INTRACOCHLEAR, ELECTRICAL, MULTICHANNEL STIMULATION EFFECTS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF AUDITORY-SYSTEM IN NEONATALLY DEAFENED KITTENS

Objective: To investigate the effect of chronic electrical stimulation in acoustically deprivated animals during maturation. Materials and M ethods: Latencies of EABR measurements from acoustically deprivated an d acoustically deprivated, but electrically stimulated animals were co mpared with ABR from normal hearing cats. In addition, morphological a nalyses of the cochlear nuclei and the auditory cortex and their subdi visions were done. Results and Discussion: EABR latencies demonstrated that the most pheripheral auditory pathway is more independent from t he normal auditory or external electrical stimulation than the more ce ntral regions. Morphological analysis also demonstrated the reverse of the acoustically deprivation effect during maturation in the auditory cortex via intracochlear electrical stimulation.