AUDITORY HABITUATION: A TEST OF A CENTRIFUGAL AND A PERIPHERAL THEORY.

Evoked potentials recorded at the cochlear nucleus of unanesthetized cats show that auditory habituation is a process with a rapid onset and a slower rate of dissipation, and that the habituation is a direct function of the rate of stimulation. Neither the middle ear muscles nor the reticular formation appear to participate in this process. It is suggested that auditory habituation might be a function of the interaction of the olivocochlear bundle and some intrinsic property of higher synaptic areas.