Although short-term donor site morbidity was low in both groups, the ALT was associated with a significantly lower incidence of wound dehiscence with or without tendon exposure. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 38: E945-E948, 2016.

This study used computed tomographic angiography to characterize the ALT flap vasculature and thickness, providing a degree of predictability to these 2 highly variable flap characteristics.

Mammalian hearing is a complex special sense that involves detection, localization, and identification of the auditory stimulus. The cerebral cortex may subserve higher auditory processes by providing direct modulatory cortical projections to the auditory brainstem. To support the hypothesis that corticofugal projections are a conserved feature in the mammalian brain, this article reviews features of the rat corticofugal pathway and presents new data supporting the presence of similar projections in the mouse. The mouse auditory cortex was localized with electrophysiological recording and neuronal tracers were injected into AI. The cochlear nucleus was dissected and examined for terminal fibers by light and electron microscopy. Bouton endings were found bilaterally forming synapses with dendrites of granule cells of the cochlear nucleus. This report provides evidence for direct auditory cortex projections to the cochlear nucleus in the mouse. The distribution of projections to the granule cell domain and the synapses onto granule cell dendrites are consistent with what has been reported for rats and guinea pigs. These findings suggest a general plan for corticofugal modulation of ascending auditory information in mammals. Key words: corticobulbar; auditory; mouse; cochlear nucleus; granule cellThe growth of the cerebral cortex is one key to evolutionary success. The cerebral cortex and its interconnected structures grow substantially as one ascends the phylogenetic tree (Fig. 1). The corticofugal system-descending inputs from cerebral cortex to lower brain centers-may grow in parallel and its presence in the neural network presumably contributes to the refinement and enhancement of behavior. The selective listening feature of hearing must have structural components, one of which may be the direct influence of auditory cortex on the first central auditory station, the cochlear nucleus. It is our working hypothesis that further description and functional characterization of these circuits will eventually form the foundation for our understanding of hearing. This article presents experimental data demonstrating corticocochlear nucleus projections in the mouse. In order to place these findings in the context of a general plan for cortical modulation of mammalian auditory function, we review our

In a rat facial nerve axotomy model, high-dose systemic dexamethasone therapy may improve functional recovery when administered in the immediate period following neurorrhaphy.