The Efferent System or Olivocochlear Function Bundle – Fine Regulator and Protector of Hearing Perception

The efferent system of the ear possesses several distinct functions, in particular noise protection, mediation of selective attention and improvement of signal to noise ratio. It also supports adaptation and frequency selectivity by modification of the micromechanical properties of outer hair cells. There are many differences in anatomy and physiology between the medial and lateral olivocochlear system suggesting that they are functionally separate systems. The efferent system is affected by inner ear stressors, e.g. noise, ototoxic drugs, and might play a key role in tinnitus generation and maintenance. The anatomy, physiology and its realtionships to inner ear pathologies are discussed in this review article.

• Publication year

  2010

• Venue

  International Journal of Biomedical Science

• Publication date

  2010-12-01

• Fields of study

  Medicine

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.59566/ijbs.2010.6276PMID 23675203PMCID 3615293
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Speech restoration: an interactive process.

  2009cited by this paper
• Slow build-up of cochlear suppression during sustained contralateral noise: central modulation of olivocochlear efferents?

  2009cited by this paper
• Evaluation of the frequency selectivity of contralateral acoustic stimulation on the active mechanisms of the organ of corti by analyzing the changes in the amplitude of transitory evoked otoacoustic emissions and distortion products.

  2008influential reference
• Efferent neurotransmitters in the human cochlea and vestibule

  2007cited by this paper
• Selective removal of lateral olivocochlear efferents increases vulnerability to acute acoustic injury.

  2007cited by this paper
• Hyperacusis in Williams syndrome

  2006cited by this paper
• Contextual modulation of olivocochlear pathway effects on loud sound-induced cochlear hearing desensitization.

  2005cited by this paper
• D2 autoreceptor inhibition reveals oxygen-glucose deprivation-induced release of dopamine in guinea-pig cochlea.

  2005cited by this paper
• Functioning of Olivocochlear Bundle and Speech Perception in Noise

  2004influential reference
• Synaptic arrangements between inner hair cells and tunnel fibers in the mouse cochlea

  2004cited by this paper
• Dopaminergic olivocochlear neurons originate in the high frequency region of the lateral superior olive of guinea pigs.

  2004cited by this paper
• A subpopulation of outer hair cells possessing GABA receptors with tonotopic organization

  2004cited by this paper
• Regulation of the lateral wall stiffness by acetylcholine and GABA in the outer hair cells of the guinea pig

  2004cited by this paper
• The distribution and the modulation of tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity in the lateral olivocochlear system of the guinea-pig.

  2004cited by this paper
• Loss of Peripheral Right-Ear Advantage in Age-Related Hearing Loss

  2004cited by this paper
• Reduced Medial Olivocochlear Bundle System Function in Children with Auditory Processing Disorders

  2004cited by this paper
• Synaptic connections and putative functions of the dopaminergic innervation of the guinea pig cochlea

  2004cited by this paper
• Connections between the facial, vestibular and cochlear nerve bundles within the internal auditory canal

  2004cited by this paper
• Behavioral studies of the olivocochlear efferent system: learning to listen in noise.

  2004cited by this paper
• Structure, pharmacology and function of GABAA receptors in cochlear outer hair cells

  2004cited by this paper
• Prestin and the Dynamic Stiffness of Cochlear Outer Hair Cells

  2003cited by this paper
• Pathways for protection from noise induced hearing loss.

  2003cited by this paper
• Responses of medial olivocochlear neurons. Specifying the central pathways of the medial olivocochlear reflex.

  2003cited by this paper
• Contralateral suppression of distortion‐product otoacoustic emissions declines with age: A comparison of findings in CBA mice with human listeners

  2003cited by this paper
• Olivocochlear efferent suppression in classical musicians.

  2003cited by this paper
• Protection from Acoustic Trauma Is Not a Primary Function of the Medial Olivocochlear Efferent System

  2003cited by this paper
• Biochemical evidence for the presence of serotonin transporters in the rat cochlea.

