Auditory nerve

The bundle of nerve fibers that carries electrical signals from the cochlea to the brainstem. Its fibers encode sound timing and intensity for central auditory processing.

Spiral ganglion: A cluster of sensory neuron cell bodies in the cochlea whose axons form the auditory nerve. Its neurons supply the nerve fibers that carry cochlear signals centrally.
Cochlea: The spiral-shaped inner-ear organ that separates sound frequencies and converts vibration into neural signals. The auditory nerve carries signals generated within this organ.
Auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder: A hearing disorder in which sound detection is relatively preserved but neural transmission or synchronization is impaired. It can arise when auditory nerve signaling is disrupted despite functioning outer hair cells.
Vestibulocochlear nerve: The eighth cranial nerve, comprising cochlear and vestibular divisions for hearing and balance. The auditory nerve is its cochlear division, distinct from its balance-carrying fibers.
Hair cell: A sensory cell that converts mechanical stimulation into electrical changes in the inner ear. Hair cells drive the signals transmitted by auditory nerve fibers.
Organ of Corti: The sensory structure inside the cochlea containing hair cells and supporting cells. Its hair cells initiate the activity transmitted by auditory nerve fibers.
Cochlear implant: An implanted device that converts sound into electrical stimulation of the auditory nerve. Its electrodes bypass damaged hair cells to activate surviving nerve fibers.
Vestibular nerve: The part of the eighth cranial nerve that carries balance information from the inner ear. It shares the cranial nerve with auditory fibers but carries vestibular, not sound, signals.
Action potential: A brief, regenerative electrical impulse that propagates along a neuron’s membrane. Auditory nerve fibers convey sound information as trains of these impulses.
Inner hair cell: A cochlear sensory cell that converts sound-driven motion into signals sent to auditory neurons. Most auditory nerve fibers receive their principal input from these cells.

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