Impaired Hearing and Altered Subplate Circuits During the First and Second Postnatal Weeks of Otoferlin-Deficient Mice

Sensory deprivation from the periphery impacts cortical development. Otoferlin deficiency leads to impaired cochlear synaptic transmission and is associated with progressive hearing loss in adults. However, it remains elusive how sensory deprivation due to otoferlin deficiency impacts the early development of the auditory cortex (ACX) especially before the onset of low threshold hearing. To test that, we performed in vivo imaging of the ACX in awake mice lacking otoferlin (Otof(-/-)) during the first and second postnatal weeks and found that spontaneous and sound-driven cortical activity were progressively impaired. We then characterized the effects on developing auditory cortical circuits by performing in vitro recordings from subplate neurons (SPN), the first primary targets of thalamocortical inputs. We found that in Otof(-/-) pups, SPNs received exuberant connections from excitatory and inhibitory neurons. Moreover, as a population, SPNs showed higher similarity with respect to their circuit topology in the absence of otoferlin. Together, our results show that otoferlin deficiency results in impaired hearing and has a powerful influence on cortical connections and spontaneous activity in early development even before complete deafness. Therefore, peripheral activity has the potential to sculpt cortical structures from the earliest ages, even before hearing impairment is diagnosed.