Electrical resistance of the cochlear partition

Effects of Furosemide and Ethacrynic Acid on the Endocochlear Direct Current Potential in Normal and Kanamycin Sulfate-Treated Guinea Pigs

The effects of loop diuretics on the endocochlear direct current (DC) potential and the effective electrical resistance of the cochlear partition were studied. The effective electrical resistance was increased, and the endocohlear DC potential was decreased. The decrease in the endocohlear DC potential must not be caused by breaks in the electrical insulation of the cochlear partition. With loop diuretics the endocochlear DC potential decreased less in guinea pigs treated with kanamycin sulfate than it did in the control group. Two interpretations of these phenomena are presented.

Effects of Furosemide and Ethacrynic Acid on The Endocochlear Direct Current Potential in Normal and Kanamycin Sulfate-Treated Guinea Pigs

The effects of loop diuretics on the endocochlear direct current (DC) potential and the effective electrical resistance of the cochlear partition were studied. The effective electrical resistance was increased, and the endocohlear DC potential was decreased. The decrease in the endocohlear DC potential must not be caused by breaks in the electrical insulation of the cochlear partition. With loop diuretics the endocochlear DC potential decreased less in guinea pigs treated with kanamycin sulfate than it did in the control group. Two interpretations of these phenomena are presented.

Electrical impedance measurements of cochlear structures using the four-electrode reflection-coefficient technique

In individuals with severe-to-profound hearing loss, cochlear implants (CIs) bypass normal inner ear function by applying electrical current directly into the cochlea, thereby stimulating surviving auditory nerve fibers. Although cochlear implants are able to restore some auditory sensation, they are far from providing normal hearing. It has been estimated that up to 75% of the current injected via a CI is shunted along scala tympani and is not available to stimulate auditory neurons. The path of the injected current and the consequent population of stimulated spiral ganglion cells are dependent upon the positions of the electrode contacts within the cochlea and the impedances of cochlear structures. However, characterization of the current path remains one of the most critical, yet least understood, aspects of cochlear implantation. In particular, the impedances of cochlear structures, including the modiolus, are either unknown or based upon estimates derived from circuit models. Impedance values for many cochlear structures have never been measured. By combining the hemicochlea preparation, a cochlea cut in half along its mid-modiolar plane, and the four-electrode reflection-coefficient technique, impedances can be measured for cochlear tissues in a cochlear cross section including the modiolus. Advantages and disadvantages of the method are discussed in detail and electrical impedance measurements obtained in the gerbil hemicochlea are presented. The resistivity values for the cochlear wall in Omegacm are, 528 (range: 432-708) for scala media 3rd turn, 502 (range: 421-616) for scala tympani 3rd turn and scala vestibuli 2nd turn, 627 (range: 531-759) for scala media 2nd turn, 434 (range: 353-555) for scala tympani 2nd turn and scala vestibuli basal turn, 434 (range: 373-514) for scala media basal turn, and 590 (range: 546-643) for scala tympani basal turn. The resistivity was 455Omegacm (range: 426-487) for the modiolus.

Tissue resistivities determine the current flow in the cochlea

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

In individuals with severe to profound hearing loss, cochlear implants bypass normal inner ear function by applying electrical current directly into the cochlea, thereby stimulating cochlear nerve fibers. Stimulating discrete populations of spiral ganglion cells in cochlear implant users' ears is similar to the encoding of small acoustic frequency bands in a normal-hearing person's ear. Thus, spiral ganglion cells stimulated by an electrode convey the information contained by a small acoustic frequency band. Problems that refer to the current spread and subsequent nonselective stimulation of spiral ganglion cells in the cochlea are reviewed.

RECENT FINDINGS

Cochlear anatomy and tissue properties determine the current path in the cochlea. Current spreads largely via scala tympani and across turns. While most of the current leaves the cochlea via the modiolus, the facial canal and the round window constitute additional natural escape paths for the current from the cochlea. Moreover, degenerative processes change tissue resistivities and thus may affect current spread in the cochlea.

