Reticular formation influences on primary and non-primary auditory pathways as reflected by the middle latency response

The rat animal model for noise-induced hearing loss

Rats make excellent models for the study of medical, biological, genetic, and behavioral phenomena given their adaptability, robustness, survivability, and intelligence. The rat's general anatomy and physiology of the auditory system is similar to that observed in humans, and this has led to their use for investigating the effect of noise overexposure on the mammalian auditory system. The current paper provides a review of the rat model for studying noise-induced hearing loss and highlights advancements that have been made using the rat, particularly as these pertain to noise dose and the hazardous effects of different experimental noise types. In addition to the traditional loss of auditory function following acoustic trauma, recent findings have indicated the rat as a useful model in observing alterations in neuronal processing within the central nervous system following noise injury. Furthermore, the rat provides a second animal model when investigating noise-induced cochlear synaptopathy, as studies examining this in the rat model resemble the general patterns observed in mice. Together, these findings demonstrate the relevance of this animal model for furthering the authors' understanding of the effects of noise on structural, anatomical, physiological, and perceptual aspects of hearing.

Differences in postinjury auditory system pathophysiology after mild blast and nonblast acute acoustic trauma

Hearing difficulties are the most commonly reported disabilities among veterans. Blast exposures during explosive events likely play a role, given their propensity to directly damage both peripheral (PAS) and central auditory system (CAS) components. Postblast PAS pathophysiology has been well documented in both clinical case reports and laboratory investigations. In contrast, blast-induced CAS dysfunction remains understudied but has been hypothesized to contribute to an array of common veteran behavioral complaints, including learning, memory, communication, and emotional regulation. This investigation compared the effects of acute blast and nonblast acoustic impulse trauma in adult male Sprague-Dawley rats. An array of audiometric tests were utilized, including distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE), auditory brain stem responses (ABR), middle latency responses (MLR), and envelope following responses (EFRs). Generally, more severe and persistent postinjury central auditory processing (CAP) deficits were observed in blast-exposed animals throughout the auditory neuraxis, spanning from the cochlea to the cortex. DPOAE and ABR results captured cochlear and auditory nerve/brain stem deficits, respectively. EFRs demonstrated temporal processing impairments suggestive of functional damage to regions in the auditory brain stem and the inferior colliculus. MLRs captured thalamocortical transmission and cortical activation impairments. Taken together, the results suggest blast-induced CAS dysfunction may play a complementary pathophysiological role to maladaptive neuroplasticity of PAS origin. Even mild blasts can produce lasting hearing impairments that can be assessed with noninvasive electrophysiology, allowing these measurements to serve as simple, effective diagnostics.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Blasts exposures often produce hearing difficulties. Although cochlear damage typically occurs, the downstream effects on central auditory processing are less clear. Moreover, outcomes were compared between individuals exposed to the blast pressure wave vs. those who experienced the blast noise without the pressure wave. It was found that a single blast exposure produced changes at all stages of the ascending auditory path at least 4 wk postblast, whereas blast noise alone produced largely transient changes.

Missing and delayed auditory responses in young and older children with autism spectrum disorders

Background: The development of left and right superior temporal gyrus (STG) 50 ms (M50) and 100 ms (M100) auditory responses in typically developing (TD) children and in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) was examined. Reflecting differential development of primary/secondary auditory areas and supporting previous studies, it was hypothesized that whereas left and right M50 STG responses would be observed equally often in younger and older children, left and right M100 STG responses would more often be absent in younger than older children. In ASD, delayed neurodevelopment would be indicated via the observation of a greater proportion of ASD than TD subjects showing missing M100 but not M50 responses in both age groups. Missing M100 responses would be observed primarily in children with ASD with language impairment (ASD + LI) (and perhaps concomitantly lower general cognitive abilities).

Methods: Thirty-five TD controls, 63 ASD without language impairment (ASD − LI), and 38 ASD + LI were recruited. Binaural tones were presented. The presence or absence of a STG M50 and M100 was scored. Subjects were grouped into younger (6–10 years old) and older groups (11–15 years old).

Results: Although M50 responses were observed equally often in older and younger subjects and equally often in TD and ASD, left and right M50 responses were delayed in ASD − LI and ASD + LI. Group comparisons showed that in younger subjects M100 responses were observed more often in TD than ASD + LI (90 versus 66%, p = 0.04), with no differences between TD and ASD − LI (90 versus 76%, p = 0.14) or between ASD − LI and ASD + LI (76 versus 66%, p = 0.53). In older subjects, whereas no differences were observed between TD and ASD + LI, responses were observed more often in ASD − LI than ASD + LI. Findings were similar when splitting the ASD group into lower- and higher-cognitive functioning groups.

