Plasticity of Inferior Colliculus and Auditory Cortex Following Unilateral Deafening in Adult Ferrets

Abstract

Our studies of the effects of unilateral deafening on the brain have been motivated, in part, by a desire to understand some of the short-and long-term mechanisms underlying clinical hearing loss , and partl y by a desire to address basic question s in neurobiology, such as how afferent acti vit y, and its withdrawal and modulat ion, affect the development and maintenance of neuron form, funct ion, and connectivity. To date , much of our research , and that of others, has focused on the effect of deafening on the immature auditory system. This work has shown (Fig .