Forward masking in gerbils: the effect of age.

We investigated forward masking in 21 gerbils as a function of age (5-47 months) using 400ms maskers at 40dB SPL and a 20ms, 2.85kHz probe presented 2.5ms after the masker.

A quantitative analysis of psychometric functions for different auditory tasks in gerbils.

The psychometric function relates the probability of a correct response to the variation of a physical stimulus parameter. In many perceptual tasks one point on this function is defined by a more or less arbitrary threshold criterion and threshold is used to study the effects of various treatments or age. Besides threshold, the shape of the psychometric function provides additional information.

Age-dependent changes of gap detection in the Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus).

Gap detection using broadband noise was characterized in a group of young gerbils from the breeding colony of the University of Regensburg (RB gerbils), old RB gerbils, and old gerbils from the breeding colony of the University of South Carolina (SC gerbils). Data from old RB and old SC gerbils were not significantly different and were subsequently combined for a comparison with data from the group of young RB gerbils. Level dependence of gap-detection thresholds in young and old domesticated gerbils resembled the typical mammalian pattern of level dependence.

Boosting GABA improves impaired auditory temporal resolution in the gerbil.

Elderly humans often not only experience peripheral hearing loss but also suffer from more central deficits in temporal auditory processing affecting speech perception. Impaired auditory temporal resolution has also been observed in old rodents. Other studies have demonstrated a reduction of GABAergic function in the auditory pathway of old animals.

Gap detection in Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus).

Hearing thresholds for white-noise stimuli and temporal gap-detection thresholds in six Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) were determined in a GO/NOGO procedure using the method of constant stimuli. Gerbils were offspring of animals collected in the field and only bred in captivity for four generations or less. Hearing thresholds for 800 ms bursts of white noise ranged between -0.

Behavioral and evoked-potential thresholds in young and old Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus).

Age-dependent hearing loss has been well documented in gerbils exceeding 2 years of age using physiological methods (e.g. [Mills et al.