Biomaterial Database

Responses of auditory nerve fibres to noise stimuli show cochlear nonlinearities. 1978

A R Møller

The frequency selectivity of the peripheral auditory frequency analyser was determined on the basis of recordings from single auditory nerve fibres in the rat, using pseudorandom noise as stimulus. The impulse response function was arrived at by cross-correlating period histograms of the recorded activity with the noise. Frequency transfer functions were computed by Fourier transformation of the derived impulse response function. The impulse response function was observed to become shorter with increasing stimulus intensity. A concomitant widening of the frequency transfer function and a downward shift in the centre frequency were seen. Since the method used is insensitive to nonlinearities, the derived impulse and frequency respone functions are assumed to be valid approximations of the basilar membrane properties. The results, then, support the hypothesis that the basilar membrane is a nonlinear frequency analyser whose selectivity decreases as sound intensity increases.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D009412	Nerve Fibers	Slender processes of NEURONS, including the AXONS and their glial envelopes (MYELIN SHEATH). Nerve fibers conduct nerve impulses to and from the CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM.	Cerebellar Mossy Fibers,Mossy Fibers, Cerebellar,Cerebellar Mossy Fiber,Mossy Fiber, Cerebellar,Nerve Fiber
D003051	Cochlea	The part of the inner ear (LABYRINTH) that is concerned with hearing. It forms the anterior part of the labyrinth, as a snail-like structure that is situated almost horizontally anterior to the VESTIBULAR LABYRINTH.	Cochleas
D006309	Hearing	The ability or act of sensing and transducing ACOUSTIC STIMULATION to the CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM. It is also called audition.	Audition
D000159	Vestibulocochlear Nerve	The 8th cranial nerve. The vestibulocochlear nerve has a cochlear part (COCHLEAR NERVE) which is concerned with hearing and a vestibular part (VESTIBULAR NERVE) which mediates the sense of balance and head position. The fibers of the cochlear nerve originate from neurons of the SPIRAL GANGLION and project to the cochlear nuclei (COCHLEAR NUCLEUS). The fibers of the vestibular nerve arise from neurons of Scarpa's ganglion and project to the VESTIBULAR NUCLEI.	Cranial Nerve VIII,Eighth Cranial Nerve,Cochleovestibular Nerve,Statoacoustic Nerve,Cochleovestibular Nerves,Cranial Nerve VIIIs,Cranial Nerve, Eighth,Cranial Nerves, Eighth,Eighth Cranial Nerves,Nerve VIIIs, Cranial,Nerve, Cochleovestibular,Nerve, Eighth Cranial,Nerve, Statoacoustic,Nerve, Vestibulocochlear,Nerves, Cochleovestibular,Nerves, Eighth Cranial,Nerves, Statoacoustic,Nerves, Vestibulocochlear,Statoacoustic Nerves,VIIIs, Cranial Nerve,Vestibulocochlear Nerves
D000161	Acoustic Stimulation	Use of sound to elicit a response in the nervous system.	Auditory Stimulation,Stimulation, Acoustic,Stimulation, Auditory
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D051381	Rats	The common name for the genus Rattus.	Rattus,Rats, Laboratory,Rats, Norway,Rattus norvegicus,Laboratory Rat,Laboratory Rats,Norway Rat,Norway Rats,Rat,Rat, Laboratory,Rat, Norway,norvegicus, Rattus