Animal models have demonstrated that mild hearing loss caused by acoustic trauma results in spontaneous hyperactivity in the central auditory pathways. This hyperactivity has been hypothesized to be involved in the generation of tinnitus, a phantom auditory sensation. We have recently shown that such hyperactivity, recorded in the inferior colliculus, is still dependent on cochlear neural outpu...

PURPOSE Mucins are polymers that may reduce drag and enhance tear outflow. Mucin expression and distribution in human efferent tear ducts were tested in the physiological state, and potential differences in the expression pattern were investigated in the presence of primary acquired dacryostenosis (PANDO). METHODS Expression of mucins in human lacrimal sac and nasolacrimal ducts was monitored...

The purpose of this study was to investigate the efferent medial olivocochlear system through the use of otoacoustic emissions and especially the modifications that occur at this level with age. The activity of outer hair cells (OHCs) (peripheral) and of the efferent medial olivocochlear (MOC) system (neural and central) was examined by means of distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs)...

In the present study we explore the implication of high and low level mechanisms in degraded (time-reversed) speech comprehension in normal hearing subjects. In experiment 1 we compared the loss of intelligibility due to the increasing size of reversion windows in both words and pseudowords. Results showed that words are generally reconstructed better than pseudowords, suggesting the existence ...

40 The sensations of sound and motion generated by the inner ear are controlled by the brain 41 through extensive centripetal innervation originating within the brainstem. In the semicircular 42 canals, brainstem efferent neurons make synaptic contacts with mechano-sensory hair cells and 43 with the dendrites of afferent neurons. Here, we examine the relative contributions of efferent 44 action...

BACKGROUND Fluid homeostasis is critical for normal function of the male reproductive tract and aquaporins (AQP) play an important role in maintenance of this water and ion balance. Several AQPs have been identified in the male, but their regulation is not fully comprehended. Hormonal regulation of AQPs appears to be dependent on the steroid in the reproductive tract region. AQP9 displays uniqu...

A progressive decline in baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) is a characteristic feature of human aging, the basis of which is poorly understood. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether alterations in efferent baroreflex function might contribute to the age-related decrease in BRS. We studied 10 healthy young (mean age 30.5 years; age range 22-40 years; six male) and 10 healthy elder...

Outer hair cells in the mammalian cochlea receive a cholinergic efferent innervation that constitutes the effector arm of a sound-evoked negative feedback loop. The well-studied suppressive effects of acetylcholine (ACh) release from efferent terminals are mediated by alpha9/alpha10 ACh receptors and are potently blocked by strychnine. Here, we report a novel, efferent-mediated enhancement of c...

Distribution of flow and red cells between the efferent (epibranchial) and venous pathways was examined with an isolated perfused gill adapted to collect the two effluents separately. Gills from two fish species (Ictalurids) with abundant prelamellar arteriovenous anastomoses (AVAs) were compared with those of the trout which contain few AVAs. The gills were perfused with Ringer or Ringer conta...

form suitable for the transform centre. An efferent stream, on the other hand, is a string of processes which convert output data from the transform centre into a more physical form suitable for output to the real world. We can know for sure that some nodes must belong to the transform centre. They satisfy either of the following conditions: (a) The node name contains a verb such as subtract wh...