EFFECT OF VISUAL ATTENTION ON CONTRALATERAL SUPPRESSION OF ACOUSTIC REFLEXES

Abstract

Background:Cortical functions such as attention can affect the functioning of the medial efferent auditory system. This study attempts to determine the effect of visual attention on contralateral suppression of acoustic reflexes.Material and Methods:Contralateral suppression of acoustic reflex threshold (CSART) and contralateral suppression of acoustic reflex amplitude (CSARA) were determined in 30 normal hearing individuals at 500, 1000, and 2000 Hz. CSART and CSARA were determined for four visual attention tasks: no attention, passive attention, and two active visual attention tasks.Results:Contralateral suppression of acoustic reflexes was enhanced in the active visual attention condition compared to the no visual attention condition. No significant difference was observed across gender in any of the conditions.Conclusions:Visual attention tasks can have a direct effect on the medial auditory efferent system and hence needs to be monitored. To enhance suppression a well-controlled active visual attention task should be used.