Simulated auditory nerve axon demyelination alters sensitivity and response timing to extracellular stimulation.

ABSTRACT: Since cochlear implant function involves direct depolarization of spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs) by applied current, SGN physiological health must be an important factor in cochlear implant (CI) outcomes. This expected relationship has, however, been difficult to confirm in implant recipients. Suggestively, animal studies have demonstrated both acute and progressive SGN ultrastructural changes (notably axon demyelination), even in the absence of soma death, and corresponding altered physiology following sensorineural deafening. Whether such demyelination occurs in humans and how such changes might impact CI function remains unknown. To approach this problem, we incorporated SGN demyelination into a biophysical model of extracellular stimulation of SGN fibers. Our approach enabled explorati

SUBMITTER: Resnick JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5846345 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature