The effects of moderate cooling on gross cochlear potentials in the gerbil: basal and apical differences.

Changes in the threshold of the compound action potential (CAP) response in the gerbil to low- and high-frequency tonebursts were monitored during uniform cooling of the cochlea by 7-8 degrees C below normal body temperature. Recordings of the endocochlear potential (EP), cochlear microphonic (CM), and summating potentials (SP) were also obtained from the base and apex of the cochlea under the same conditions. Cooling-related changes in the CAP, as well as the CM and SP response obtained near the best frequency of the recording location, were greater in the base than in the apex. In contrast, reductions in the EP appeared uniform throughout the cochlea. Thus the greater vulnerability of CAP thresholds in the base does not result from a greater vulnerability of the stria vascularis in this region. Our results suggest that the enhanced susceptibility to cooling of the CAP in the cochlear base reflects changes in hair cell mechanisms.