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- Title
The electrical stimulation of the ear in the USSR in early 1930's.
- Authors
Sargsyan, L.; Aaron, K. A.; Niparko, J. K.
- Abstract
Objectives: To introduce electrical stimulation experiments of the ear from 1933 to 1935 in the USSR as the early part of the cochlear implant history. Introduction: This retrospective study reviewed four available manuscripts regarding electrical stimulation of the ear previously published in Russian, in the USSR Physiology Journal, and never introduced in English literature. The first published work revealed the initiation of electrical stimulation experiments in healthy subjects using direct and alternative currents Leon Orbeli, a disciple of the most famous physiologist in the USSR, Ivan Pavlov. Based on the experiments conducted by physiologists, using direct and alternative currents, this study described the following assumptions: 1) There arose mechanical vibrations in the ear during the flow of the current; 2) Neuronal elements received direct stimulations of the auditory organ during the flow of the current; 3) Stimulation of other neuronal elements (i.e. touch, temperature) in the middle or the inner ear gave rise to hearing sensations; 4) The mechanical vibrations originating in some parts of alternative currents could stimulate the auditory organ. Further experiments were performed by direct and alternative currents to test the above mention assumptions among three experimental groups: healthy subjects, patients with the affected middle ear and affected inner ear pathologies. These studies further confirmed that there were direct electrical stimulations of the inner ear neuronal elements. Conclusion: When the USSR physiologists started their electrical stimulation experiments on healthy and deaf patients decades earlier, they were unaware of the implications of their research on those with hearing impairments, although they did indicate about the possibility of interest of their scientific contributions to the field of Otolaryngology.
- Subjects
BELGIUM; CONFERENCES &; conventions; COCHLEAR implants; EAR care &; hygiene; ELECTRIC stimulation
- Publication
Journal of Hearing Science, 2018, Vol 8, Issue 2, p324
- ISSN
2083-389X
- Publication type
Article