  2003cited by this paper
• The Lateral Superior Olive: A Functional Role in Sound Source Localization

  2003cited by this paper
• Autism and Auditory Brain Stem Responses

  2003cited by this paper
• Structure and innervation of the cochlea.

  2003cited by this paper
• Disruption of Lateral Efferent Pathways: Functional Changes in Auditory Evoked Responses

  2003cited by this paper
• Contralateral suppression of otoacoustic emissions in neonates.

  2002cited by this paper
• The α9/α10-Containing Nicotinic ACh Receptor Is Directly Modulated by Opioid Peptides, Endomorphin-1, and Dynorphin B, Proposed Efferent Cotransmitters in the Inner Ear

  2002cited by this paper
• CGRP- and cholinergic-containing fibers project to guinea pig outer hair cells.

  2002cited by this paper
• The Synaptic Physiology of Cochlear Hair Cells

  2002cited by this paper
• Variation in Inter-Animal Susceptibility to Noise Damage Is Associated with α9 Acetylcholine Receptor Subunit Expression Level

  2002cited by this paper
• Efferent Protection from Acoustic Injury Is Mediated via α9 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors on Outer Hair Cells

  2002cited by this paper
• Neurotransmission of the cochlear inner hair cell synapse--implications for inner ear therapy.

  2002cited by this paper
• The effect of vestibular nerve section upon tinnitus.

  2002cited by this paper
• Response adaptation of medial olivocochlear neurons is minimal.

  2001cited by this paper
• Objective evidence for tinnitus from spontaneous emission variability.

  2001cited by this paper
• Detection of Nitric Oxide in the Guinea Pig Inner Ear, Using a Combination of Aldehyde Fixative and 4,5-Diaminofluorescein Diacetate

  2001cited by this paper
• A biochemical model of peripheral tinnitus.

  2001cited by this paper
• Dopamine inhibition of auditory nerve activity in the adult mammalian cochlea

  2001cited by this paper
• A new aspect of aminoglycoside ototoxicity: impairment of cochlear dopamine release

  2001cited by this paper
• [Spontaneous otoacoustic emissions and efferent control of cochlea].

  2001cited by this paper
• The role of cholinergic transmission in outer hair cell functioning evaluated by distortion product otoacoustic emissions in myasthenic patients.

  2001cited by this paper
• Hyperacusis in Williams syndrome.

  2001cited by this paper
• Organization of the human superior olivary complex

  2000cited by this paper
• High calcium permeability and calcium block of the α9 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor

  2000cited by this paper
• Mixed nicotinic-muscarinic properties of the alpha9 nicotinic cholinergic receptor.

  2000cited by this paper
• High calcium permeability and calcium block of the alpha9 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor.

  2000cited by this paper
• Activation of metabotropic GABAB receptors inhibited glutamate responses in spiral ganglion neurons of mice

  2000cited by this paper
• Serotonergic Innervation of the Organ of Corti

  2000cited by this paper
• Predicting Vulnerability to Acoustic Injury with a Noninvasive Assay of Olivocochlear Reflex Strength

  2000cited by this paper
• Cholinergic control of membrane conductance and intracellular free Ca2+ in outer hair cells of the guinea pig cochlea.

  2000cited by this paper
• Transtympanic pilocarpine in tinnitus.

  2000cited by this paper
• Gentamicin blocks ACh‐evoked K+ current in guinea‐pig outer hair cells by impairing Ca2+ entry at the cholinergic receptor

  2000cited by this paper
• Paradoxical effects of contralateral white noise on evoked otoacoustic emissions in ears with acoustic neuroma.

  2000cited by this paper
• Mixed nicotinic–muscarinic properties of the α9 nicotinic cholinergic receptor

  2000cited by this paper
• Spontaneous otoacoustic emissions in neonates and effect of contralateral white noise stimulation.

  2000cited by this paper
• Medial olivocochlear efferent terminals are protected by sound conditioning.

