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Anatomy+of+the+rat+middle+ear.+A+study+under+the+dissection+microscope.">Anatomy of the rat middle ear. A study under the dissection microscope.</a> Acta Anatomica (Basel). 112, 346-352 (1982).</li><li>Albiin, N., Hellstr&#246;m, S., Sal&#233;n, B., Stenfors, L. 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We describe a simple surgical induction of CHL with verification using otoscope visualization and behavioral clap startle response in rat. Here we demonstrate the method on rat and previously this method has been applied to gerbils and mice. The method can easily be adopted to other rodents. Induction of CHL allows the study of a subtle form of hearing loss which manifests in auditory cortical alterations and psychophysical behavioral findings4,5,<sup ...

The prevalence of the hearing loss in children and adults is approximately 19.5%1 and 15.2%2 respectively. However, approximately 39.3% of all newborns with an abnormal hearing screening do not receive remedial treatment as reported by the Centers for Disease Control3. Hearing loss is a widely studied condition, and the rodent is a robust model to study normal hearing and hearing related disorders4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15. Hearing disorders such as conductive hearing loss (CHL) lead to an increase in the short term synaptic depression in the auditory cortex4, which results in shallower psychometric slopes associated with frequency modulation detection thresholds5. Conductive hearing loss models by surgical removal/displacement of the malleus, tympanic membrane (TM) puncture or earplug are easily employed and allow the rapid induction of the hearing loss model5,14,15,16,17,18. The goal of the present protocol and method is to demonstrate a simple and reproducible CHL model in rodents.
The present protocol is inexpensive (&#8776;USD$300 with all tools), and readily amendable to different research pursuits. The rat has had detailed assessments of middle ear anatomy19,20,21,22,23, surgical approaches24, models in otitis media25,26,27 and TM puncture regeneration16,17,18,28,29,30, making it an ideal model to study hearing loss. Here, a simple CHL induction procedure is described with verification by otoscope and behavioral assessment with clap startle response in rat, which then may be used to explore additional sequelae&#160;of hearing loss. The CHL procedure is induced by surgical puncture of the TM. Verification of the CHL procedure is performed by otoscope visualization to determine absence of the TM. Behavioral assessment is performed by a high decibel (dB) sound pressure level (SPL) hand-clap. This method has been applied previously in a variety of rodents.&#160;It is easy to replicate, produces robust psychometric differences and changes in neural physiological responses4,5,16,17,18.

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:612px;" width="610">
	<tbody>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:223px;">Latex, polyvinyl or nitrile gloves</td>
			<td style="width:95px;">AMMEX</td>
			<td style="width:123px;"></td>
			<td style="width:172px;">Use unpowdered gloves 8-mil</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;width:223px;">Micro spring scissors (see Fig. 1b)</td>
			<td style="width:95px;">RWD Life Science</td>
			<td style="width:123px;">S11035-08</td>
			<td>8.0 cm total length, with 3.5mm cutting edge, or similar micro forceps. Standard tweezers with spring action will suffice</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:223px;">Otoscope mini 3000</td>
			<td style="width:95px;">HEINE&#160;</td>
			<td style="width:123px;">D-008.70.120M</td>
			<td>Standard LED otoscope will suffice</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:223px;">Rat or mouse</td>
			<td style="width:95px;">JAX labs</td>
			<td style="width:123px;"></td>
			<td>Any small rodent&#160;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:223px;">Small rodent cage</td>
			<td style="width:95px;">Tecniplast</td>
			<td style="width:123px;">1284L</td>
			<td>Need two cages to separate CHL rodent from hearing rodent. If rodent are in direct contact with one-another, they will startle each other. Cage dimensions 365 x 207 x 140 mm, floor area: 530 cm2/82.15 in2</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

simple surgical induction of conductive hearing loss with verification using otoscope visualization and behavioral clap startle response in rat

Conductive hearing loss (CHL) is a prevalent hearing impairment in humans. The goal of the protocol is to describe a simple surgical procedure for inducing CHL in rodents. The protocol demonstrates CHL by tympanic membrane puncture. Verification of CHL surgery was by otoscope examination and behavioral assessment by clap startle response, both replicable and reliable, and are simple methods to demonstrate hearing loss has occurred. The simple CHL procedure is advantageous due to its reproducibility and flexibility to different pursuits in hearing loss research. The limitations of inducing CHL by a surgical approach are associated with the learning curve to perform the surgical procedure and confidence in audiological examination. Inducing a hearing impairment by CHL allows one to readily study the neural manifestations and behavioral outcomes of hearing loss.

The simple CHL procedure was performed on 90 rats and out of this group 2 had significant bleeding and 2 did not have hearing loss the next day as assessed by behavioral clap startle. These four rats were discarded. Rats should be discarded as described by the reasons in the discussion due to complications. Inducing TM puncture and/or malleus displacement/removal (Figure 2B) elicits CHL, which results in behavioral manifestations (i.e. CHL - no response to lo...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Simple Surgical Induction of Conductive Hearing Loss with Verification Using Otoscope Visualization and Behavioral Clap Startle Response in Rat at JoVE.com

Simple Surgical Induction of Conductive Hearing Loss with Verification Using Otoscope Visualization and Behavioral Clap Startle Response in Rat

Here, we present a protocol to establish a replicable conductive hearing loss induction via surgical tympanic membrane puncture and verification by otoscope visualization and behavioral assessment by clap startle.

Conductive hearing loss (CHL) is a prevalent hearing impairment in humans. The goal of the protocol is to describe a simple surgical procedure for ...

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