title: Realignment of interaural cortical maps in asymmetric hearing loss.
abstract: Misalignment of interaural cortical response maps in asymmetric hearing loss evolves from initial gross divergence to near convergence over a 6 month recovery period. The evolution of left primary auditory cortex (AI) interaural frequency map changes is chronicled in squirrel monkeys with asymmetric hearing loss induced by overstimulating the right ear with a 1 kHz tone at 136 dB for 3 h. AI frequency response areas (FRAs), derived from tone bursts presented to the poorer or better hearing ears, are compared at 6, 12, and 24 weeks after acoustic overstimulation. Characteristic frequency (CF) and minimum threshold parameters are extracted from FRAs, and they are used to quantify interaural response map differences. A large interaural CF map misalignment of DeltaCF approximately 1.27 octaves at 6 weeks after overstimulation decreases substantially to DeltaCF approximately 0.62 octave at 24 weeks. Interaural cortical threshold map misalignment faithfully reflects peripheral asymmetric hearing loss at 6 and 12 weeks. However, AI threshold map misalignment essentially disappears at 24 weeks, primarily because ipsilateral cortical thresholds have become unexpectedly elevated relative to peripheral thresholds. The findings document that plastic change in central processing of sound stimuli arriving from the nominally better hearing ear may account for progressive realignment of both interaural frequency and threshold maps.
authors.affiliation: Coleman Memorial Laboratory and Keck Center for Integrative Neuroscience, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94143-0342, USA. scheung@ohns.ucsf.edu
authors.forename: Steven W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Cheung
authors.forename: Ben H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Bonham
authors.forename: Christoph E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Schreiner
authors.forename: Benoit
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Godey
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Copenhaver
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D000818:Animals; D001303:Auditory Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001306:Auditory Pathways / Q000503:physiopathology; D001309:Auditory Threshold / Q000502:physiology; D001931:Brain Mapping; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004423:Ear / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016057:Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem / Q000502:physiology; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology*; D006317:Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced / Q000473:pathology*; D020127:Recovery of Function / Q000502:physiology; D012453:Saimiri; D013997:Time Factors