Effects of increased potassium in scala tympani on auditory nerve sensitivity.
Raising the K+ concentration in scala tympani of the guinea-pig cochlea generally caused a substantial increase in the spontaneous firing rate of single auditory nerve fibres. This effect was not accompanied by any observed reduction in the threshold sensitivity of these fibres. These findings cast doubt on current theories of cochlear transduction.
D000200:Action Potentials / Q000187:drug effects; D000818:Animals; D001309:Auditory Threshold / Q000187:drug effects; D003051:Cochlea / Q000187:drug effects*; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D006198:Hair Cells, Auditory / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D008564:Membrane Potentials / Q000187:drug effects; D011188:Potassium / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012533:Scala Tympani / Q000187:drug effects*; D000159:Vestibulocochlear Nerve / Q000502:physiology*
D011188:Potassium