Abstract
Neurons in the lateral superior olive (LSO) compute sound location based on differences in interaural intensity, coded in ascending signals from the two cochleas. Unilateral destruction of the neuronal feedback from the LSO to the cochlea, the lateral olivocochlear efferents, disrupted the normal interaural correlation in response amplitudes to sounds of equal intensity. Thus, lateral olivocochlear feedback maintains the binaural balance in neural excitability required for accurate localization of sounds in space.
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Acknowledgements
Research supported by grants from the National Institute on Deafness and other Communicative Disorders: RO1 DC0188, P30 DC5209 and T32 DC0038
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Supplementary Fig. 1
Unilateral LOC destruction caused interaural amplitude disparities corresponding to a constant percentage change at the higher stimulus levels. (PDF 549 kb)
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Darrow, K., Maison, S. & Liberman, M. Cochlear efferent feedback balances interaural sensitivity. Nat Neurosci 9, 1474–1476 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1807
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1807
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