Differences in developmental changes in GABAergic response between bushy and stellate cells in the rat anteroventral cochlear nucleus

► The time of developmental shift of GABA action was cell-type specific in the AVCN. ► EGABA was shifted earlier in bushy cells than stellate cells. ► EGABA between bushy and stellate cells was not significantly different during P5–15. ► Vrest of bushy cells was more depolarized than that of stellate cells before P12. Many mammalian central nervous system neuron responses mediated by GABAA receptors undergo a developmental transition from excitation to inhibition, but little is known about the time of this switch in specific cell types in the developing anteroventral cochlear nucleus (AVCN). In the present study, bushy and stellate cells, two major cell types in the AVCN, were identified according to their morphology and electrophysiology. The equilibrium potential of GABA-evoked currents (EGABA) was examined using the gramicidin-perforated patch-clamp technique. We found that the action of GABA in bushy and stellate cells switched from predominantly depolarizing to predominantly hyperpolarizing with respect to their resting membrane potential (Vrest) at different postnatal ages. Such a switch in the GABA response of bushy cells occurred before the first postnatal week, whereas that in stellate cells happened at the end of the second postnatal week. Furthermore, we discovered that bushy cells had a more depolarized Vrest than did stellate cells before the second postnatal week; however, the EGABA of bushy and stellate cells was not significantly different. Thus, the discrepancy in the timing of the developmental shift from depolarizing to hyperpolarizing GABA responses between bushy and stellate cells may be due to the difference in their Vrest, but not due to EGABA itself. These results suggest that GABAergic inhibition functions earlier in bushy than in stellate cells. In contrast, the longer excitatory action of GABA on stellate cells possibly renders them more vulnerable than bushy cells to excitotoxic substances during early development.