Effect of Hypoglycemia on Auditory Cortex and Cochlear Receptor in the Cat

¹ From the Division of Otolaryngology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois

Effect of hypoglycemia induced by insulin and/or functional evisceration on auditory cortex and cochlear responses to sound stimuli was studied in cats. Both responses remained unchanged at blood sugar levels as low as 5 mg %. They diminished in size whenever blood pressure was allowed to fall to low values, and returned to nearly normal when it was restored. The observations suggest that carbohydrates are not essential for cochlear function or that the structure contains a large store of them. The presence of responses from auditory cortex during medullary stage of coma suggests that this area does not conform well to the concept of phyletic organization of the central nervous system.