Fig. 5.

Lack of sensory input reversibly abolishes the soma size gradient in gerbils. A: control gerbils showed a cell size gradient, as did subjects with tissue collected 24 h after cochlear ablation (***P ≤ 0.001 and *P = 0.01, respectively). Tissue collected 48 h after cochlear ablation showed a diminished gradient. Gerbils treated with TTX for 24 or 48 h showed a decreased or no cell size gradient, but in those animals allowed to recover for 7 days, the gradient had returned (*P = 0.02). Error bars show SE. B: individual average cell size for medial, central, and lateral regions of each MNTB. ***P ≤ 0.001, *P ≤ 0.05.