查看文章

The development of the auditory system has received increasing attention since the mechanisms of patterned, spontaneous activity in prehearing mammals were discovered. This early activity originates in the cochlea and is assumed to be of importance for the establishment and refinement of synaptic connections in the auditory system. In the present study we investigate synaptic transmission and its interplay with spontaneous discharges in the developing auditory system. We used the calyx of Held as a model system, where this question can be investigated in vivo over a broad range of ages [postnatal day 8 (P8)–P28]. To precisely quantify the timing and reliability of synaptic transmission, we developed a novel fitting approach which decomposes the extracellularly recorded signal into its presynaptic and postsynaptic components. In prehearing mice, we found signal transmission to be unreliable, with high …