Descending Projections from the Inferior Colliculus to the Cochlear Nuclei in Mammals

摘要: Along phylogenetic evolution, animals have developed efferent neural pathways able to modulate their sensory systems, presumably enhance or attenuate stimuli with relative biological significance. In the case of mammalian hearing, acoustic information can be modulated at two levels, periphery and central nervous system. The peripheral control is carried out by movement pinnae, muscles middle ear, neurons olivocochlear systems that innervate organ Corti. descending auditory parallel ascending pathways. general, received little attention compared Although for many years were considered far more simple than pathways, recent studies are beginning unravel complexity functions, unexpected intricacy topographic organization (reviewed Huffman Henson,’90; Spangler Warr,’ 91; 92).