Effects of pulsatile electrical stimulation of the round window on central hyperactivity after cochlear trauma in guinea pig.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of electrical stimulation in the form of brief biphasic shocks delivered to the round window of the cochlea on the spontaneous firing rates of hyperactive inferior colliculus neurons following acoustic trauma in guinea pigs. Effects during the stimulation itself included both inhibition and excitation but spontaneous firing was suppressed for up to hundreds of ms after the cessation of the shock train in all sampled hyperactive neurons. Pharmacological block of olivocochlear efferent action on outer hair cells did not eliminate the prolonged suppression observed in inferior colliculus neurons, and it is therefore likely that activation of the afferent pathways is responsible for the central effects observed. PMID: 26970475 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Hearing Research - Category: Audiology Authors: Tags: Hear Res Source Type: research