{
  "abstract": "Hearing loss is a major modifiable risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), but how auditory deprivation engages specific neural circuits, particularly in a sex-dependent manner, to promote amyloid pathology remains unclear. We examined whether sound deprivation alters amyloid-beta (Aβ) deposition, auditory neural activity, and cognition in 5xFAD mice. Notably, sound deprivation using bilateral earplugging from 2 to 4 months selectively increased Aβ plaque burden in the inferior colliculus (IC) of female 5xFAD mice, with no comparable effect in males. This IC-selective pathology was accompanied by increased c-Fos expression in the IC. Microglial density was unchanged, but earplugging increased the fraction of plaque-associated microglia and reduced microglia–plaque distance specifically in the IC, suggesting local amplification of AD-related pathology at the plaque interface. 5xFAD mice without deprivation retained intact novel object recognition (NOR) at 6 months. In contrast, female 5xFAD mice with prior earplugging developed a selective NOR deficit despite no detectable increase in hippocampal plaque burden, whereas males remained unaffected. Together, these findings identify the IC as a female-vulnerable locus where transient sound deprivation drives persistent auditory-circuit hyperactivity, remodels microglia–plaque interactions, and accelerates region-specific amyloid pathology with extra-hippocampal cognitive consequences, highlighting sensory loss as modifiable risk factor in prodromal AD.\n\nSupplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-64191-7.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Kresge Hearing Research Institute, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 USA",
    "Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan Medical School, Michigan, 48109 USA"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 3,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jiwon Park"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Se Yeon Jeong"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Jun Hee Kim"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/79a9ghn4hbwnk.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1038/s41598-026-64191-7",
  "fulltext_url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13713587/",
  "id": "79a9ghn4hbwnk",
  "issns": [
    "2045-2322"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-64191-7",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Article"
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      "openalex",
      "2737|Alzheimer's disease research and treatments"
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  "openalex": "W7171704222",
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": "PMC13713587",
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-07-29",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/79a9ghn4hbwnk.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-31T12:24:06Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13713587",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-64191-7"
    }
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  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2737|Alzheimer's disease research and treatments",
      "subfield": "physiology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Hearing loss drives region-specific amyloid accumulation along the auditory pathway in female 5xFAD mice",
  "title_text": "Hearing loss drives region-specific amyloid accumulation along the auditory pathway in female 5xFAD mice",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-01T12:21:14Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/79a9ghn4hbwnk",
  "venue": "Scientific Reports",
  "versions": []
}