LAUSR

Previous studies demonstrated that in vitro preparations of the isolated vestibular system of diverse animal species still exhibit stable resting electrical activity and mechanically evoked synaptic transmission between hair cells and primary afferent endings. However, there are no reports related to their neurodevelopment. Therefore, this research aimed to examine whether NMDA receptors mediate these electrical signals in an isolated preparation of the chicken vestibular system at three developmental stages, E15, E18, and E21. We found that the spontaneous and mechanically evoked discharges from primary afferents of the posterior semicircular canal were modulated by agonists NMDA and glycine, but not by the agonist d‐serine applied near the synapses. Moreover, the individually applied by bath perfusion of three NMDA receptor antagonists (MK‐801, ifenprodil, and 2‐naphthoic acid) or high Mg2+ decreased the resting discharge rate, the NMDA response, and the discharge rate of mechanically evoked activity from these primary afferents.