The medial olivocochlear reflex inhibits cochlear compression contralaterally in a graded, output-dependent manner

Evidence

In the MOC strategy, by contrast, c varied dynamically in time within the range [c max , c min ], where c max and c min produce the most and least amount of compression, respectively. For the natural MOCR, the more intense the contralateral stimulus, the greater the amount of efferent inhibition and the more linear the cochlear mechanical response (Hood et al. 1996 ). On the other hand, it seems reasonable that the amount of MOCR inhibition depends on the magnitude of the output from the cochlea rather than on the level of the acoustic stimulus. Inspired by this, we assumed that the instantaneous value of c for any given frequency channel in an MOC processor was inversely related to the output energy, E , from the corresponding channel in the contralateral MOC processor. In other words, the greater the output energy from a given frequency channel in the left-ear processor, the less the compression in the corresponding frequency channel of the right-ear processor, and vice versa (contralateral ‘on-frequency’ inhibition). — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 1954 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: An acoustic reflex desensitizes the ear to protect cochlear hair cells; Contralateral medial olivocochlear reflexes act as a cocktail-party processor using head-shadow cues; Prior suppression studies may be confounded because long stimuli trigger the medial olivocochlear reflex (+3 more)

Related

• Stronger contralateral sound causes greater efferent inhibition and more linear cochlear response (similarity 0.93)
• The contralateral efferent reflex inhibits cochlear compression at matched frequencies (similarity 0.91)
• Contralateral efferent inhibition amplifies interaural level differences (similarity 0.88)
• Contralateral dominance weakens at cortical stages due to commissural connections (similarity 0.87)
• Prior suppression studies may be confounded because long stimuli trigger the medial olivocochlear reflex (similarity 0.86)
• An acoustic reflex desensitizes the ear to protect cochlear hair cells (similarity 0.85)
• Medial olivocochlear reflex inhibition varies by cochlear location (similarity 0.85)
• Medial olivocochlear efferents actively modulate cochlear gain during binaural listening (similarity 0.85)
• The contralateral efferent reflex strengthens gradually over tens of milliseconds (similarity 0.85)
• The MOCR reduces channel compression when the opposite ear’s output rises (similarity 0.84)
• Medial olivocochlear inhibition is stronger apically and shifted half an octave (similarity 0.84)
• Contralateral efferent inhibition of compression amplifies inter-aural level differences (similarity 0.83)
• Contralateral efferent inhibition is nonlinear and output-dependent, amplifying asymmetries (similarity 0.83)
• MOC efferents reflexively modulate cochlear gain via outer hair cells (similarity 0.82)
• Contralateral efferent inhibition is proportional to output energy, magnifying inter-aural differences. (similarity 0.82)

Broader Connections

• Stronger contralateral sound causes greater efferent inhibition and more linear cochlear response #expands (0.90) — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 1954
• Contralateral efferent inhibition of compression amplifies inter-aural level differences #expands (0.85)
• Contralateral medial olivocochlear reflexes act as a cocktail-party processor using head-shadow cues #expands (0.80)
• Prior suppression studies may be confounded because long stimuli trigger the medial olivocochlear reflex #responds-to (0.80)
• The efferent olivocochlear reflex takes 25-40 ms to begin acting #expands (0.75)