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The Journal of Neuroscience, May 15, 1998, 18(10):3859-3869
Long-Term Effects of Sectioning the Olivocochlear Bundle in
Neonatal Cats
Edward J.
Walsh1,
JoAnn
McGee1,
Sandra L.
McFadden1, and
M. Charles
Liberman2, 3
1 Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, Nebraska
68131, 2 Eaton-Peabody Laboratory, Massachusetts Eye and
Ear Infirmary, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, and
3 Department of Otology and Laryngology, Harvard Medical
School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115
The olivocochlear bundle (OCB) was cut in neonatal cats to evaluate
its role in the development of normal cochlear function. Approximately
1 year after deefferentation, acute auditory nerve fiber (ANF)
recordings were made from lesioned animals, lesion shams, and normal
controls. The degree of deefferentation was quantified via light
microscopic evaluation of the density of OCB fascicles in the tunnel of
Corti, and selected cases were analyzed via electron microscopy. In the
most successful cases, the deefferentation was virtually complete. ANFs
from successfully lesioned animals exhibited significant
pathophysiology compared with normals and with other animals in which
the surgery failed to interrupt the OCB. Thresholds at the
characteristic frequency (CF), the frequency at which ANFs are most
sensitive, were elevated across the CF range, with maximal effects for
CFs in the 10 kHz region. Frequency threshold or tuning curves
displayed reduction of tip-to-tail ratios (the difference between CF
and low-frequency "tail" thresholds) and decreased sharpness of
tuning. These pathological changes are generally associated with outer
hair cell (OHC) damage. However, light microscopic histological
analysis showed minimal hair cell loss and no significant differences
between normal and deefferented groups. Spontaneous discharge rates
(SRs) were lower than normal; however, those fibers with the highest
SRs remained more sensitive than those with lower SRs. Findings suggest
that the interaction between OC efferents and OHCs early in development may be critical for full expression of active mechanical processes.
Key words:
efferent; olivocochlear; cochlea; development; superior
olivary complex; hearing; auditory; deefferentation
Copyright © 1998 Society for Neuroscience 0270-6474/98/18103859-11$05.00/0
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