Auditory neuropathy.
Neural disorders of the auditory nerve are associated with particular disorders of auditory perceptions dependent on processing of acoustic temporal cues. These include: (1) speech perception; (2) localizing a sound's origin in space; and (3) identifying sounds in background noise. Auditory neuropathy (AN) is a consequence of: (1) presynaptic disorders affecting inner hair cell ribbon synapses; (2) postsynaptic disorders of auditory nerve dendrites; and (3) postsynaptic disorders of auditory nerve axons. The etiologies of these disorders are diverse, similar to other cranial or peripheral neuropathies. The pathologies cause attenuated and dyssynchronous auditory nerve discharges. Therapies and management of patients with AN are reviewed.
Departments of Neurology and Neurobiology, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA. Electronic address: astarr@uci.edu.
Arnold
A
Starr
School of Audiology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
Gary
G
Rance
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D001307:Auditory Perception; D006313:Hearing Loss, Central / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans
auditory neuropathy; axonal; dendritic; inner air cells disorder; postsynaptic; presynaptic