An ultrastructural study of the development of afferent and efferent synapses on outer hair cells of the guinea pig organ of Corti

The guinea pig organ of Corti was studied using transmission electron microscopy, the second turn of the cochlea being examined at various ages between 20 days before birth and 30 days postnatal. Outer hair cells were examined at each of these ages. At all ages studied, the efferent (presynaptic) terminals are large and are packed with synaptic vesicles, whereas the afferent (postsynaptic) terminals are generally smaller, with a relatively small number of vesicles. During development, the subsynaptic cistern changes from a fragmented, diffuse profile extending over 50-70% of the length of the efferent contact zones, to a continuous, compact structure spanning neighbouring synapses. Synaptic vesicles in the efferent terminals are predominantly rounded in early development, flattened vesicles appearing postnatally. The synaptic bodies at afferent synapses do not change noticeably during development. Quantitative analysis revealed that the area of efferent terminals and the length of their active zone increase with increasing age, the same parameters decreasing in afferent terminals. Synaptic vesicles in the efferent terminals decrease in diameter, but remain constant in afferent terminals, with increasing age. The number of hair cell membrane invaginations decreases as development proceeds.