Sex differences in auditory function of the desert locust.

Age-related auditory decline manifests across the animal kingdom, from humans and mice to zebrafish and insects. Sex differences in auditory decline are established for humans, but there is now evidence in mice and even zebrafish. Here, we found sex differences in auditory decline in an insect, the Desert Locust and investigated its biological basis.

Auditory robustness and resilience in the aging auditory system of the desert locust.

After overexposure to loud music, we experience a decrease in our ability to hear (robustness), which usually recovers (resilience). Here, we exploited the amenable auditory system of the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria, to measure how robustness and resilience depend on age. We found that gene expression changes are dominated by age as opposed to noise exposure.

Metabolic decline in an insect ear: correlative or causative for age-related auditory decline?

One leading hypothesis for why we lose our hearing as we age is a decrease in ear metabolism. However, direct measurements of metabolism across a lifespan in any auditory system are lacking. Even if metabolism does decrease with age, a question remains: is a metabolic decrease a cause of age-related auditory decline or simply correlative? We use an insect, the desert locust , as a physiologically versatile model to understand how cellular metabolism correlates with age and impacts on age-related auditory decline.

Control of the Anterior Pituitary Cell Lineage Regulator POU1F1 by the Stem Cell Determinant Musashi.

The adipokine leptin regulates energy homeostasis through ubiquitously expressed leptin receptors. Leptin has a number of major signaling targets in the brain, including cells of the anterior pituitary (AP). We have previously reported that mice lacking leptin receptors in AP somatotropes display growth hormone (GH) deficiency, metabolic dysfunction, and adult-onset obesity.