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Attentional Control of Cochlear Micromechanics: The Role of the Medial Olivocochlear Efferent System

School of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology, The University of Memphis

The role of top-down processing is a topic of considerable research interest in disciplines as diverse as cognitive psychology and neurophysiology. Scientists have considered the role of selective attention in hearing for decades, but the ability to explore this topic from both physiological and psychophysical perspectives is a recent phenomenon. Measurement of otoacoustic emissions provides a means to noninvasively examine the function of outer hair cells and the olivocochlear bundle during both passive listening tasks and focused attention tasks. This paradigm provides a novel methodology in exploring corticofugal mechanisms that can potentially impact auditory perception. In this paper, the current state of knowledge concerning the effects of attention on measurements of otoacoustic emissions will be reviewed, and future directions for research will be discussed.