Suppression of Acoustic Input by Thalamic Stimulation.

Abstract

Repetitive stimulation of a critically localized region in the posterior diencephalon of the cat produces an inhibition of the response of the ventral cochlear nucleus to a brief sound (stereotaxic method). The region is supposed to represent a link on a very specific descending pathway which enables the higher levels of the nervous system to control acoustic input. The evidence does not substantiate the hypothesis that the brainstem reticular formation exerts a direct control on the cochlear nucleus.