SUMMARY

Electrode design and coding strategies may result in more spatial stimulation of spiral ganglion cells, resulting in a better performance of the electrode-tissue interface.

Electrical resistivity measurements in the mammalian cochlea after neural degeneration

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS

In the present series of experiments, the effect of neural degeneration on the cochlear structure electrical resistivities was evaluated to test if it alters the current flow in the cochlea and if increased current levels are needed to stimulate the impaired cochlea. In cochlear implants, frequency information is encoded in part by stimulating discrete populations of spiral ganglion cells along the cochlea. However, electrical properties of the cochlear structures result in shunting of the current away from the auditory neurons. This consumes energy, makes cochlear implants less efficient, and drastically reduces battery life. Models of the electrically stimulated cochlea serve to make predictions on current paths using modified and improved cochlear implant electrodes. However, one of the model's shortcomings is that most of the values for tissue impedances are not direct measurements. They are derived from bulk impedance measurements, which are fitted to lumped-element models.

STUDY DESIGN

The four-electrode reflection-coefficient technique was used to measure resistivities in the gerbil cochlea. In vivo and in vitro (the hemicochlea) models were used. Measurements were made in normal and in deafened animals. Cochlear damage was induced by neomycin injection into the animals' middle ears. Neural degeneration was allowed to occur over 2 months before performing the measurements in the deafened animals.

RESULTS

The resistivity values in deafened animals were smaller than in the normal-hearing animals, thus altering the current flow within the cochlea.

CONCLUSIONS

Resistivity changes and subsequent changes in current path should be considered in future designs of cochlear implants.

Purinergic modulation of cochlear partition resistance and its effect on the endocochlear potential in the Guinea pig

Introduction of adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) into the endolymphatic compartment of the guinea-pig cochlea decreases the endocochlear potential (EP). To determine if this is due to an ATP-induced change in compartment resistance, the cochlear partition resistance (CoPR) was measured using constant current injections into scala media before, during, and after microinjection of ATP into the same compartment. The CoPR (mean = 3.13 +/- 0.13 kOmega) decreased with ATP in a dose-dependent manner (25.1 +/- 3.0% decrease in relation to baseline values) and this was linearly correlated ( R(2) = 0.91) to the magnitude of the ATP-induced decline in EP (41.6 +/- 7.0% decline in relation to the baseline). Pyridoxalphosphate-6-azophenyl-2',4'-disulfonic acid (PPADS, a P2X receptor antagonist) injected prior to ATP application blocked this ATP-induced reduction in EP and CoPR. This indicates that ATP-gated ion channels (P2X receptors) provide a latent shunt capable of regulating the majority of the electrical potential across the luminal surface of the sensory hair cells, which is necessary for sound transduction. The results suggest a novel sound transduction regulatory mechanism, which, via extracellular ATP, has the capability of adjusting hearing sensitivity.

Purinergic regulation of sound transduction and auditory neurotransmission

In the cochlea, extracellular ATP influences the endocochlear potential, micromechanics, and neurotransmission via P2 receptors. Evidence for this arises from studies demonstrating widespread expression of ATP-gated ion channels (assembled from P2X receptor subunits) and G protein-coupled receptors (P2Y receptors). P2X2 receptor subunits are localized to the luminal membranes of epithelial cells and hair cells lining scala media. These ion channels provide a shunt pathway for K+ ion egress. Thus, when noise exposure elevates ATP levels in this cochlear compartment, the K+ conductance through P2X receptors reduces the endocochlear potential. ATP-mediated K+ efflux from scala media is complemented by a P2Y receptor G protein-coupled pathway that provides coincident reduction of K+ transport into scala media from the stria vascularis when autocrine or paracrine ATP signalling is invoked. This purinergic signalling likely provides a basis for a reactive homoeostatic regulatory mechanism limiting cochlear sensitivity under stressor conditions. Elevation of ATP in the perilymphatic compartment under such conditions is also likely to invoke purinergic receptor-mediated changes in supporting cell micromechanics, mediated by Ca2+ influx and gating of Ca2+ stores. Independent of these humoral actions, ATP can be classified as a putative auditory neurotransmitter based on the localization of P2X receptors at the spiral ganglion neuron-hair cell synapse, and functional verification of ATP-gated currents in spiral ganglion neurons in situ. Expression of P2X receptors by type II spiral ganglion neurons supports a role for ATP as a transmitter encoding the dynamic state of the cochlear amplifier.

