{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,8]],"date-time":"2026-10-08T22:25:28Z","timestamp":1791498328210,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":72,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,23]],"date-time":"2026-03-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1774224000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Synaptic Neurosci."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>In the mammalian cochlea, hearing relies on highly specialized ribbon-type synapses between sensory inner hair cells (IHCs) and postsynaptic spiral ganglion neurons. During early postnatal maturation, structural and functional refinements re-shape synaptic morphology and thereby maximize release efficiency in the run-up to hearing onset. This developmental period is further characterized by the occurrence of pre-sensory spontaneous activity waves, which are essential for the functional maturation of the ascending auditory pathway\u2013 yet, their importance for IHC presynaptic structural refinement remains uncertain.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>To investigate activity-dependent structural plasticity at cochlear ribbon synapses, we combined genetic, pharmacological, and optogenetic approaches with immunohistochemical and electrophysiological analyses. Moreover, we developed a novel optical stimulation device (OSD) that enables millisecond-precise, long-term and differentially-patterned optogenetic activation of cochlear IHCs under tightly controlled conditions within a standard tissue culture incubator.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Using this experimental framework, we show that positive as well as negative activity modulation triggers dynamic and rapidly-inducible homeostatic scaling of ribbon synapse morphology. Moreover, our data indicate that the temporal pattern of the presynaptic activity acts as a fundamental regulatory component of this process.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Our results suggest that \u2013 prior to hearing onset \u2013 pre-sensory synaptic activity plays a critical role in shaping cochlear ribbon synapse architecture in the developing auditory system.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fnsyn.2026.1730181","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,23]],"date-time":"2026-03-23T06:43:50Z","timestamp":1774248230000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Patterned pre-sensory spontaneous activity drives the structural refinement of developing cochlear ribbon synapses"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"18","author":[{"given":"Victoria C.","family":"Halim","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Auditory Neuroscience Group, Institute of Physiology, Medical University Innsbruck","place":["Innsbruck, Austria"]},{"name":"Institute for Auditory Neuroscience and InnerEarLab, University Medical Center Goettingen","place":["Goettingen, Germany"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lukas","family":"Hallbrucker","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Auditory Neuroscience Group, Institute of Physiology, Medical University Innsbruck","place":["Innsbruck, Austria"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jan F.","family":"Ahrend","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Auditory Neuroscience Group, Institute of Physiology, Medical University Innsbruck","place":["Innsbruck, Austria"]},{"name":"Ca v X \u2013 Calcium Channels in Excitable Cells PhD Program, Medical University Innsbruck","place":["Innsbruck, Austria"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Cristian","family":"Setz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Auditory Neuroscience and InnerEarLab, University Medical Center Goettingen","place":["Goettingen, Germany"]},{"name":"Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Medical Center Goettingen","place":["Goettingen, Germany"]},{"name":"Collaborative Research Centre 889 \u2018Cellular Mechanisms of Sensory Processing\u2019","place":["Goettingen, Germany"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Roos A.","family":"Voorn","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Auditory Neuroscience Group, Institute of Physiology, Medical University Innsbruck","place":["Innsbruck, Austria"]},{"name":"Institute for Auditory Neuroscience and InnerEarLab, University Medical Center Goettingen","place":["Goettingen, Germany"]},{"name":"Collaborative Research Centre 889 \u2018Cellular Mechanisms of Sensory Processing\u2019","place":["Goettingen, Germany"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Samira","family":"Franke","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Auditory Neuroscience Group, Institute of Physiology, Medical University Innsbruck","place":["Innsbruck, Austria"]},{"name":"Institute for Auditory Neuroscience and InnerEarLab, University Medical Center Goettingen","place":["Goettingen, Germany"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Vanessa","family":"Konrad","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Auditory Neuroscience Group, Institute of Physiology, Medical University Innsbruck","place":["Innsbruck, Austria"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alina","family":"Seiler","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Auditory Neuroscience and InnerEarLab, University Medical Center Goettingen","place":["Goettingen, Germany"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tina","family":"Pangr\u0161i\u010d","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Auditory Neuroscience and InnerEarLab, University Medical Center Goettingen","place":["Goettingen, Germany"]},{"name":"Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Medical Center Goettingen","place":["Goettingen, Germany"]},{"name":"Collaborative Research Centre 889 \u2018Cellular Mechanisms of Sensory Processing\u2019","place":["Goettingen, Germany"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Stefan","family":"Roesler","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Intas Science Imaging Instruments GmbH","place":["Goettingen, Germany"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Christian","family":"Vogl","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Auditory Neuroscience Group, Institute of Physiology, Medical University Innsbruck","place":["Innsbruck, 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