Synaptic zinc plasticity shapes adaptive and maladaptive cortical plasticity following cochlear injury.

Authors

Manoj Kumar, Cassandra Linnertz, Brandon Bizup, Wenyuan Huang, Huiwang Ai, Thanos Tzounopoulos

Published in

Science advances. Volume 12. Issue 33. Pages eaee9298. Aug 14, 2026. Epub Aug 12, 2026.

Abstract

Cochlear damage triggers compensatory primary auditory cortex (A1) plasticity that amplifies responses to residual sensory inputs, thereby contributing to the restoration of both cortical responsiveness to sound and perceptual sound detection threshold. However, this adaptation can become maladaptive, producing neuronal hyperactivity that contributes to tinnitus and hyperacusis. The neuromodulatory mechanisms governing these adaptive and maladaptive changes remain unknown. Here, we demonstrate that noise-induced cochlear injury triggers bidirectional synaptic zinc signaling plasticity that potentiates activity in excitatory principal neurons and parvalbumin-expressing interneurons, while suppressing activity in somatostatin-expressing interneurons. These cell-type-specific effects of synaptic zinc plasticity contribute to restoring A1 responsiveness to sound and perceptual detection thresholds, while being necessary for neural hyperactivity. Together, our findings establish synaptic zinc as a pivotal neuromodulator that shapes both adaptive and maladaptive cortical plasticity and identify a promising therapeutic target for improving perceptual recovery after cochlear damage and mitigating tinnitus and hyperacusis.

PMID:
42585331
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 13 Aug 2026.

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