In an effort to improve the auditory brainstem implant, a prosthesis in which user outcomes are modest, we applied electric and infrared neural stimulation (INS) to the cochlear nucleus in a rat animal model. Electric stimulation evoked regions of neural activation in the inferior colliculus and short-latency, multipeaked auditory brainstem responses (ABRs). Pulsed INS, delivered to the surface of the cochlear nucleus via an optical fiber, evoked broad neural activation in the inferior colliculus. Strongest responses were recorded when the fiber was placed at lateral positions on the cochlear nucleus, close to the temporal bone. INS-evoked ABRs were multipeaked but longer in latency than those for electric stimulation; they resembled the responses to acoustic stimulation. After deafening, responses to electric stimulation persisted, whereas those to INS disappeared, consistent with a reported “optophonic” effect, a laser-induced acoustic artifact. Thus, for deaf individuals who use the auditory brainstem implant, INS alone did not appear promising as a new approach.

The auditory brainstem implant (ABI) restores hearing in patients with damaged auditory nerves. One of the main ideas to improve the efficacy of ABIs is to increase spatial specificity of stimulation, in order to minimize extra-auditory side-effects and to maximize the tonotopy of stimulation. This study reports on the development of a microfabricated conformable electrode array with small (100 μm diameter) electrode sites. The latter are coated with a conducting polymer, PEDOT:PSS, to offer high charge injection properties and to safely stimulate the auditory system with small stimulation sites. We report on the design and fabrication of the polymer implant, and characterize the coatings in physiological conditions in vitro and under mechanical deformation. We characterize the coating electrochemically and during bending tests. We present a proof of principle experiment where the auditory system is efficiently activated by the flexible polymeric interface in a rat model. These results demonstrate the potential of using conducting polymer coatings on small electrode sites for electrochemically safe and efficient stimulation of the central auditory system.

Auditory brainstem implants (ABIs) restore hearing to deaf individuals not eligible for cochlear implants. Speech comprehension in ABI users is generally poor compared to that of cochlear implant users, and side effects are common. The poor performance may result from activating broad areas and multiple neuronal populations of the cochlear nucleus, however detailed studies of the responses to surface stimulation of the cochlear nucleus are lacking. A conformable electrode array was microfabricated to fit on the rat’s dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN). It hosts 20 small electrodes (each 100 μm diam.). The array was tested by recording evoked potentials and neural activity along the tonotopic axis of the inferior colliculus (IC). Almost all bipolar electrode pairs elicited responses, in some cases with an even, or relatively constant, pattern of thresholds and supra-threshold measures along the long axis of the array. This pattern suggests that conformable arrays can provide relatively constant excitation along the surface of the DCN and thus might decrease the ABI side effects caused by spread of high current to adjacent structures. We also examined tonotopic patterns of the IC responses. Compared to sound-evoked responses, electrically-evoked response mappings had less tonotopic organization and were broader in width. They became more tonotopic when the evoked activity common to all electrodes and the late phase of response were subtracted out, perhaps because the remaining activity is from tonotopically organized principal cells of the DCN. Responses became less tonotopic when inter-electrode distance was increased from 400 µm to 800 µm but were relatively unaffected by changing to monopolar stimulation. The results illustrate the challenges of using a surface array to present tonotopic cues and improve speech comprehension in humans who use the ABI.