Conclusion: Although present in all groups, M50 responses were delayed in ASD. Examining the TD data, findings indicated that by 11 years, a right M100 should be observed in 100% of subjects and a left M100 in 80% of subjects. Thus, by 11 years, lack of a left and especially right M100 offers neurobiological insight into sensory processing that may underlie language or cognitive impairment.

Benefits and detriments of unilateral cochlear implant use on bilateral auditory development in children who are deaf

We have explored both the benefits and detriments of providing electrical input through a cochlear implant in one ear to the auditory system of young children. A cochlear implant delivers electrical pulses to stimulate the auditory nerve, providing children who are deaf with access to sound. The goals of implantation are to restrict reorganization of the deprived immature auditory brain and promote development of hearing and spoken language. It is clear that limiting the duration of deprivation is a key factor. Additional considerations are the onset, etiology, and use of residual hearing as each of these can have unique effects on auditory development in the pre-implant period. New findings show that many children receiving unilateral cochlear implants are developing mature-like brainstem and thalamo-cortical responses to sound with long term use despite these sources of variability; however, there remain considerable abnormalities in cortical function. The most apparent, determined by implanting the other ear and measuring responses to acute stimulation, is a loss of normal cortical response from the deprived ear. Recent data reveal that this can be avoided in children by early implantation of both ears simultaneously or with limited delay. We conclude that auditory development requires input early in development and from both ears.

Speech processing disorder in neural hearing loss

Deficits in central auditory processing may occur in a variety of clinical conditions including traumatic brain injury, neurodegenerative disease, auditory neuropathy/dyssynchrony syndrome, neurological disorders associated with aging, and aphasia. Deficits in central auditory processing of a more subtle nature have also been studied extensively in neurodevelopmental disorders in children with learning disabilities, ADD, and developmental language disorders. Illustrative cases are reviewed demonstrating the use of an audiological test battery in patients with auditory neuropathy/dyssynchrony syndrome, bilateral lesions to the inferior colliculi, and bilateral lesions to the temporal lobes. Electrophysiological tests of auditory function were utilized to define the locus of dysfunction at neural levels ranging from the auditory nerve, midbrain, and cortical levels.

Inferior colliculus contributions to phase encoding of stop consonants in an animal model

The human auditory brainstem is known to be exquisitely sensitive to fine-grained spectro-temporal differences between speech sound contrasts, and the ability of the brainstem to discriminate between these contrasts is important for speech perception. Recent work has described a novel method for translating brainstem timing differences in response to speech contrasts into frequency-specific phase differentials. Results from this method have shown that the human brainstem response is surprisingly sensitive to phase differences inherent to the stimuli across a wide extent of the spectrum. Here we use an animal model of the auditory brainstem to examine whether the stimulus-specific phase signatures measured in human brainstem responses represent an epiphenomenon associated with far-field (i.e., scalp-recorded) measurement of neural activity, or alternatively whether these specific activity patterns are also evident in auditory nuclei that contribute to the scalp-recorded response, thereby representing a more fundamental temporal processing phenomenon. Responses in anaesthetized guinea pigs to three minimally-contrasting consonant-vowel stimuli were collected simultaneously from the cortical surface vertex and directly from central nucleus of the inferior colliculus (ICc), measuring volume conducted neural activity and multiunit, near-field activity, respectively. Guinea pig surface responses were similar to human scalp-recorded responses to identical stimuli in gross morphology as well as phase characteristics. Moreover, surface-recorded potentials shared many phase characteristics with near-field ICc activity. Response phase differences were prominent during formant transition periods, reflecting spectro-temporal differences between syllables, and showed more subtle differences during the identical steady state periods. ICc encoded stimulus distinctions over a broader frequency range, with differences apparent in the highest frequency ranges analyzed, up to 3000 Hz. Based on the similarity of phase encoding across sites, and the consistency and sensitivity of response phase measured within ICc, results suggest that a general property of the auditory system is a high degree of sensitivity to fine-grained phase information inherent to complex acoustical stimuli. Furthermore, results suggest that temporal encoding in ICc contributes to temporal features measured in speech-evoked scalp-recorded responses.

