It is known that the dorsal cochlear nucleus and medial geniculate body in the auditory system receive significant inputs from somatosensory and visual-motor sources, but the purpose of such inputs is not totally understood. Moreover, a direct connection of these structures has not been demonstrated, because it is generally accepted that the inferior colliculus is an obligatory relay for all as...

The latency of the acoustic startle reflex in the rat is 8 msec, measured from tone onset to the beginning of the electromyographic response in the hindleg. This extremely short latency indicates that only a few synapses could be involved in some primary acoustic startle circuit. Acoustic startle is being used as a model system for studying habituation, sensitization, prepulse inhibition, class...

PURPOSE Eight lines of evidence implicating the dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN) as a tinnitus contributing site are reviewed. We now expand the presentation of this model, elaborate on its essential details, and provide answers to commonly asked questions regarding its validity. CONCLUSIONS Over the past decade, numerous studies have converged to support the hypothesis that the DCN may be an im...

The role of the dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN) in directional hearing was evaluated by measuring sound localization behaviors before and after cats received lesions of the dorsal and intermediate acoustic striae (DAS/IAS). These lesions are presumed to disrupt spectral processing in the DCN without affecting binaural time and level difference cues that exit the cochlear nucleus via the ventral a...

Responses of anteroventral cochlear nucleus (AVCN) neurons in developing gerbils were obtained to single-tone stimuli, and two-tone stimuli elicited by best frequency probes presented over a range of intensities. Neurons displayed Type I, Type I/III, and Type III receptive field patterns. Best frequencies ranged from 1.5 to 10.0 kHz. Two-tone suppression (2TS) was first observed in 5 of 16 neur...

Although action potentials are typically generated in the axon initial segment (AIS), the timing and pattern of action potentials are thought to depend on inward current originating in somatodendritic compartments. Using two-photon imaging, we show that T- and R-type voltage-gated Ca(2+) channels are colocalized with Na(+) channels in the AIS of dorsal cochlear nucleus interneurons and that act...

Vulnerability to noise-induced tinnitus is associated with increased spontaneous firing rate in dorsal cochlear nucleus principal neurons, fusiform cells. This hyperactivity is caused, at least in part, by decreased Kv7.2/3 (KCNQ2/3) potassium currents. However, the biophysical mechanisms underlying resilience to tinnitus, which is observed in noise-exposed mice that do not develop tinnitus (no...

The dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN) integrates auditory and multisensory signals at the earliest levels of auditory processing. Proposed roles for this region include sound localization in the vertical plane, head orientation to sounds of interest, and suppression of sensitivity to expected sounds. Auditory and non-auditory information streams to the DCN are refined by a remarkably complex array ...

There is increasing evidence of activity-related plasticity in auditory pathways. The present study examined the effects of decreased activity on immunolocalization of the inhibitory neurotransmitter glycine in the cochlear nucleus of the rat after bilateral cochlear ablation. Specifically, glycine-immunoreactive puncta adjacent to somatic profiles were compared in normal hearing animals and an...