Auditory Pathway : Structure and Function

Since the last symposium on "Neuronal Mechanisms of Hearing" held in Prague in 1980 and published in the volume of the same name (J. Syka and L. Aitkin, Eds. , Plenum Press, 1981), remarkable progress has been achieved in the understanding of the auditory system. A variety of new ideas and new methods have emerged. This progress can be easily documented by comparing the volume based on the 1980 Symposium with the program for the 1987 Symposium. For example, there were 45 contributions to auditory physiology in each symposium but there were 27 contributions focusing on anatomy in 1987 as compared to 7 in 1980, and perhaps most telling, there were 12 contributions to the neurochemistry of the system in 1987 while there were only 3 in 1980. In terms of percentages of contributions, neuroanatomy rose from 13% to 32% and neurochemistry (or chemical anatomy) rose from 5% in 1980 to 14% in 1987. These increases in the numbers and proportions of anatomical and neurochemical contributions undoubtedly reflects the increasing availabil­ ity and rising expertise in the new neuroanatomica1 and biochemical techniques most notably, tract-tracing by exploitation of axonal transport or by intracellular micro-injection methods, and neurotransmitter identifi­ cation by use of immunocytochemistry or receptor-binding techniques. New ideas have emerged on the function of cochlear hair cells particularly in connection with olivococh1ear bundle stimulation and supported by findings of contractile proteins in outer hair cells.

Cochlea.- New Aspects of Comparative Peripheral Auditory Physiology.- Transfer Function of the Outer Ear of the Guinea Pig Measured by FFT and FFT Scan Analysis of Cochlear Microphonic Response.- Elastic Properties of the Tectorial Membrane in Vivo.- Cytoskeletal Organisation in the Apex of Cochlear Hair Cells.- Further Investigation about the Function of Inner Ear Melanin.- The Thromboxane/Prostacyclin Balance in Guinea Pig Cochlea.- Peripheral Auditory Development in the Cat and Rat.- Noise Induced Hair Cell Loss during the Sensitive Period of Developing Rat Pup Cochlea.- Interaural Difference of Pseudothreshold of Stimulated Otoacoustic Emission in Unilateral Inner Ear Impairments.- Responses of Cochlear Afferents to Low-Frequency Tones: Intensity Dependence.- Auditory Brainstem Nuclei.- Anatomy of the Mammalian Cochlear Nuclei: a Review.- Observations on the Cytoarchitecture of the Guinea Pig Ventral Cochlear Nucleus.- Cellular Connections Revealed by Transneuronal Transport of HRP in the Guinea Pig Cochlear Nucleus.- Morphometric and Cytoarchitectural Study of the Different Neuronal Types in the VCN of the Rat.- Relationship between the Level of Origin of Primary Fibers in the Rat Cochlea and Their Spatial Distribution in the Rat Cochlear Nuclei.- The Central Projection of Intracellularly Labeled Auditory Nerve Fibers: Morphometric Relationships between Structural and Physiological Properties.- Neurotransmitter Microchemistry of the Cochlear Nucleus and Superior Olivary Complex.- Cholinergic, GABA-ergic, and Noradrenergic Input to Cochlear Granule Cells in the Guinea Pig and Monkey.- Glutamate Decarboxylase Immunostaining in the Human Cochlear Nucleus.- Forward Masking of Single Neurons in the Cochlear Nucleus.- Responses of Cat Ventral Cochlear Nucleus Neurones to Variations in the Rate and Intensity of Electric Current Pulses.- Cochlear Frequency Selectivity and Brainstem Evoked Response (BER) Dependence on Click Polarity.- Latency “Shift” of the Wave V in BERA for Lower Frequencies?.- The Influence of Relaxation, Quality and Gain of Signals on BERA Latency.- Auditory Subcortical Nuclei.- Organization of the Lateral Lemniscal Fibers Converging onto the Inferior Colliculus in the Cat: an Anatomical Review.- Different Binaural Inputs Subdividing Isofrequency Planes in Chick Inferior Colliculus: Evidence from 2-Deoxyglucose.- Functional Organization of the Ventral and Medial Divisions of the Medial Geniculate Body (MGB) of the Cat.- Topography of the, Thalamotelencephalic Projections in the Auditory System of a Songbird (Sturnus Vulgaris).- Study with Horseradish Peroxidase (HRP) of the Connections between the Cochlear Nuclei and the Inferior Colliculus of the Rat.- Physiological Properties of Units in the Cochlear Nucleus Are Adequate for a Model of Periodicity Analysis in the Auditory Midbrain.- Monaural Phase Sensitivity in Neurons from the Cat’s Auditory System.- Cochlear Potentials and Responses from Structures of Auditory Pathway Influenced by High-Intensive Noise.- Auditory Cortex.- Auditory Cortex: Multiple Fields, Their Architectonics and Connections in the Mongolian Gerbil.- Golgi Studies on the Human Auditory Cortex.- Structure of the GABA-Ergic Inhibitory System in the Chicken Auditory Pathway Revealed by Immunocytochemistry.- Function of the GABA-Ergic Inhibitory System in the Chicken Auditory Forebrain.- Resolution of Components of Harmonic Complex Tones by Single Neurons in the Alert Auditory Cortex.- Efferent Auditory System.- Physiology of the Olivocochlear Efferents.- Physiology of Cochlear Efferents in the Mammal.- Descending Central Auditory Pathway—Structure and Function.- Localization of Cortical Neurons Projecting to the Inferior Colliculus in the Rat and Guinea Pig.- Efferent Descending Projections from the Inferior Colliculus in Guinea Pig.- Some Speculations on the Function of the Descending Auditory Pathways.- Processing of Complex Acoustic Stimuli.- Human Auditory Physiology Studied with Positron Emission Tomography.- Medial Geniculate Body Unit Responses to Cat Cries.- Projections from Superior Temporal Gyrus: Convergent Connections between Structures Involved in both Audition and Phonation.- Neural Processing of AM-Sounds within Central Auditory Pathway.- Auditory Localization.- Properties of Central Auditory Neurones of Cats Responding to Free-Field Acoustic Stimuli.- Information Processing Concerning Moving Sound Sources in the Auditory Centers and Its Utilization by Brain Integrative and Motor Structures.- Participants.