Changes in latency and duration of neural responding following developmental auditory deprivation

The initial latency of spikes evoked by click stimulation and the duration over which spiking occurred were observed in the inferior colliculi of rats. One ear of these animals had been deprived of early auditory stimulation by ligation of the external meatus. Clicks presented to the normally experienced ears evoked spikes in the opposite colliculus with latencies that depended on the characteristic frequency of the unit. Low-frequency (less than 5 kHz) units had latencies from 6-10 msec. Latencies declined to 3-4 msec for high frequency (greater than 20 kHz) units. After an ear had been deprived of sound from 10 days after birth, response latencies of units in the opposite colliculus with characteristic frequencies below about 10 kHz were comparable to controls, but most units above 10 kHz had latencies 2-3 times control latencies. Spike activity evoked in these units did not continue as long as that for most comparable control units. Ears sound deprived for an equal period from 60 days after birth also had changes in latencies and response durations, but these were much less than in the developmentally deprived. Latencies of gross potentials at the auditory nerve were not affected by early deprivation, indicating a central origin for the latency changes.