auditory cells in the superior olivary nucleus receive their input from the
Superior olivary complex The superior olivary complex is generally located in the pons, but in humans extends from the rostral medulla to the mid-pons[1] and receives projections predominantly from the anteroventral cochlear nucleus via the trapezoid body, although the posteroventral nucleus projects to the SOC via the intermediate acoustic stria. The SOC is the first major site of convergence of auditory information from the left and right ears.[2]
Hair cell Hair cells are the sensory receptors of both the auditory system and the vestibular system in the ears of all vertebrates. Through mechanotransduction, hair cells detect movement in their environment.[1] In mammals, the auditory hair cells are located within the spiral organ of Corti on the thin basilar membrane in the cochlea of the inner ear. They derive their name from the tufts of stereocilia called hair bundles that protrude from the apical surface of the cell into the fluid-filled cochlear duct. Mammalian cochlear hair cells are of two anatomically and functionally distinct types, known as outer, and inner hair cells. Damage to these hair cells results in decreased hearing sensitivity, and because the inner ear hair cells cannot regenerate, this damage is permanent.[2] However, other organisms, such as the frequently studied zebrafish, and birds have hair cells that can regenerate.[3][4] The human cochlea contains on the order of 3,500 inner hair cells and 12,000 outer hair cells at birth.[5]