Changes in the tonotopic map of the dorsal cochlear nucleus following induction of cochlear lesions by exposure to intense sound.

Hamsters were exposed to intense tones (10 kHz) at levels and durations sufficient to cause stereocilia lesions. The purpose was to determine how the tonotopic map of the dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN) readjusts to loss of receptor sensitivity. Neural population thresholds and tonotopic organization was mapped over the surface of the DCN in normal unexposed animals and those showing tone-induced lesions. The results indicate that cochlear lesions characterized mainly by loss of stereocilia in a restricted portion of the organ of Corti cause changes in a corresponding region of the tonotopic map which reflect primarily changes in the shape and thresholds of neural tuning curves. In many cases the center of the lesion was represented in the DCN as a distinct characteristic frequency (CF) gap in the tonotopic map in which responses were either extremely weak or absent. In almost all cases the map area representing the center of the lesion was bordered by an expanded region of near-constant CF, a feature superficially suggestive of map reorganization. These expanded map areas had abnormal tip thresholds and showed other features suggesting that their CFs had been shifted downward by distortion and deterioration of their original tips. Such changes in neural tuning are similar to those observed by others in the auditory nerve following acoustic trauma, and thus would seem to have a peripheral origin. Thus, it is not necessary to invoke plastic changes in the cochlear nucleus to explain the changes observed in the tonotopic map.