Temporal non-linearities of the cochlear amplifier revealed by maximum length sequence stimulation

Thornton, A.R.D., Shin, K., Gottesman, E. and Hine, J. (2001) Temporal non-linearities of the cochlear amplifier revealed by maximum length sequence stimulation. Clinical Neurophysiology, 112 (5), 768-777. (doi:10.1016/S1388-2457(01)00484-9).

Abstract

Objectives: the objective of this study was to examine whether temporal non-linearities of the cochlear amplifier, as reflected by otoacoustic emissions (OAEs), exist and are distinct from any recording system non-linearities.
Methods: maximum length sequence stimulation, at various stimulus rates, was used to evoke OAEs from normally hearing subjects. Recordings from a 2cc cavity were also made. The data were analyzed to obtain the linear response and estimates of the slices of the 2nd and 3rd order Volterra kernels. This provided a measure of two and 3 click non-linear temporal interactions, respectively.
Results: the results showed that temporal non-linearities of OAEs do exist, are stable and repeatable within individuals and have properties that differ from those shown by the conventional linear response. Whilst some of the non-linear response properties conformed to the expected pattern, of increasing amplitude with increase in stimulus rate, there are some areas in which they show an unpredicted complexity.
Conclusions: whilst system non-linearities could be found, there was no difficulty in distinguishing between the physiological and system non-linear components. New areas of research and application may result from the use of these new OAE responses.

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