[The effects of chronic electrical stimulation on cochlear nucleus in normal hearing kittens]

We examined the effects of long-term electrical stimulation of the auditory nerve on the morphology of neurons in the cochlear nucleus in young, normal hearing kittens. These animals received bilateral intra- and extra-cochlear implants and were stimulated unilaterally for periods of 1,000-1,500 hours. After sacrifice, cross-sectional areas of neuron somata of the cochlear nucleus were measured with an image-analysis system. There were no statistically significant difference among anteroventral cochlear nucleus (AVCN), posteroventral cochlear nucleus (PVCN) and dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN) neurons when stimulated sides were compared with unstimulated sides. These results indicate that there were no significant effects of long-term electrical stimulation of auditory nerve on the cross-sectional areas of neuron somata of AVCN, PVCN and DCN in normal hearing kittens.