Abstract
Of the roughly 50,000 afferent fibers in the cat’s auditory nerve, approximately 95% terminate peripherally on inner hair cells (IHCs), as the so-called “radial fibers” (RFs) [24,25]. RFs comprise the population of neurons sampled when the auditory nerve is impaled with glass microelectrodes [9]. In the cat, the great majority of RFs is unbranched, terminating on a single IHC via a single terminal swelling [24,8]. Thus, by sampling the activity of a single RF we have a window onto the functional state of a very restricted region of the organ of Corti. By sampling the activity of different single fibers, with different characteristic frequencies (CFs), we can assess the functional state of the entire cochlea, from base to apex.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
H. W. Ades, C. Trahiotis, A. Kokko-Cunningham and B. Averbuch, Comparison of hearing thresholds and morphological changes in the chinchilla after exposure to 4 kHz tones, Acta Otolaryngol. 78:192 (1974).
A. R. Cody and D. Robertson, Variability of noise-induced damage in the guinea pig cochlea: electrophysiological and morphological correlates after strictly controlled exposures, Hearing Res. 9:55 (1983).
B. Engstrom, A. Flock and E. Borg, Ultrastructural studies of stereocilia in noise-exposed rabbits, Hearing Res. 12:251 (1983).
E. F. Evans, Peripheral auditory processing in normal and abnormal ears: physiological considerations for attempts to compensate for auditory deficits by acoustic and electric prostheses, Scand. Audiol. Suppl. 6:1 (1978).
N. Y. S. Kiang, E. C. Moxon and R. A. Levine, Auditory nerve activity in cats exposed to ototoxic drugs, in: “Sensorineural Hearing Loss,” Ciba Symposium, G.E.W. Wolstenholme and J. Knight eds., J. and A. Churchill, London (1970).
N. Y. S. Kiang, T. Watanabe, E. C. Thomas, and L. F. Clark, “Discharge Patterns of Single Fibers in the Cat’s Auditory Nerve,” MIT Press, Cambridge (1965).
M. C. Liberman, Auditory nerve response from cats raised in a low-noise chamber, J. Acoust. Soc. Amer. 63:442 (1978).
M. C. Liberman, Morphological differences among radial afferent fibers in the cat cochlea: an electron microscopic study of serial sections, Hearing Res. 3:45 (1980).
M. C. Liberman, Single-neuron labeling in the cat auditory nerve, Science 216:1239 (1982).
M. C. Liberman, The cochlear frequency map for the cat: labeling auditory nerve fibers of known characteristic frequency, J. Acoust. Soc. Amer. 72:1441 (1982).
M. C. Liberman, Single neuron labeling and chronic cochlear pathology, I: Threshold shift and characteristic frequency shift, Hearing Res. 16:33 (1984).
M. C. Liberman and D. G. Beil, Hair cell condition and auditory nerve response in normal and noise-damaged cochleas, Acta Otolaryngol. 88:161 (1979).
M. C. Liberman and L. W. Dodds, Single neuron labeling and chronic cochlear pathology, II: Stereocilia damage and alterations of spontaneous discharge rates, Hearing Res. 16:43 (1984).
M. C. Liberman and L. W. Dodds, Single-neuron labeling and chronic cochlear pathology, III: Stereocilia damage and alterations in threshold tuning curves, Hearing Res. 16:55 (1984).
M. C. Liberman and N. Y. S. Kiang, Acoustic trauma in cats: cochlear pathology and auditory nerve activity, Acta Otolaryngol. Suppl. #358:1 (1978).
M. C. Liberman and N. Y. S. Kiang, Single-neuron labeling and chronic cochlear pathology, IV: Stereocilia damage and alterations in rate and phase-level functions, Hearing Res. 16:75 (1984).
M. C. Liberman and M. J. Mulroy, Acute and chronic effects of acoustic trauma: cochlear pathology and auditory nerve pathophysiology, in: “New Perspectives on Noise-Induced Hearing Loss,” R. P. Hamernik, D. Henderson and R. Salvi, eds., Raven Press, New York.
D. Lim and W. Melnick, Acoustic damage of the cochlea, Arch. Otolaryngol. 94:294 (1971).
J. D. Miller, C. S. Watson and W. P. Covell, Deafening effects of noise on the cat, Acta Otolaryngol. Suppl. 176:1 (1963).
D. Robertson, Effects of acoustic trauma on stereocilia structure and spiral ganglion cell tuning properties in the guinea pig cochlea, Hearing Res. 7:55 (1982).
W. F. Sewell, The effects of furosemide on the endocochlear potential and auditory nerve fiber tuning curves in cats, Hearing Res. 14:305 (1984).
N. Slepecky and S. C. Chamberlain, Distribution and polarity of actin in the sensory hair cells of the chinchilla cochlea, Cell Tissue Res. 224:15 (1982).
N. Slepecky, R. Hamernik, D. Henderson and D. Coling, Correlation of audioraetric data with changes in cochlear hair cell stereocilia resulting from impulse noise trauma, Acta Otolaryngol. 93:329 (1982).
H. H. Spoendlin, Innervation of the organ of Corti of the cat, Acta Otolaryngol. 67:239 (1969).
H. H. Spoendlin, Primary structural changes in the organ of Corti after acoustic overstimulation, Acta Otolaryngol. 71:166 (1971).
L. G. Tilney, D. J. DeRosier and M. J. Mulroy, The organization of actin filaments in the stereocilia of cochlear hair cells, J. Cell Biol. 86:244 (1980).
L. G. Tilney, J. C. Saunders, E. Egelman and D. J. DeRosier, Changes in the organization of actin filaments in the stereocilia of noise-damaged lizard cochleae, Hearing Res. 7:181 (1982).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1986 Plenum Press, New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Charles Liberman, M., Dodds, L.W., Learson, D.A. (1986). Structure-Function Correlation in Noise-Damaged Ears: A Light and Electron-Microscopic Study. In: Salvi, R.J., Henderson, D., Hamernik, R.P., Colletti, V. (eds) Basic and Applied Aspects of Noise-Induced Hearing Loss. NATO ASI Series, vol 111. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-5176-4_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-5176-4_12
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-5178-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-5176-4
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive