Discharge pattern in the auditory nerve evoked by vowel stimuli: a comparison between acoustical and electrical stimulation.

Single channel cochlear implants only transmit the time structure of the electrically coded input signal. All nerve fibres show similar thresholds for monopolar round window stimulation, i.e., activation does not depend on their site of origin. To investigate the fine structure of the firing pattern elicited by stimulation with an analogue coded speech processing system (VIENNA 1-channel implant), cats were electrically stimulated with German steady-state vowels at the round window. Single fibre activity was recorded from primary auditory fibres and period histograms were calculated. The electrically evoked impulse patterns were compared with those from acoustic stimulation with the same vowels. With acoustic stimulation, the response of a fibre depends on the individual characteristic frequency (CF) with regard to the fundamental F0 and the formants F1, F2 and F3 of the vowels, the spontaneous activity of the fibre and the sound level. The evoked firing pattern was used to calculate period histograms, the frequency content of which was analysed by Fourier transformation. With electrical stimulation in the threshold range, an action potential is strongly synchronized to a cathodic peak of the current within one period of F0. With increasing current level 3-5 impulses can be locked to the same period. The timing of the short intervals is determined by the relative refractory period and current peaks (negative or positive) caused by the dominant higher formant F2 or F3. The acoustically evoked patterns are specific for the CF of the neuron and represent the spectral information of the different vowels.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)