scholarly journals Heightened visual attention does not affect inner ear function as measured by otoacoustic emissions

PeerJ ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. e4199 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Wiktor Jedrzejczak ◽  
Rafal Milner ◽  
Lukasz Olszewski ◽  
Henryk Skarzynski
Keyword(s):  
Visual Attention ◽  
Inner Ear ◽  
Otoacoustic Emissions ◽  
Visual Stimuli ◽  
Acoustic Stimulation ◽  
Broadband Noise ◽  
Contralateral Acoustic Stimulation ◽  
Active Condition ◽  
Medial Olivocochlear ◽  
Stimulation Of

Previous research has indicated that inner ear function might be modulated by visual attention, although the results have not been totally conclusive. Conceivably, modulation of hearing might occur due to stimulation of the cochlea via descending medial olivocochlear (MOC) neurons. The aim of the present study was to test whether increased visual attention caused corresponding changes in inner ear function, which was measured by the strength of otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) recorded from the ear canal in response to a steady train of clicks. To manipulate attention, we asked subjects to attend to, or ignore, visual stimuli delivered according to an odd-ball paradigm. The subjects were presented with two types of visual stimuli: standard and deviant (20% of all stimuli, randomly presented). During a passive part of the experiment, subjects had to just observe a pattern of squares on a computer screen. In an active condition, the subject’s task was to silently count the occasional inverted (deviant) pattern on the screen. At all times, visual evoked potentials (VEPs) were used to objectively gauge the subject’s state of attention, and OAEs in response to clicks (transiently evoked OAEs, TEOAEs) were used to gauge inner ear function. As a test of descending neural activity, TEOAE levels were evaluated with and without contralateral acoustic stimulation (CAS) by broadband noise, a paradigm known to activate the MOC pathway. Our results showed that the recorded VEPs were, as expected, a good measure of visual attention, but even when attention levels changed there was no corresponding change in TEOAE levels. We conclude that visual attention does not significantly affect inner ear function.

The Role of the Medial Olivocochlear Reflex in Psychophysical Masking and Intensity Resolution in Humans: A Review

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Skyler G. Jennings
Keyword(s):  
Otoacoustic Emissions ◽  
Acoustic Stimulation ◽  
Forward Masking ◽  
Frequency Resolution ◽  
Vestibular Neurectomy ◽  
Contralateral Acoustic Stimulation ◽  
Cochlear Gain ◽  
Medial Olivocochlear ◽  
Intensity Resolution

This review addresses the putative role of the medial olivocochlear (MOC) reflex on psychophysical masking and intensity resolution in humans. A framework for interpreting psychophysical results in terms of the expected influenced of the MOC reflex is introduced. This framework is used to review the effects of a precursor or contralateral acoustic stimulation on 1) simultaneous masking of brief tones, 2) behavioral estimates of cochlear gain and frequency resolution in forward masking, 3) the build-up and decay of forward masking, and 4) measures of intensity resolution. Support, or lack thereof, for a role of the MOC reflex in psychophysical perception is discussed in terms of studies on estimates of MOC strength from otoacoustic emissions and the effects of resection of the olivocochlear bundle in patients with vestibular neurectomy. Novel, innovative approaches are needed to resolve the dissatisfying conclusion that current results are unable to definitively confirm or refute the role of the MOC reflex in masking and intensity resolution.

scholarly journals Changes in Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emission Caused by Contralateral Broadband Noise

2015 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward Ozimek ◽  
Andrzej Wicher
Keyword(s):  
Otoacoustic Emission ◽  
Acoustic Stimulation ◽  
Wide Frequency Range ◽  
Broadband Noise ◽  
Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emission ◽  
Frequency Range ◽  
Distortion Product ◽  
Stimulation Level ◽  
Contralateral Acoustic Stimulation ◽  
The Mean

Abstract The main purpose of this investigation was to measure the effect of contralateral acoustic stimulation (CAS) on distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) in twenty human ears, for a ratio of primary tones f2/f1 = 1.22 and a wide frequency range of f2 (1.4-9 kHz), for two intensity levels of primary tones (L1 = 60 dB SPL; L2 = 50 dB SPL and L1 = 70 dB SPL; L2 = 60 dB SPL) and two intensity levels of CAS (50 and 60 dB SPL). It was found that in the presence of CAS, in the majority of cases the DPOAE level decreased (suppression), but it might also increase (enhancement) or remain unchanged depending on the frequency. The mean suppression level of the component of the frequency fDP = 2f1 f2 might be approximated by a linearly decreasing function of the f2 frequency of primary tones. The slope of this function was negative and increased with an increase of the contralateral stimulation level. The higher was the contralateral noise level the greater was the suppression. For the fDP level below about 15 dB SPL, suppression was observed in a substantial number of measurement cases (in about 85% of all measured cases on average). When the fDP level was higher than 15 dB SPL, only suppression (not enhancement) was observed.