  1999cited by this paper
• Two types of voltage-dependent potassium channels in outer hair cells from the guinea pig cochlea.

  1999cited by this paper
• Apamin-sensitive, small-conductance, calcium-activated potassium channels mediate cholinergic inhibition of chick auditory hair cells

  1999cited by this paper
• Firing properties of chopper and delay neurons in the lateral superior olive of the rat

  1999cited by this paper
• Clinical relevance of medial efferent auditory pathways.

  1999cited by this paper
• Auditory nerve fiber responses following chronic cochlear de‐efferentation

  1999cited by this paper
• Aminoglycoside ototoxicity and the medial efferent system: II. Comparison of acute effects of different antibiotics.

  1998cited by this paper
• Aminoglycoside ototoxicity and the medial efferent system: I. Comparison of acute and chronic gentamicin treatments.

  1998cited by this paper
• GABA(A) receptor modulates the activity of inner hair cell afferents in guinea pig cochlea.

  1998cited by this paper
• Additional pharmacological evidence that endogenous ATP modulates cochlear mechanics.

  1998cited by this paper
• Localization of nitric oxide synthase and NADPH-diaphorase in guinea pig and human cochleae.

  1997cited by this paper
• Effects of potassium channel blockers on the acetylcholine-induced currents in dissociated outer hair cells of guinea pig cochlea.

  1997cited by this paper
• Medial olivocochlear system stabilizes active cochlear micromechanical properties in humans.

  1997influential reference
• Expression of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunit, alpha9, in the guinea pig cochlea.

  1997cited by this paper
• Outwardly rectifying currents in guinea pig outer hair cells.

  1997cited by this paper
• Conditioning-related protection from acoustic injury: effects of chronic deefferentation and sham surgery.

  1997cited by this paper
• Expression of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunit, α9, in the guinea pig cochlea

  1997cited by this paper
• Efferent innervation of the inner hair cell region: origins and terminations of two lateral olivocochlear systems.

  1997cited by this paper
• The role of the cochlear efferent system in acquired resistance to noise-induced hearing loss.

  1997cited by this paper
• Medial olivocochlear efferent system in humans studied with amplitude-modulated tones.

  1997cited by this paper
• Frequency-dependent enhancement of basilar membrane velocity during olivocochlear bundle stimulation.

  1997cited by this paper
• Fast, slow, and steady-state effects of contralateral acoustic activation of the medial olivocochlear efferent system in awake guinea pigs: action of gentamicin.

  1997cited by this paper
• Unique Postsynaptic Signaling at the Hair Cell Efferent Synapse Permits Calcium to Evoke Changes on Two Time Scales

  1997cited by this paper
• Lateral and medial olivocochlear neurons have distinct electrophysiological properties in the rat brain slice.

  1997cited by this paper
• Auditory efferents involved in speech‐in‐noise intelligibility

  1997cited by this paper
• Dopamine regulates the glutamatergic inner hair cell activity in guinea pigs.

  1997cited by this paper
• Relationship between auditory intensity discrimination in noise and olivocochlear efferent system activity in humans.

  1997cited by this paper
• Pattern of synaptophysin immunoreactivity in the efferent nerve terminals of the guinea pig cochlea.

  1997cited by this paper
• Serotonergic innervation of the organ of corti of the cat cochlea

  1997cited by this paper
• The effect of efferent stimulation on basilar membrane displacement in the basal turn of the guinea pig cochlea

  1996cited by this paper
• Embryological origin for autism: Developmental anomalies of the cranial nerve motor nuclei

  1996cited by this paper
• The GABA/GAD innervation within the inner spiral bundle in the mouse cochlea.

  1996cited by this paper
• The hair cell acetylcholine receptors: a synthesis.

  1996cited by this paper
• The influence of the efferent auditory system on otoacoustic emissions in noise induced tinnitus: clinical relevance.

