Elsevier

Brain Research

Volume 229, Issue 1, 14 December 1981, Pages 15-23
Brain Research

Electrophysiological study of the maturation of auditory responses from the inner ear of the chick

https://doi.org/10.1016/0006-8993(81)90741-1Get rights and content

Summary

Three electrophysiological functions of the chick basilar papilla were studied during development by recording the compound action potential (AP) at the round window. The autidory thresholds showed a continuous maturation between the fifteenth day of incubation (E15) and the first post-hatching day (P1), when they attained adult values. Responses matured first to low frequencies and later to high frequency stimuli. The input—output (intensity—amplitude) functions matured regularly and never demonstrated the classical two slopes seen in mammals. The tuning properties, studied by tone-on-tone masking of the AP, achieved mature values before the thresholds: the Q10s reached adult values at E17 for a 500-Hz probe tone and at E19 for a 1000-Hz probe tone. The fact that a low-to-high frequency developmental trend was found with the embryonic middle ear cleared of fluids further suggests that this property of auditory ontogeny may be a function of changes in the transduction properties of the cochlea.

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    Present address (to which correspondence should be sent): Laboratoire de Neurophysiologie Sensorielle, Universitéde Provence, Centre St. Jéroˆme, 13397 Marseille Cedex 13, France.

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