Hybrid stimulation to improve function in chronic deafness

NeuroNexus probes were used to measure activation of the inferior colliculus by optogenetic and/or electrical stimulation of the auditory nerve in chronically deafened mice. The A1x32-6mm-50-177-A32 probes used by Elise A Ajay et al. with teammates at the University of Melbourne and the Bionics Institute spanned the range of best frequencies encoded along the tonotopic axis and recorded single units during a range of stimulation parameters. Their results demonstrate that in addition to acute deafness studies, cochlear stimulation does benefit chronically deafened subjects.