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Glycine-like immunoreactivity in the rat auditory pathway.

From neurophysiological and biochemical studies it has been suggested that glycine can function as a major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system of mammals. In the present study, anti-glycine antiserum was obtained from rabbits immunized with glycine conjugated to rabbit serum albumin via glutaraldehyde and purified by affinity chromatography. The antibody thus obtained was found specific for glycine as determined by an enzyme immunoassay system. The immunocytochemical distribution of glycine in the auditory tract and internal ear was investigated with the antibody. In the central auditory pathway, glycine-like immunoreactivity was mainly located in the ventral and dorsal cochlear nuclei, trapezoid body, lateral lemniscus and inferior colliculus. In the labyrinth, immunoreactivity was detected in the vestibular ganglion and the supporting cells of the crista ampullaris and the organ of Corti, but not in the spiral ganglion. These findings suggest an important role of glycine in the auditory and vestibular pathways.

Animals

Averaged evoked potentials in cats with lesions of auditory pathway.

Averaged evoked activity was recorded from needle electrodes placed at the vertex of the calvaria and adjacent to each bulla in anesthetized cats in response to click stimuli. The portion of the response from 0 to 10 msec was analyzed. Activity during the first 3 msec was greatly reduced on the side ipsilateral to a lesion involving destruction of the cochlea or section of the eighth nerve and its blood vessels. Activity after 4 msec was greatly reduced on the side ipsilateral to destruction of the cochlear nuclei. No effect was found with destruction of both inferior colliculi. The bulla-vertex evoked responses were also compared to those recorded from the round window. The results support the premise that change in the wave-form of the early evoked potential can be used to determine site of loss of acoustic information along the auditory pathway.

Acoustic Stimulation

Electrophysiologic assessment of auditory pathways in high risk infants.

This study evaluated auditory processing in a group of 59 infants at risk for subsequent hearing and language disorders due to low birthweight and/or perinatal asphyxia. Auditory system integrity was evaluated electrophysiologically by recording the auditory brainstem response (ABR), middle latency response (MLR) and the cortical auditory evoked potential (CAEP). 63% of the babies had normal peripheral function or slight unilateral impairment; 84% had normal brainstem auditory system function; 82% showed normal MLRs; and 81% showed normal CAEPs. Fifty-three percent of the babies were normal on all tests and only 3% were deviant on all tests. The remaining infants showed diverse patterns of peripheral, brainstem and cortical abnormalities.

Auditory Cortex

[Clinical diagnosis of the auditory pathway using different acoustical evoked responses (author's transl)].

Evoked responses originating from cochlea, brain stem, and cortex are clinically used for differential diagnosis of hearing losses. The diagnostic range and the reliability of the different ERA methods are discussed. In our clinic brain stem potentials recorded by a nonsurgical method have been used as a routine audiometric test in more than 900 cases. The procedure has proved to be easier than electrocochleography and gives nearly the same information about cochlear and middle ear function if there is no VIIIth nerve or lower brain stem damage. For topical diagnosis of the lower auditory pathway additional recording of ECoG is necessary. In the examination of a cortical deafness the recording of brain stem potentials yields the same result as the electrocochleography according to Aran (Fig. 2). In a case of an Apallic syndrome (Fig. 3) brain stem potentials are found only for high intensity clicks, and latencies are abnormally increased. The cochlear potentials simultaneously recorded from the promontory are quite normal. So damage of the brain stem is confirmed.

Adult

Comparison of hearing threshold determined by auditory pathway electric responses and by behavioural responses.

In order to evaluate their reliability for determing the hearing threshold, the cochlear microphonic potentials, the auditory nerve and brain stem neural evoked responses as well as the cortical evoked responses were compared with the behavioural hearing thresholds of the same subjects in the same session. The threshold for recording the cochlear microphonic potnetial was found to be appreciably higher than the behavioral threshold. The threshold for recording the auditory nerve and brain stem responses was within a few decibels of the behavioural threshold. The thresold of the cortical evoked response was several decibels higher. It is concluded that (1) the auditory nerve and brain stem neural evoked responses are the best indicators of hearing threshold; (2) the cortical evoked responses are usually comparable, and (3) all types of evoked responses are indispensable aids in the evaluation of hearing and the determination of site of lesion in the auditory system.

Audiometry

Neurogenesis in a marsupial: the brush-tailed possum (Trichosurus vulpecula). I. Visual and auditory pathways.

The times of origin of neurons in the visual and auditory systems were studied in a marsupial, the brush-tailed possum, using tritiated thymidine autoradiography. Within the subcortical visual pathways, most neurons are generated between postnatal days 5 and 21, and the neurons of the primary visual cortex up to postnatal day 68. In the subcortical auditory pathways, most neurons are generated between postnatal days 5 and 28, and all auditory cortex neurons have appeared by postnatal day 46. Neurons in a single layer of cerebral cortex are generated during a period of about 2 weeks. Thus cortical neurogenesis in marsupials extends over a period similar to that seen in primates.

Animals

Auditory pathways in the budgerigar. II. Intratelencephalic pathways.