Neural activity before and after conscious perception in dichotic listening

The neural basis of conscious perception can be studied using stimuli that elicit different percepts on different occasions (multistable perception). Multistable perception allows direct comparisons between brain activity and conscious perception that control for sensory input, and also serves as a model for attentional competition, with the winning perceptual outcome varying across trials. Dichotic listening tasks present multistable stimuli consisting of two different consonant-vowels (CVs, one/ear). For each trial one ear usually conveys the dominant percept. We used EEG to measure neural activity before and after dichotic stimulus presentation to compare activity among left vs. right ear percepts and a control task. Consonant-vowels were perceived more often to the right vs. left ear. Pre-stimulus EEG power in the beta band (16-20 Hz) increased for left compared to right ear percepts and control trials. Event-related potentials after stimulus onset showed smaller P50 amplitudes ( approximately 50 ms latency) for left ear compared to right ear and control trials. Results indicate that neural activity for right ear percepts is comparable to control conditions, while activity for the atypical left ear percept differs before and after stimulus onset. Pre-stimulus EEG changes for left ear percepts may indicate a mechanism of spontaneous fluctuations in cortical networks that bias attentional competition during subsequent sensory processing. The P50 amplitude differences among perceived ears suggests that rapid sensory and/or arousal-related activities contribute to the content of conscious perception, possibly by biasing attentional competition away from the dominant right ear channel.

Pb(P1) resonance at 40Hz: Effects of high stimulus rate on auditory middle latency responses (MLRs) explored using deconvolution

OBJECTIVE

In this study, the effects of high stimulus rate on middle latency response (MLR) components P(a) and P(b) (P(1) or P50) were studied using high rate clicks in normal hearing awake subjects were investigated.

METHODS

Five jittered click sequences at different mean rates (24.4, 39.1, 58.6, 78.1, 97.7Hz) were presented to 10 subjects. Overlapping MLRs were deconvolved using the frequency domain continuous loop averaging deconvolution (CLAD) [Ozdamar O., Bohórquez, J., Signal to noise ratio and frequency analysis of continuous loop averaging deconvolution (CLAD) of overlapping evoked potentials. J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 119:429-438, 2006]. In addition conventional auditory transient MLRs at 4.88Hz were obtained using conventional averaging.

RESULTS

P(a) amplitude, latency and waveshape remained fairly constant up to 78.1Hz. P(b) component, however, showed a variable waveshape with latencies covering a wide range (50-70ms) and N(b)-P(b) amplitudes increasing at 39.1 and 58.6Hz and decreasing at other rates.

CONCLUSIONS

Recordings show that both P(a) and P(b) MLR components can be consistently recorded at all rates up to 100Hz. P(b) amplitude shows an increase at around 40Hz showing a resonance at that frequency.

SIGNIFICANCE

The dramatic increase of the P(b) component at around 40Hz may account for the high amplitude of the 40Hz ASSR.

Magnetoencephalography and positron emission tomography studies of a patient with auditory agnosia caused by bilateral lesions confined to the auditory radiations

The aim of this study was to investigate auditory cortex function in the context of auditory stimuli in a patient with auditory agnosia due to bilateral lesions confined to the auditory radiations. A male patient experienced mild left temporal hemiplegia because of right putaminal hemorrhage at the age of 43 years. Thereafter he recovered completely but hypertension persisted. When he was 53 years old, he suffered left putaminal hemorrhage and went into a coma. After recovering from the coma and right hemiplegia he could hear but could not discriminate speech sounds. Brain CT and MRI demonstrated small bilateral lesions confined to the auditory radiations. Magnetoencephalography demonstrated the disappearance of middle latency responses and auditory-evoked potential studies showed a very small Pa peak. In contrast, a positron emission tomography study demonstrated a marked increase in blood flow in the bilateral auditory cortex in response to both click and monosyllable stimuli. It is speculated that the auditory cortex receives functional projections from the cochlea via non-specific pathways in the cerebral hemispheres.

Interpreting abnormality: an EEG and MEG study of P50 and the auditory paired-stimulus paradigm

Interpretation of neurophysiological differences between control and patient groups on the basis of scalp-recorded event-related brain potentials (ERPs), although common and promising, is often complicated in the absence of information on the distinct neural generators contributing to the ERP, particularly information regarding individual differences in the generators. For example, while sensory gating differences frequently observed in patients with schizophrenia in the P50 paired-click gating paradigm are typically interpreted as reflecting group differences in generator source strength, differences in the latency and/or orientation of P50 generators may also account for observed group differences. The present study examined how variability in source strength, amplitude, or orientation affects the P50 component of the scalp-recorded ERP. In Experiment 1, simulations examined the effect of changes in source strength, orientation, or latency in superior temporal gyrus (STG) dipoles on P50 recorded at Cz. In Experiment 2, within- and between-subject variability in left and right M50 STG dipole source strength, latency, and orientation was examined in 19 subjects. Given the frequently reported differences in left and right STG anatomy and function, substantial inter-subject and inter-hemispheric variability in these parameters were expected, with important consequences for how P50 at Cz reflects brain activity from relevant generators. In Experiment 1, simulated P50 responses were computed from hypothetical left- and right-hemisphere STG generators, with latency, amplitude, and orientation of the generators varied systematically. In Experiment 2, electroencephalographic (EEG) and magnetoencephalographic (MEG) data were collected from 19 subjects. Generators were modeled from the MEG data to assess and illustrate the generator variability evaluated parametrically in Experiment 1. In Experiment 1, realistic amounts of variability in generator latency, amplitude, and orientation produced ERPs in which P50 scoring was compromised and interpretation complicated. In Experiment 2, significant within and between subject variability was observed in the left and right hemisphere STG M50 sources. Given the variability in M50 source strength, orientation, and amplitude observed here in nonpatient subjects, future studies should examine whether group differences in P50 gating ratios typically observed for patient vs. control groups are specific to a particular hemisphere, as well as whether the group differences are due to differences in dipole source strength, latency, orientation, or a combination of these parameters. Present analyses focused on P50/M50 merely as an example of the broader need to evaluate scalp phenomena in light of underlying generators. The development and widespread use of EEG/MEG source localization methods will greatly enhance the interpretation and value of EEG/MEG data.

