Auditory nerve neurophonic produced by the frequency difference of two simultaneously presented tones. 1996

K R Henry
Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis 95616-8686, USA. krhenry@ucdavis.edu

When two phase-locked sinusoidal stimuli having frequencies of F1 and F2 are simultaneously introduced to the ear of the gerbil, a difference tone (DT) can be observed (DT = F2-F1, where F2 > F1) in the time-averaged electrical response recorded from the cochlear round window (RW). Tetrodotoxin (TTX), which blocks the axonal firing of the cochlear nerve fiber, greatly attenuates this DT response, suggesting it is primarily neural in origin. Alternating the polarity of a single phase-locked tone cancels out the RW cochlear microphonic (CM) from the time-averaged response, leaving a residual auditory nerve neurophonic (ANN) response if the stimulus frequency is low enough to result in phase-locked firing of cochlear nerve axons. Simultaneous presentation of 1 kHz (F1) and 2 kHz (F2) tones, each being phase-locked with alternating polarity, produces a small ANN in response to the original tones and a large time-averaged ANN in response to the DT. Even when the frequency of the individual tones is too high to support phase-locking, a large DT-ANN can also be measured in response to simultaneously presented tones. A robust time-averaged DT-ANN can be measured when the temporal and intensity relationships between F1 and F2 are varied widely, with the latency (but not amplitude) of the response following the stimulus envelope. The DT-ANN produced by pairs of tones having frequencies ranging from 500 Hz to 3.5 kHz is largest in response to a DT of approximately 700-1100 Hz. This is in contrast to the ANN generated in response to a single tone, which decreases in magnitude as the stimulus frequency increases from 500 to 1500 Hz. Robust DT-ANNs can be measured from the gerbil even when the F2 frequency is greater than 30 kHz.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D010898 Pitch Perception A dimension of auditory sensation varying with cycles per second of the sound stimulus. Perception, Pitch,Perceptions, Pitch,Pitch Perceptions
D005849 Gerbillinae A subfamily of the Muridae consisting of several genera including Gerbillus, Rhombomys, Tatera, Meriones, and Psammomys. Gerbils,Jird,Meriones,Psammomys,Rats, Sand,Gerbil,Jirds,Merione,Rat, Sand,Sand Rat,Sand Rats
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
D000200 Action Potentials Abrupt changes in the membrane potential that sweep along the CELL MEMBRANE of excitable cells in response to excitation stimuli. Spike Potentials,Nerve Impulses,Action Potential,Impulse, Nerve,Impulses, Nerve,Nerve Impulse,Potential, Action,Potential, Spike,Potentials, Action,Potentials, Spike,Spike Potential
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
D001309 Auditory Threshold The audibility limit of discriminating sound intensity and pitch. Auditory Thresholds,Threshold, Auditory,Thresholds, Auditory
D017084 Otoacoustic Emissions, Spontaneous Self-generated faint acoustic signals from the inner ear (COCHLEA) without external stimulation. These faint signals can be recorded in the EAR CANAL and are indications of active OUTER AUDITORY HAIR CELLS. Spontaneous otoacoustic emissions are found in all classes of land vertebrates. Spontaneous Otoacoustic Emissions,Otoacoustic Emission, Spontaneous,Spontaneous Otoacoustic Emission
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