Abstract
In spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs), the afferent single units of the auditory nerve, high spontaneous and evoked firing rates ensure preservation of the temporal code describing the key features of incoming sound. During postnatal development, the spatiotemporal distribution of ion channel subtypes contributes to the maturation of action potential generation in SGNs, and to their ability to generate spike patterns that follow rapidly changing inputs. Here we describe tetrodotoxin (TTX)-sensitive Na+ currents in SGNs cultured from mice, whose properties may support this fast spiking behavior. A subthreshold persistent Na+ current (INaP) and a resurgent Na+ current (INaR) both emerged prior to the onset of hearing and became more prevalent as hearing matured. Navβ4 subunits, which are proposed to play a key role in mediating INaR elsewhere in the nervous system, were immunolocalized to the first heminode where spikes are generated in the auditory nerve, and to perisomatic nodes of Ranvier. ATX-II, a sea anemone toxin that slows classical Na+ channel inactivation selectively, enhanced INaP five-fold and INaR three-fold in voltage clamp recordings. In rapidly-adapting SGNs under current clamp, ATX-II increased the likelihood of firing additional action potentials. The data identify INaP and INaR as novel regulators of excitability in SGNs, and consistent with their roles in other neuronal types, we suggest that these nonclassical Na+ currents may contribute to the control of refractoriness in the auditory nerve.