Medial olivocochlear efferents actively modulate cochlear gain during binaural listening

Evidence

The central nervous system can control sound coding in the cochlea via medial olivocochlear (MOC) efferents (Guinan 2006 ). MOC efferents act upon outer hair cells, inhibiting the mechanical gain in the cochlea for lowand moderate-intensity sounds (Cooper and Guinan 2006 ) and may be activated involuntarily (i.e., in a reflexive manner) by ipsilateral and/or contralateral sounds (Guinan 2006 ). This suggests that auditory sensitivity and dynamic range could be dynamically and adaptively varying during natural, binaural listening depending on the state of activation of MOC efferents. — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 1941

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines the MOC (medial olivocochlear) efferent system and its reflexive inhibition of cochlear mechanical gain.
• corroborated: 3 independent passages support this claim — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 1941
• XREF: connects to: Brain efferents can dynamically adjust cochlear gain during listening; Masker duration gates whether the medial olivocochlear reflex contributes to measured gain; Signal durations under the efferent onset delay isolate the efferent effect on cochlear gain

Broader Connections

• Brain efferents can dynamically adjust cochlear gain during listening #corroborates (0.92)
• Signal durations under the efferent onset delay isolate the efferent effect on cochlear gain #qualifies (0.78)
• Masker duration gates whether the medial olivocochlear reflex contributes to measured gain #qualifies (0.75)