Effect of Auditory Deprivation

Abstract

A preliminary study of attenuated auditory and motor stimulation in the guinea pig from birth to the age of four months has suggested associated decreased hearing responses and absence of the pinna reflex. E have recently conducted a search of literature in anattempt to find information regarding the effects of decreased auditory stimuli upon the development of hearing. Studies of visual deprivation and the effect upon vision are numerous, but those in the field of hearing deal primarily with the physiological and anatomical effects of intense stimulation and accompanying trauma.Recently, we [• completed a preliminary study of sensory auditory deprivation in the guinea pig. Three groups of animals were observed. The first had decreased auditory stimulation from birth, the second, motor restriction from birth, and the third developed under routine laboratory conditions. After four months, groups one and two showed marked insensitivity to sound and did not develop the pinna reflex. Group three showed no marked abnormalities of development.A more detailed study of these phenomena is now being organized at the University of Hawaii by Stanley Batkin, Merle Ansberry, and John R. Watson. We plan to investigate further the effect of auditory and motor deprivation upon development of auditory sensitivity and the pinna reflex. In relation to hearing, histological studies including the synapse (using the G. L. Rasmussen staining technique) and enzyme changes are being included to determine if, with decreased auditory stimulation from birth, changes similar to those noted in the visual system following visual deprivation will occur.We should be pleased to have comments concerning the effects of sound deprivation if any reader is aware of this phenomenon.

Auditory spatial responses of young guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) during and after ear blocking.

“…The subsequent disruption of sound localization following monaural ear blocking in infant guinea pigs is likely related to the effects of general auditory deprivation reported in a number of previous studies (Batkin & Ansberry, 1964;Batkin, Grath, Watson, & Ansberry, 1970;Henry & Haythorn, 1975;Silverman, Clopton, & Flammino, 1975;Stein & Schuckman, 1973;Tees, 1967aTees, , 1967bHenry & McGinn, Note 1). These studies have shown that deprivation early in development can impair auditory processing at later ages.…”

Influence of acoustic experience on the ontogeny of frequency generalization gradients in the chicken.

“…Tees (1967aTees ( , 1967b showed that rats, for example, acoustically restricted at an early age performed more poorly than normal animals on tasks involving tonal pattern and form discrimination but that they were similar to normal animals on intensity and frequency discrimination tasks. Batkin and Ansberry (1964) and Batkin, Groth, Watson, and Ansberry (1970) found that guinea pigs acoustically deprived from birth showed a marked insensitivity to sound. However, the latter study suggests that this effect recovers within approximately 3 wk.…”