Related Experiment Videos
Auditory frequency-following response: neural or artifact?
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|September 18, 1970
Summary
The frequency-following response (FFR) in auditory pathways is a neural signal, not an artifact. Experiments confirm FFR relies on intact neural pathways, being abolished by nerve section or nucleus cooling.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Auditory Neuroscience
- Bioelectricity
Background:
- The auditory system generates electrical responses to sound.
- A specific electrical response, the frequency-following response (FFR), mirrors sound waveform and frequency.
- Debate exists whether FFR is a genuine neural signal or a recording artifact.
Purpose of the Study:
- To definitively determine if the frequency-following response (FFR) originates from neural activity or is an artifact.
- To investigate the dependence of FFR on the integrity of auditory neural pathways.
Main Methods:
- Electrophysiological recordings from the central auditory pathway.
- Experimental manipulation of neural pathway integrity, including eighth nerve section and cochlear nucleus cooling.
- Comparison of FFR with auditory evoked potentials under experimental conditions.
Main Results:
- The frequency-following response (FFR) was abolished following section of the eighth nerve.
- Cooling the cochlear nucleus reversibly abolished the FFR.
- Auditory evoked potentials were also affected by these manipulations, consistent with neural origin.
Conclusions:
- The frequency-following response (FFR) is a genuine neural signal originating from the central auditory pathway.
- FFR generation is critically dependent on the functional integrity of neural pathways.
- These findings resolve the controversy regarding the nature of the FFR.