Spatial resolution of cochlear implants: the electrical field and excitation of auditory afferents

This paper investigates the spatial resolution of electrical intracochlear stimulation in order to enable further refinement of cochlear implants. For this purpose electrical potential distributions around a conventional human intracochlear electrode (NUCLEUS-22) were measured in a tank, in cat cadaver cochleae and in living cat cochleae. Potential gradients were calculated where of importance. The values were compared to spatial tuning curves from cat primary auditory afferents in electrical mono-, bi-, and various tripolar stimulation modes. Finally, a lumped element model was developed to elucidate the single fiber data. Tank potential measurements show the principal features of the different stimulation modes but are not sufficient to explain all the features of experimental data from single fibers. Intracochlear potential measurements indicate an increase in spatial resolution in an apical direction. The single fiber data also confirm that a tripolar stimulus configuration provides significantly better spatial resolution than any other stimulation mode presently in use.

Quantitative in vivo measurements of inner ear tissue resistivities: I. In vitro characterization

An in vivo resistivity measurement system, based on the four-electrode reflection-coefficient technique that nondestructively measures the complex resistivity of cochlear tissues, is described. Details of the theory and instrumentation used for noninvasive measurement of resistivity are presented. In vitro experiments both characterize the accuracy of the proposed resistivity measurement system and establish general criteria for ensuring that a particular theoretical model accurately represents the experimentally measured geometry. Two idealized geometries (two-layer planar and two-layer spherical) are measured experimentally; error analyses using experimental results describe the maximum error with which the experimental system noninvasively estimates resistivity from experimental reflection coefficient measurements. The precise accuracy of a noninvasive resistivity estimate depends on both the variability for experimentally measuring the reflection coefficient of a particular geometry and the average value of the measured reflection coefficient. For example, two-point measurements of an in vitro two-layer planar interface allow noninvasive estimation of complex resistivity with total errors of less than 1%. In addition to characterizing accuracy of resistivity estimates for different in vitro geometries, two general criteria were established: 1) any inhomogeneity within 13.3 times the average interelectrode separation (i.e., within 1662.5 microns for an interelectrode separation of 125 microns) from the microelectrode array must be included in the geometry of the theoretical model and 2) all inhomogeneous boundaries with a radius of curvature greater than 100 times the average interelectrode separation (i.e., greater than 12.5 mm for an average electrode separation of 125 microns) are accurately represented by a planar geometric model.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Experimental study of the mechanism of the decrease in endocochlear d.c. potential after administration of nitrogen mustard-N-oxide

20 mg/kg of body weight of nitrogen mustard-N-oxide hydrochloride ( NMNO ) causes a transient decrease in the magnitude of the endocochlear d.c. potential (EP) in the same manner as does nitrogen mustard (NM). NMNO does not, however, change the electrical resistance of the cochlear partition. When the administered dose of NMNO is increased to 40, 60 and 80 mg/kg body weight, a corresponding diminution in the EP is not observed. No ultrastructural changes in the stria vascularis are observed, even in animals administered 80 mg/kg body weight. The reduction of the EP with NMNO could not be attributed to a loss of the electrical insulator effect of the cochlear partition, or to a functional derangement of the stria vascularis. In the experimental animals whose organ of Corti was already destroyed with kanamycin sulfate (KM), NMNO did not reduce the magnitude of the EP. The organ of Corti may be central in understanding the mechanism of NMNO -induced reduction of the EP.