Short-wavelength near infrared stimulation of the inner ear hair cells

To explore whether the short wavelength near infrared laser can stimulate the functional hair cells, pulsed laser with wavelength of 808-nm was used to stimulate guinea pigs cochlea. Compound action potential (CAP) and auditory brainstem responses (ABR) were recorded during the experiments. We successfully recorded photomechanical responses from normal hearing animals and demonstrated the responses were not induced by optical acoustic events. Furthermore, we studied the effect of different stimulation parameters on neural response. The results show that cochlear activation can be modulated with different optical parameters.