PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Temchin, Andrei N.
AU  - Ruggero, Mario A.
TI  - Spatial Irregularities of Sensitivity along the Organ of Corti of the Cochlea
AID  - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2558-13.2014
DP  - 2014 Aug 20
TA  - The Journal of Neuroscience
PG  - 11349--11354
VI  - 34
IP  - 34
4099  - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/34/34/11349.short
4100  - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/34/34/11349.full
SO  - J. Neurosci.2014 Aug 20; 34
AB  - Fine structures of spatial profiles were computed from existing records of cat and chinchilla auditory-nerve fibers on the basis of their characteristic frequencies and cochlear maps. The spatial fine structures of characteristic-frequency thresholds and of “spontaneous” and driven firing rates were mutually correlated, implying the presence of sensitivity fluctuations due to spatial irregularities of presynaptic structures or processes of the inner hair cells and their input. These findings suggest that activity that appears spontaneous is not actually spontaneous and may indicate irregularities of tonotopic mapping in cochlear mechanics.