Compound action potential (AP) tuning curves

Abstract

With a tone-on-tone masking procedure the compound action potential (AP), elicited by brief tone bursts of set frequency and intensity, was decreased by a constant fraction. The frequency–intensity pairs formed by the masker that yield this decrease generate the AP tuning curve. It is demonstrated that such tuning curves are very similar to both psychophysical tuning curves and single VIIIth-nerve-fiber tuning curves. Changes in the properties of these curves are described as functions of stimulus frequency and level, mode of masking (simultaneous and forward), and parameters of the masker. Subject Classification: [43]65.40, [43]65.42, [43]65.58.