Hypothermia Differentially Affects Tuning Curves Generated by Forward and by Simultaneous Masking

Abstract

In the gerbil maintained at euthermic (37.5°C) conditions, forward masking produces a compound action potential tuning curve (CAP TO which is less sensitive but more sharply tuned than that which is generated by simultaneous masking. These differences between forward- and simultaneously-masked CAP TCs are minimized at hypothermic (30°C) conditions. the unmasking effect occurs at both temperatures, suggesting that hypothermia does not exert these changes by eliminating two-tone suppression.

Key Words:

• cochlea
• hypothermia
• two-tone suppression
• tuning curves
• masking
• adaptation