ENHANCING RELIABILITY AND REPRODUCIBILITY IN MOUSE AUDITORY TESTING TO IMPROVE TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH

Neuroscience studies of auditory dysfunction, from cochlear synaptopathy to impaired central/cortical plasticity, require robust in vivo electrophysiological phenotyping. Reliable and reproducible testing in mouse models is essential to develop effective therapeutic strategies and to improve mechanistic understanding of auditory system function. Aims : Our objective was to compare the consistency, sensitivity, and reproducibility of the most used hearing tests in mice across recording systems, and to identify the main technical sources of variability. Methods : We benchmarked two widely used, gold-standard assays in preclinical auditory studies, auditory brainstem responses (ABR) and distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE), recorded in the same cohort of mice using either turnkey commercial platforms or a home-built setup assembled with in-house software for acquisition and analysis. DPOAEs assess outer hair cell function, while ABRs measure neural activity from the auditory nerve and brainstem. Results : Preliminary cross comparisons indicate setup dependent differences in ABR waveform characteristics, consistent with factors such as electrode montage, amplifier gain/filtering, internal averaging/rejection settings, and differences in stimulus generation/calibration and analysis pipelines. Ongoing analyses quantify how these factors affect threshold and suprathreshold metrics (e.g., ABR wave amplitudes/latencies; DPOAE levels). Conclusion : By identifying major sources of technical variability and outlining harmonization steps, this work aims to enhance data interoperability and reproducibility, support adherence to the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction, Refinement), and ultimately increase the translational relevance of preclinical auditory neuroscience research.