Physiological activation of the stapedius muscle in Gallus gallus

Abstract

The function of the avian middle ear muscle was investigated in the chicken, Gallus gallus (domesticus). The avian species offers excellent conditions for study of middle ear muscle function since it possesses a single middle ear muscle, the stapedius, which is located extracranially. Electromyograms (EMG), measurements of impedance change, and volume change in the middle ear cavity were used to assess the muscle's activity. The results showed that the middle ear muscle of Gallus does not exhibit an acoustic reflex. However, the stapedius is regularly activated during the animal's own vocalization. Measurements of the EMG and volume change showed the stapedial activity to increase systematically with increases in the vocal sound level. The use of volume change as a measure of stapedius function was found to be highly suitable in the present experiments in that it allows for measurements of the magnitude of the stapedius contraction without altering the intact physiological state of the middle ear, and is insensitive to the ambient noise and vocal sounds, that hamper the impedance technique.