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Cited by 124Hearing, Cochlea, Tinnitus, GeneticsVestibular and auditory disordersHearing Loss and Rehabilitation

Anatomy of cochlear innervation

Spoendlin, Heinrich·1985·American Journal of Otolaryngology
DOI 10.1016/s0196-0709(85)80026-0
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Abstract

In this review of cochlear innervation, the differences in the innervation of outer and inner hair cells are emphasized. Of the afferent neurons, 90 to 95 per cent are large, myelinated type I neurons, exclusively connected in an essentially radial unbranched manner to the inner hair cells; 5 to 10 per cent are small, mostly unmyelinated type II neurons connected to the outer hair cells with considerable spiral extension and branching. The few small type II neurons, with their thin unmyelinated axons, probably have a minor functional importance for centripetal information transfer. The functional emphasis of the outer hair cell system is likely at the level of the receptor cells where the outer hair cells monitor receptor function. The efferent innervation also consists of at least two types of neurons. Small neurons from the lateral superior olivary nucleus project to the inner hair cell area in a predominantly homolateral fashion, making almost exclusively synaptic contacts with the afferent dendrites associated with the inner hair cells. Larger neurons from the medial nucleus of the trapezoid body and periolivary nucleus provide the abundant efferent nerve supply of the outer hair cells, predominantly contralateral. They have mostly large synaptic contacts, and, in some species exclusively, with the receptor cells, indicating again the functional emphasis of the outer hair cell system at the receptor cell level.

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Crossref · 10.1016/s0196-0709(85)80026-0

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  • Type IIs make up only a small fraction (~5%) of cochlear afferents, the great majority being myelinated type I afferents postsynaptic to inner hair cells.

    “Type IIs make up only a small fraction (~5%) of cochlear afferents, the great majority being myelinated type I afferents postsynaptic to inner hair cells (30, 31).”

    From Damage-evoked signals in cochlear neurons and supporting cells (2024) · cites this paper as [30]

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Authors
Spoendlin, H.
Corresponding author
Spoendlin, Heinrich
Venue
American Journal of Otolaryngology
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
1985-11
Volume
6
Issue
6
Pages
453-467
ISSN
0196-0709 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/s0196-0709(85)80026-0
OpenAlex
W2095450347
Cited by
124
References
48
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 8
FWCI
0.51
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
Locations
  • American Journal of Otolaryngology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Sensory Systems › Hearing, Cochlea, Tinnitus, Genetics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Vestibular and auditory disorders
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Hearing Loss and Rehabilitation
Keywords
cochlear innervation, inner hair cells, outer hair cells, sensory neurons, type I neurons, efferent innervation, lateral superior olivary nucleus, medial nucleus of the trapezoid body, myelinated axons, receptor cells, auditory nerve
MeSH terms
Animals, Cochlea, Cochlear Nerve, Hair Cells, Auditory, Hair Cells, Auditory, Inner, Humans, Microscopy, Electron, Nerve Fibers, Nerve Fibers, Myelinated, Neurons, Afferent, Neurons, Efferent, Organ of Corti

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