The offset auditory brainstem response in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus): Evidence for multiple underlying processes

The auditory brainstem response (ABR) to stimulus onset has been extensively used to investigate dolphin hearing. The mechanisms underlying this onset response have been thoroughly studied in mammals. In contrast, the ABR evoked by sound offset has received relatively little attention. To build upon previous observations of the dolphin offset ABR, a series of experiments was conducted to (1) determine the cochlear places responsible for response generation and (2) examine differences in response morphologies when using toneburst versus noiseburst stimuli. Measurements were conducted with seven bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) using tonebursts and spectrally "pink"broadband noisebursts, with highpass noise used to limit the cochlear regions involved in response generation. Results for normal-hearing and hearing-impaired dolphins suggest that the offset ABR contains contributions from at least two distinct responses. One type of response (across place) might arise from the activation of neural units that are shifted basally relative to stimulus frequency and shares commonalities with the onset ABR. A second type of response (within place) appears to represent a "true"offset response from afferent centers further up the ascending auditory pathway from the auditory nerve, and likely results from synchronous activity beginning at or above the cochlear nucleus.