Behavioral Auditory Function After Transection of Crossed Olivo-Cochlear Bundle in the Cat

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Abstract
Feline subjects were trained to respond to a visual signal in the presence of distracting background white noise. The fixed “performance ratio” was measured by varying the intensity of the background white noise. The experimental results indicated that the elimination of the crossed olivo-cochlear bundle resulted in an increase in white noise distraction of the light signal detection task in the cat. Statistical analysis confirmed a significant difference between the experimental and sham groups. The electron microscopic and neurohistological investigations confirmed the disappearance of the efferent nerve endings in the cochlea and that proper midline olivo-cochlear bundle sections had been made. Probably one way in which the crossed olivo-cochlear bundle operates to inhibit acoustic processing is by the activation from a sensory system of a different modality.