  1996influential reference
• Functional asymmetry of medial olivocochlear system in humans. Towards a peripheral auditory lateralization

  1996cited by this paper
• Effects of a dopaminergic agonist in the guinea pig cochlea.

  1995cited by this paper
• Frequency and loss dependence of the protective effects of the olivocochlear pathways in cats.

  1995cited by this paper
• Parallel Ascending Pathways from the Cochlear Nucleus: Neuroanatomical Evidence of Functional Specialization

  1995cited by this paper
• A novel cholinergic "slow effect" of efferent stimulation on cochlear potentials in the guinea pig

  1995cited by this paper

• Noise-Induced Hearing Loss Enhances Ca2+-Dependent Electrical Activity in Lateral Cochlear Efferents

  2025cites this paper
• ATP-gated P2x7 receptors express at type II auditory nerves and required for efferent hearing control and noise protection

  2025cites this paper
• Appraising the Sonic Environment: A Conceptual Framework for Perceptual, Computational, and Cognitive Requirements

  2025cites this paper
• Standardization of transient evoked otoacoustic emission (TEOAE) contralateral suppression test results in children aged 6–12 years

  2025influential citation
• Assessment of the medial olivocochlear reflex in normal-hearing right-handed subjects using auditory brainstem response: a pilot study

  2025cites this paper
• CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY OF EXTENDED HIGH-FREQUENCY THRESHOLDS, AUDITORY FIGURE-GROUND DISCRIMINATION, AND WORKING MEMORY IN FEMALES WITH POLYCYSTIC OVARY SYNDROME (PCOS)

  2025cites this paper
• Noise-induced hearing loss enhances Ca2+-dependent spontaneous bursting activity in lateral cochlear efferents

  2025cites this paper
• Receptor Structure–Function Coupling Orchestrates the Perception of Food-Derived Sensory Cues: A Molecular Bridge for Food Sensory Perception

  2025cites this paper
• Cholinergic modulation in the vertebrate auditory pathway

  2024cites this paper
• Development of a Temporary Threshold Shift Model of Chronic Noise-Induced Tinnitus with Evidence of Altered Auditory Signaling Pathway Inhibition

  2024cites this paper
• Auditory evoked brainstem responses and medial olivocochlear efferent system in migraine patients with phonophobia

  2024cites this paper
• Conserved features of eye movement related eardrum oscillations (EMREOs) across humans and monkeys

  2023cites this paper
• Conserved features of eye movement related eardrum oscillations (EMREOs) across humans and monkeys

  2023cites this paper
• The Effect of COVID-19 on the Efferent Auditory System in Adults

  2023cites this paper
• Inhibitory effect of contralateral noise on transient otoacoustic emissions in infants with congenital syphilis.

  2023cites this paper
• Electrical signaling in cochlear efferents is driven by an intrinsic neuronal oscillator

  2022cites this paper
• Effect of Contralateral Acoustic Stimulation on Temporal Processing Abilities in Individuals with Normal Hearing

  2022cites this paper
• Standardization of the TEOAE Contralateral Suppression Test in Terms of Stimulus Intensity and Contralateral Noise Duration in Individuals with Normal Hearing.

  2022cites this paper
• Amplification of Input Differences by Dynamic Heterogeneity in the Spiral Ganglion.

  2022cites this paper
• Transient otoacoustic emissions with contralateral suppression findings in COVID-19 patients

  2022cites this paper
• Direct Cochlear Recordings in Humans Show a Theta Rhythmic Modulation of Auditory Nerve Activity by Selective Attention

  2022cites this paper
• High Blood Glucose Levels Affect Auditory Brainstem Responses after Acoustic Overexposure in Rats

  2021cites this paper
• Olivocochlear efferent effects on perception and behavior.

