Efferent tracts and cochlear frequency selectivity

The cochlear innervation of guinea pigs was sectioned medially in a rostrocaudal direction at the level of the floor of the fourth ventricle, to study the effects of efferent pathways on cochlear microphonic (CM) suppression, the compound action potential (CAP) masking phenomenon, the input-output CAP function, and cochlear frequency selectivity estimated with tuning curves of single auditory nerve fibers. Sectioning reduced CM suppression without having any effect on absolute CM amplitude; it also reduced CAP masking. The input-output CAP function was not changed at intensities below 75 dB, and the single-unit tuning curves recorded before and after nerve sectioning were unaffected. Thus, the crossed efferent tracts (i.e., mainly the medial system) seems to be involved in the masking function itself, rather than one of the mechanisms responsible for high frequency cochlear selectivity.