LONG-LASTING NERVOUS SYSTEM RESPONSES TO PROLONGED SOUND STIMULATION IN WAKING CATS

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Abstract
Conscious cats with multiple implanted bipolar electrodes were exposed to prolonged steady white noise. Summated electrical activty was recorded before, during, and after exposure to the unchanging stimulation. All major stations along auditory pathway were examined in respect to their dynamic responses to this standard stimulus. Whereas click responses were obtained in widespread regions throughout the brain, sustained response to sustained sound stimulation was limited to the classical auditory pathway. Middle ear muscle and central neural mechanisms both powerfully and independently modify responses during continuing stimulation. Central neural processes yield prolonged aftereffects characterized by depression below control level of activity. These several phenomena of noncorrespondence between characteristics of the physical stimulus and electrical activation of the auditory pathway may be related to perceptual effects and after-effects associated with long-continuing sensory stimulation.