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Science 30 April 1965:
Vol. 148. no. 3670, pp. 654 - 656
DOI: 10.1126/science.148.3670.654
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Articles

Auditory Habituation: A Test of a Centrifugal and a Peripheral Theory

W. R. Webster 1, C. W. Dunlop 2, L. A. Simons 2, and L. M. Aitkin 2

1 Department of Psychology
2 Department of Physiology, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

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.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Response Decrements in the Cochlear Nucleus of Decerebrate Cats during Repeated Acoustic Stimulation.
G. L. Humphrey and J. S. Buchwald (1972)
Science 175, 1488-1491
   Abstract »    PDF »
Auditory Habituation and Barbiturate-Induced Neural Activity.
W. R. Webster (1969)
Science 164, 970-971
   Abstract »    PDF »


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