Generator study of brainstem auditory evoked potentials by a radiofrequency lesion method in rats.
The generators of brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEPs) in rats were investigated experimentally. Discrete lesions of the brainstem auditory pathway were made unilaterally using a stereotaxic radiofrequency coagulation method, and the BAEPs were recorded before and after the lesions to observe the alterations. The waves of the BAEPs were affected by the lesions as follows: (1) all of the BAEP waves were attenuated or eliminated by a lesion of the auditory nerve; (2) wave II was abolished or attenuated in amplitude following a lesion of the cochlear nucleus; (3) marked reduction or abolition of wave III occurred with some effect on waves IV and V following lesions of the superior olivary complex; (4) the following trough in the wave III was significantly attenuated by lesions of the lateral lemniscus that were associated with inconsistent changes in waves IV and V; (5) no waves were affected significantly by a lesion of the inferior colliculus. The method of radiofrequency lesion using stereotaxic localization proved to be a simpler and more rapid procedure for determining the generators of BAEPs in animals than other surgical lesion methods.
Department of Neurology and Physiology, Graduate Institute of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical College, Taiwan, Republic of China.
T J
TJ
Chen
S S
SS
Chen
D000818:Animals; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000502:physiology*; D004564:Electrocoagulation; D005072:Evoked Potentials, Auditory; D007245:Inferior Colliculi / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D009847:Olivary Nucleus / Q000502:physiology; D011846:Radio Waves; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains