INHIBITION OF ACTIVITY IN SINGLE AUDITORY NERVE FIBERS BY ACOUSTIC STIMULATION

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Abstract
Further studies by micro-electrodes of the nerve impulses in single auditory-nerve fibers in cats show that the spontaneous discharge which occurs in some fibers in silence can be stopped by certain tones or noises. The tones which inhibit fall into clearly-defined "inhibitory areas" for each fiber, analogous to the "response area" which comprises the tones which excite. For some fibers the inhibitory tones are higher in frequency than the excitatory tones, for others they are lower. Some fibers have inhibitory areas both above and below, while still others fail to show inhibition by pure tones. The discharge excited by an adequate tone or noise also can be reduced or abolished by the simultaneous presentation of a 2d tone or noise. By simul- taneously presenting appropriate 2d tones which prevent rather than produce discharge in the auditory nerve, it is possible markedly to restrict the range of tones which can excite a given fiber. The inhibitory action of low tones upon the activity aroused by high tones is much more widespread than the corresponding inhibitory action of high tones upon low tones. A tone as much as 5 octaves below a high-frequency excitatory tone may inhibit the discharge excited by the high tone. The mechanism of the inhibition is unknown. A hypothesis of neural interaction at the cochlear level is suggested since mechanical, electrical, and reflex explanations appear to be excluded.

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