耳蜗生物电包括耳蜗内淋巴直流电位(EP),耳蜗微音器电位(CM),总和电位(SP),及听神经复合动作电位(CAP),这些不同的电位成份分别起源于耳蜗内不同的组织器官。除了EP是反映血管纹功能状态的静息电位之外,其它耳蜗生物电位都是声刺激诱发的耳蜗内不同组织细胞的电反应。因此,记录耳蜗生物电是直接反映耳蜗功能的最佳观察指标。许多传统的耳蜗生物电引导方法由于把电极置放到中耳腔内难免损伤中耳组织和结构而大都仅适用于急性或亚急性动物实验却不利于开展慢性实验的长期记录和观察。尤其在大鼠目前还缺少一种稳定可靠的长时期观察耳蜗生物电的引导方法。本实验将银丝电极经大鼠茎乳孔插入到面神经管水平段,由于面神经管水平段与耳蜗仅以很薄的骨壁相隔,因此可以从近距离引导出良好的耳蜗生物电反应。同时,由于电极埋藏在面神经管内而无需打开中耳腔,因此也避免了中耳粘膜或听骨链损伤以及因此而可能发生的术后中耳感染。我们在电极植入到同一动物测试耳面神经管水平段后不同时间测试的CAP和CM以及sP波形清晰并具有可靠的重复性,但是在不同动物之间的耳蜗生物电振幅却存在一定的差异,提示本方法引导的耳蜗生物电更适合于对同一测试耳进行实验前后的比较和观察。经面神经管这一天然骨性管道把引导耳蜗生物电的电极巧妙地植入到耳蜗隔壁,为更有效直接观察耳蜗各个组织器官对声刺激的反应提供了有益的参考经验。本文还就各种耳蜗生物电反应的特点及其相互内在联系以及与ABR之间的关系展开了讨论。
Cochlear bioelectric activities, including endocochlear potential (EP), cochlear microphonics (CM), snmmating potential (SP) and compound action potential (CAP) originate from different structures and cells of the cochlea. Except for the EP, which is a resting potential mainly reflecting the function of stria vascularis, other cochlear potentials actually are the auditory evoked responses from cochlear sensory hair ceils or auditory nerve fibers of spiral ganglion neurons respectively. Therefore, cochlear bioelectric activity recording is an ideal technique to study cochlear physiological functions. Many tradi- tional techniques for cochlear bioelectricity recording through middle ear cavity are not suited for long-term observation due to potential surgical injury or infection to the middle ear. With the expanding use of rats, rat model has been investigated to gain insights into the mechanisms underlying noise or drug-induced hearing loss. However, there lacks effective method for long-term recording of cochlear bioelectricity in rats. A stable long-term recording technique of cochlear potentials in rats is described in this report. A silver electrode was implanted into the horizontal segment of facial nerve canal via stylomastoid fora- men. Since the cochlear cavity is separated from facial nerve canal only by a thin osteal wall, the waveform of cochlear bioelec- tric activities can be easily recorded from within the facial nerve canal. In addition, this electrode insertion does not require opening the middle ear cavity and hence helps avoid surgical damage and infection to the middle ear. The CAP, CM and SP can be reliably recorded following electrode implantation. However, the amplitude of CAP and CM can vary among indivdual animals. This suggests that data analysis is probably more reliable with pre- vs post-treatment design than comparison across animals. In conclusion, electrode insert at the dissepiment of cochlea for recording of cochlear bioelectric activities may provide a useful approa