Evidence for a cortically mediated release from inhibition in the human cochlea

To determine cortical influence on the efferent medial olivocochlear bundle system. The effects of attention on contralateral suppression (CS) of click-evoked otoacoustic emissions were measured. Fifteen normal-hearing listeners. CS was greatest in the nonattending condition and decreased significan...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of the American Academy of Audiology Vol. 20; no. 3; p. 208
Main Authors Harkrider, Ashley W, Bowers, C Dane
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.03.2009
Subjects
Acoustic Stimulation
Adult
Attention - physiology
Cochlea - physiology
Cochlear Nucleus - physiology
Female
Hearing - physiology
Humans
Male
Neural Inhibition
Olivary Nucleus - physiology
Otoacoustic Emissions, Spontaneous
Young Adult
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Summary:To determine cortical influence on the efferent medial olivocochlear bundle system. The effects of attention on contralateral suppression (CS) of click-evoked otoacoustic emissions were measured. Fifteen normal-hearing listeners. CS was greatest in the nonattending condition and decreased significantly when attending to the click or broadband noise suppressor. The effects of attention on CS were not frequency dependent or due to changes in recording noise measures. Attention to either the ipsilateral, evoking stimulus or the contralateral suppressor causes a top-down, cortically mediated release from inhibition at the level of the cochlea that is measurable with common audiologic protocols and instrumentation. Future studies assessing the effects of attention on CS of click-evoked otoacoustic emissions in normal controls and individuals with various auditory or attentional deficits may provide valuable information about the capabilities of the cortex to affect peripheral processing in a normal and/or pathological system.
ISSN:1050-0545
2157-3107
DOI:10.3766/jaaa.20.3.7