The projections of two telencephalic areas in receipt of projections from the auditory relay nucleus of the thalamus (nucleus ovoidalis) were studied in the budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus) with autoradiographic methods. These nuclei are called field 'L' and neostriatum intermedium pars dorsolateralis (NIDL). The results show that neurons in both fields project laterally to a portion of the neostriatum intermedium pars ventrolateralis (NIVL) and rostrally to the rostromedial archistriatum. Horseradish peroxidase experiments confirm these projections and indicate that field 'L', NIDL and NIVL also receive projections from neurons in the hyperstriatum ventrale (HV). The projections of field 'L' and NIDL neurons to the rostromedial archistriatum may act as pathways subserving auditory feedback. Neurons in this portion of the archistriatum project to the contralateral field 'L', NIDL and NIVL. Furthermore, the medial archistriatal projection field of neurons within field 'L', NIDL and NIVL (i.e. rostromedial archistriatum) is located adjacent to a large archistriatal neuronal field projecting to the medulla, including the lateral reticular formation of the medulla. This large archistriatal field includes the nucleus archistriatalis robustus, the telencephalic nucleus identified as the source of projections to the lower motoneurons of the syrinx. Thus, projections from auditory telencephalic areas to the rostromedial archistriatum may serve functions related to processes associated with learning and vocal motor control.

Animals

Morphological and electrophysiological study of the inner ear and the central auditory pathways following whole body fetal irradiation.

Pregnant CBA/CBA mice were whole body irradiated with 2 Gy on the 13th or 16th day of gestation, respectively. The exposed fetuses were raised to an age of 21 postnatal days. Auditory brainstem recordings of threshold levels showed a considerable elevation independent of if irradiation had been performed on either the 13th gestational day or the 16th gestational day. In exposed animals a latency difference occurs in the peaks that increases from peak 1 to peak 5, measuring in peak 5 up to 1.16 ms. Also the peak-to-peak length of waves 1-5 increases in irradiated animals. Scanning electron microscopy of the cochleae showed varying degrees of stereociliary derangement of both outer and inner hair cells, particularly in cochleae where irradiation had been performed on the 13th gestational day, but not loss of hair cells. Light microscopic analysis of auditory brainstem nuclei revealed normal conditions except that in inner ears exposed on the 16th gestational day the flocculus was fused to the lateral surface of the anterior ventral cochlear nucleus. It is concluded that the elevated threshold levels in irradiated animals are most likely due to pathological changes in the peripheral receptor organ whereas the increased latencies and the increased peak-to-peak length likewise reflect functional changes in the brainstem auditory nuclei.

Animals

[Clinical and electrophysiological studies of the organ of hearing in newborn infants. II. Study of maturity of the auditory pathway by brain stem responses (ABR) in newborn infants].

In a group of 130 tested children, 102 of whom a property had evaluated on brain stem responses, we tested the influence of newborn maturation on values of response parameters, their configuration and threshold values. It was shown that newborn maturation lowers in a statistically significant way the threshold values of acoustic stimulus. Also, the configuration of the monitoring changes with age of child tested. Newborn maturation increases the frequency of occurrence of waves II, IV, V and VI though decreases of incidence IV/V complex. In the group of the youngest pre-term babies IV/V complex were present in 50% of cases, whereas in the group of newborns carried to term its present could be verified only in 5-11% of cases. Newborn maturity also influences in an essential way the average latent time consecutive waves as well as central conduction time determined by interpeak latency I-V. Coefficient correlation values for these parameters shows a negative statistical significance correlation. That is, a decreasing of average values of these parameters with maturation of the newborn. It was also shown that structures of the hearing pathway responsible for generation of early and late components of brain stem responses nature at different periods. Peripheral structures of the hearing pathway are significantly more mature at birth than are central structures.

Age Factors

Sound localization: value in localizing lesions of the auditory pathway.

Reports in the literature suggest that patients with otosclerosis, neural lesions such as acoustic neuroma, pontine lesions, and temporal lobe lesions may show abnormal sound localization ability. In the present experiment, 15 normal subjects and 22 patients with various auditory pathway lesions had sound localization testing using special apparatus. The results confirmed that patients with otosclerosis were unable to localize low frequency sounds. Those with temporal lobe lesions made judgments not significantly different from normal subjects. Patients with unilateral sensorineural deafness made errors localizing high frequency sounds. Those with acoustic neuromas made greater errors than those without, but the difference between these two groups just failed to reach statistical significance. The number of cases was however small, and further studies are in progress to attempt to define numerical criteria to assist clinical decisions with regard to the selection of patients for invasive investigations such as oil cisternogram.

Deafness

Auditory localization: role of auditory pathways in brain stem of the cat.

Cats were trained to localize sound in space. The animals' localization accuracy was determined before and after one of the following operations: 1) transection of the trapezoid body, 2) unilateral and 3) bilateral transection of the lateral lemniscus, 4) unilateral and 5) bilateral transection of the brachium of the inferior colliculus. The results after bilateral transections of the lateral lemniscus and the one deep bilateral transection of the brachium of the inferior colliculus indicate that some portion of the ascending auditory system must be intact above the medulla for an animal to be able to localize sound. A small loss in accuracy of localization was found after unilateral transection of the lateral lemniscus or brachium of the inferior colliculus. This loss, when compared with the much larger loss that monaural animals show, is an indication that binaural analysis, important for sound localization, occurs at the level of the medulla. Some transections of the trapezoid body resulted in a deficit in localization ability that appeared to be complete and permanent. The position of the lesions in the trapezoid body indicated that important encoding of the binaural cues to localization most likely occurs at the superior olivary complex, probably at the medial superior olive. But the trapezoid body or other commissures of the brain stem auditory system are probably also involved in transmission of information necessary for localization to higher centers.

Animals