Developmental hearing loss-induced perceptual deficits are rescued by genetic restoration of cortical inhibition.

Even a transient period of hearing loss during the developmental critical period can induce long-lasting deficits in temporal and spectral perception. These perceptual deficits correlate with speech perception in humans. In gerbils, these hearing loss-induced perceptual deficits are correlated with a reduction of both ionotropic GABA and metabotropic GABA receptor-mediated synaptic inhibition in auditory cortex, but most research on critical period plasticity has focused on GABA receptors.

Developmental hearing loss-induced perceptual deficits are rescued by cortical expression of GABA receptors.

Even transient periods of developmental hearing loss during the developmental critical period have been linked to long-lasting deficits in auditory perception, including temporal and spectral processing, which correlate with speech perception and educational attainment. In gerbils, hearing loss-induced perceptual deficits are correlated with a reduction of both ionotropic GABA and metabotropic GABA receptor-mediated synaptic inhibition in auditory cortex, but most research on critical period plasticity has focused on GABA receptors. We developed viral vectors to express both endogenous GABA or GABA receptor subunits in auditory cortex and tested their capacity to restore perception of temporal and spectral auditory cues following critical period hearing loss in the Mongolian gerbil.