  2021cites this paper
• Efferent feedback controls bilateral auditory spontaneous activity

  2021cites this paper
• Multiple Sources of Cholinergic Input to the Superior Olivary Complex

  2021cites this paper
• Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emissions and Their Suppression as Predictors of Peripheral Auditory Damage in Migraine: A Case-Control Study

  2021influential citation
• Olivocochlear Changes Associated With Aging Predominantly Affect the Medial Olivocochlear System

  2021cites this paper
• Efferent feedback enforces bilateral coupling of spontaneous activity in the developing auditory system

  2020cites this paper
• Sound exposure dynamically induces dopamine synthesis in cholinergic LOC efferents for feedback to auditory nerve fibers

  2020cites this paper
• Human medial olivocochlear reflex: Contralateral activation effect on low and high frequency cochlear response.

  2020cites this paper
• Vestibular suppression of normal bodily sounds

  2020cites this paper
• Efferent control of hearing sensitivity and protection via inner ear supporting cells

  2020cites this paper
• LAMP5 in presynaptic inhibitory terminals in the hindbrain and spinal cord: a role in startle response and auditory processing

  2019cites this paper
• Vestibular Damage and Repair in Chronic Ototoxicity: Cellular Stages, Physiological Deficits and Molecular Mechanisms

  2019influential citation
• The Influence of Efferent Inhibition on Speech Perception in Noise: A Revisit Through Its Level-Dependent Function.

  2019cites this paper
• Subclinical cochlear dysfunction in newly diagnosed relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.

  2019cites this paper
• Auditory Efferent System; A Review on Anatomical Structure and Functional Bases

  2019influential citation
• Top-Down Auditory Plasticity: Acceptable Noise Level Predicts and Reflects the Effect of Perceptual Learning in Experience-Induced Plasticity

  2019influential citation
• The onset and post‐onset auditory responses of cochlear nucleus neurons are modulated differently by cortical activation

  2019influential citation
• Influence of auditory feedback in the vocal acoustic parameters of individuals without vocal complaints

  2018cites this paper
• Neuropeptides in sensory signal processing

  2018cites this paper
• Olivocochlear Efferents in Animals and Humans: From Anatomy to Clinical Relevance

  2018influential citation
• Hearing Loss Asymmetry due to Chronic Occupational Noise Exposure.

  2018cites this paper
• Optimization of 3D-Visualization of Micro-Anatomical Structures of the Human Inner Ear in Osmium Tetroxide Contrast Enhanced Micro-CT Scans

  2018cites this paper
• Recent advances in the development and function of type II spiral ganglion neurons in the mammalian inner ear.

  2017cites this paper
• The vestibulocochlear bases for wartime posttraumatic stress disorder manifestations.

  2017cites this paper
• The Effect of Wideband and Narrowband Noise on the Olivocochlear Bundle and the Cochlear Microphonic

  2017influential citation
• Cochlea – A Physiological Description of a Finely Structured Sense Organ

  2017cites this paper
• Parallel Distribution of an Inner Hair Cell and Auditory Nerve Model for Real-Time Application

  2017cites this paper
• Electrophysiological profile and monosynaptic circuitry of efferent vestibular nucleus neurons

  2017cites this paper
• Reviewing the Role of the Efferent Vestibular System in Motor and Vestibular Circuits

  2017cites this paper
• The N3 potential and the efferent cochlear pathway in profound sensorineural hearing loss

  2017cites this paper
• Functional Interplay Between the Putative Measures of Rostral and Caudal Efferent Regulation of Speech Perception in Noise

  2017cites this paper
• Functioning of medial olivocochlear bundle in right- and left-handed individuals

  2017influential citation
• L'hyperacousie d'intensité : mécanismes hypothétiques

  2016cites this paper
• Dcc Mediates Functional Assembly of Peripheral Auditory Circuits

  2016cites this paper
• The Electrophysiological Signature of Spiral Ganglion Neurons

  2016cites this paper
• Chapter 7 – Neuronal Circuitries During Inner Ear Development

  2014cites this paper
• Inner ear symptoms and disease: Pathophysiological understanding and therapeutic options

  2013cites this paper
• An update on unilateral sporadic small vestibular schwannoma.

  2012cites this paper