IMPACT OF ENVIRONMENTAL NOISE EXPOSURE ON RODENT COLONIES

Environmental noise exposure is frequently perceived as non-traumatic and harmless to the auditory system. However, prolonged noise exposure even to moderate sound levels (85 dB SPL) has been associated with aggressive behaviours, sleep deprivation, auditory fatigue, tinnitus, hyperacusis, and degraded cortical neural responses, including reduced sensitivity to frequencies within the exposed range.
In this research, we aim to investigate the long-term impact of moderate noise using the Mongolian gerbil, a mammalian model uniquely suited for this research due to its human-like hearing sensitivity. On one hand, we assessed behaviour, sleep, acoustic communication, and social interactions in a gerbil colony subjected to 8 hours per day of noise at 80 dB SPL, using an adapted Live Mouse Tracker. This longitudinal monitoring revealed shifts in social dynamics and altered vocalization patterns. On the other hand, we recorded neural activity from the inferior colliculus using telemetry to identify putative physiological changes within the auditory system.
These multimodal data are a step forward to a more global and integrated perspective of the wide-ranging effects of prolonged noise exposure.