Frequency and temporal analysis of contralateral acoustic stimulation on evoked otoacoustic emissions in humans

2000 ◽  
Vol 145 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 52-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
N Morand ◽  
S Khalfa ◽  
P Ravazzani ◽  
G Tognola ◽  
F Grandori ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Otoacoustic Emissions ◽  
Temporal Analysis ◽  
Acoustic Stimulation ◽  
Contralateral Acoustic Stimulation

scholarly journals A Time-Course-Based Estimation of the Human Medial Olivocochlear Reflex Function Using Clicks

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sriram Boothalingam ◽  
Shawn S. Goodman ◽  
Hilary MacCrae ◽  
Sumitrajit Dhar
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Processing ◽  
Otoacoustic Emissions ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Broadband Noise ◽  
Activity Data ◽  
Medial Olivocochlear Reflex ◽  
Clinical Method ◽  
Click Train ◽  
Auditory Efferent System ◽  
Medial Olivocochlear

The auditory efferent system, especially the medial olivocochlear reflex (MOCR), is implicated in both typical auditory processing and in auditory disorders in animal models. Despite the significant strides in both basic and translational research on the MOCR, its clinical applicability remains under-utilized in humans due to the lack of a recommended clinical method. Conventional tests employ broadband noise in one ear while monitoring change in otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) in the other ear to index efferent activity. These methods, (1) can only assay the contralateral MOCR pathway and (2) are unable to extract the kinetics of the reflexes. We have developed a method that re-purposes the same OAE-evoking click-train to also concurrently elicit bilateral MOCR activity. Data from click-train presentations at 80 dB peSPL at 62.5 Hz in 13 young normal-hearing adults demonstrate the feasibility of our method. Mean MOCR magnitude (1.7 dB) and activation time-constant (0.2 s) are consistent with prior MOCR reports. The data also suggest several advantages of this method including, (1) the ability to monitor MEMR, (2) obtain both magnitude and kinetics (time constants) of the MOCR, (3) visual and statistical confirmation of MOCR activation.

scholarly journals Correlation and Reliability of Behavioral and Otoacoustic-Emission Estimates of Contralateral Medial Olivocochlear Reflex Strength in Humans

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miriam I. Marrufo-Pérez ◽  
Peter T. Johannesen ◽  
Enrique A. Lopez-Poveda
Keyword(s):  
Otoacoustic Emission ◽  
Acoustic Stimulation ◽  
Broadband Noise ◽  
Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emission ◽  
Detection Thresholds ◽  
Medial Olivocochlear Reflex ◽  
Distortion Product ◽  
Healthy Humans ◽  
Medial Olivocochlear ◽  
Tone Detection

The roles of the medial olivocochlear reflex (MOCR) in human hearing have been widely investigated but remain controversial. We reason that this may be because the effects of MOCR activation on cochlear mechanical responses can be assessed only indirectly in healthy humans, and the different methods used to assess those effects possibly yield different and/or unreliable estimates. One aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between three methods often employed to assess the strength of MOCR activation by contralateral acoustic stimulation (CAS). We measured tone detection thresholds (N = 28), click-evoked otoacoustic emission (CEOAE) input/output (I/O) curves (N = 18), and distortion-product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) I/O curves (N = 18) for various test frequencies in the presence and the absence of CAS (broadband noise of 60 dB SPL). As expected, CAS worsened tone detection thresholds, suppressed CEOAEs and DPOAEs, and horizontally shifted CEOAE and DPOAE I/O curves to higher levels. However, the CAS effect on tone detection thresholds was not correlated with the horizontal shift of CEOAE or DPOAE I/O curves, and the CAS-induced CEOAE suppression was not correlated with DPOAE suppression. Only the horizontal shifts of CEOAE and DPOAE I/O functions were correlated with each other at 1.5, 2, and 3 kHz. A second aim was to investigate which of the methods is more reliable. The test–retest variability of the CAS effect was high overall but smallest for tone detection thresholds and CEOAEs, suggesting that their use should be prioritized over the use of DPOAEs. Many factors not related with the MOCR, including the limited parametric space studied, the low resolution of the I/O curves, and the reduced numbers of observations due to data exclusion likely contributed to the weak correlations and the large test–retest variability noted. These findings can help us understand the inconsistencies among past studies and improve our understanding of the functional significance of the MOCR.

scholarly journals No Change in Medial Olivocochlear Efferent Activity during an Auditory or Visual Task: Dual Evidence from Otoacoustic Emissions and Event-Related Potentials

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 894
Author(s):  
W. Wiktor Jedrzejczak ◽  
Rafal Milner ◽  
Malgorzata Ganc ◽  
Edyta Pilka ◽  
Henryk Skarzynski
Keyword(s):  
Otoacoustic Emissions ◽  
Matching Pursuit ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Resonant Mode ◽  
Acoustic Stimulation ◽  
Hearing Function ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
Medial Olivocochlear ◽  
Auditory Tasks ◽  
Cas A

The medial olivocochlear (MOC) system is thought to be responsible for modulation of peripheral hearing through descending (efferent) pathways. This study investigated the connection between peripheral hearing function and conscious attention during two different modality tasks, auditory and visual. Peripheral hearing function was evaluated by analyzing the amount of suppression of otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) by contralateral acoustic stimulation (CAS), a well-known effect of the MOC. Simultaneously, attention was evaluated by event-related potentials (ERPs). Although the ERPs showed clear differences in processing of auditory and visual tasks, there were no differences in the levels of OAE suppression. We also analyzed OAEs for the highest magnitude resonant mode signal detected by the matching pursuit method, but again did not find a significant effect of task, and no difference in noise level or number of rejected trials. However, for auditory tasks, the amplitude of the P3 cognitive wave negatively correlated with the level of OAE suppression. We conclude that there seems to be no change in MOC function when performing different modality tasks, although the cortex still remains able to modulate some aspects of MOC activity.

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