Differential characteristics of the middle latency auditory evoked magnetic responses to interstimulus intervals

OBJECTIVE

The human middle latency auditory evoked magnetic fields were recorded with different interstimulus intervals (ISI) to investigate the differential natures of P30m and the P50m, including whether the P50m source was spatially different or not from the P30m source.

METHODS

Twenty right-handed healthy subjects participated in the experiment. Auditory magnetic responses were recorded in the 0.5 s ISI (ISI were between 0.4 and 0.6 s) and the 1.5 s ISI conditions (ISI were between 1 and 2 s). Tone bursts were presented to the right ears 880 times consecutively for each condition. The P30m and the P50m responses were investigated, and the dipole source localization was performed.

RESULTS

The P50m latency was significantly prolonged, while the P30m latency did not vary in the shorter ISI. Both P50m and P30m amplitudes were significantly reduced in the shorter ISI. The P50m was located significantly more anteriorly than P30m.

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest the existence of differential characteristic and spatially different magnetic responses in the middle latency range.

SIGNIFICANCE

This study has revealed one aspect of the different natures between P30m and P50m, and may provide a key for auditory perceptional processes in humans.

Predicting EEG responses using MEG sources in superior temporal gyrus reveals source asynchrony in patients with schizophrenia

OBJECTIVE

An integrated analysis using Electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) is introduced to study abnormalities in early cortical responses to auditory stimuli in schizophrenia.

METHODS

Auditory responses were recorded simultaneously using EEG and MEG from 20 patients with schizophrenia and 19 control subjects. Bilateral superior temporal gyrus (STG) sources and their time courses were obtained using MEG for the 30-100 ms post-stimulus interval. The MEG STG source time courses were used to predict the EEG signal at electrode Cz.

RESULTS

In control subjects, the STG sources predicted the EEG Cz recording very well (97% variance explained). In schizophrenia patients, the STG sources accounted for substantially (86%) and significantly (P<0.0002) less variance. After MEG-derived STG activity was removed from the EEG Cz signal, the residual signal was dominated by 40 Hz activity, an indication that the remaining variance in EEG is probably contributed by other brain generators, rather than by random noise.

CONCLUSIONS

Integrated MEG and EEG analysis can differentiate patients and controls, and suggests a basis for a well established abnormality in the cortical auditory response in schizophrenia, implicating a disorder of functional connectivity in the relationship between STG sources and other brain generators.

Electrophysiological correlates of azimuth and elevation cues for sound localization in human middle latency auditory evoked potentials

OBJECTIVE

To study, in humans, the effects of sound source azimuth and elevation on primary auditory cortex binaural activity associated with sound localization.

DESIGN

Middle Latency Auditory Evoked Potentials (MLAEPs) were recorded from three channels, in response to alternating polarity clicks, presented at a rate of 5/sec, at nine virtual spatial locations with different azimuths and elevations. Equivalent dipoles of Binaural Interaction Components (BICs) of MLAEPs were derived from 15 normally and symmetrically hearing adults by subtracting the response to binaural clicks at each spatial location from the algebraic sum of responses to stimulation of each ear alone. The amplified potentials were averaged over 4000 repetitions using a dwell time of 78 micro sec/address/channel. Variations in magnitudes, latencies and orientations of the dipole equivalents of cortical activity were noted in response to the nine spatial locations.

RESULTS

Middle-latency BICs included six major components corresponding in latency to the vertex-neck recorded components of MLAEP. A significant decrease of equivalent dipole magnitude was observed for two of the components: Pa2 in response to clicks in the backward positions (medium and no elevation); and Nb in response to clicks in the back and front positions (medium and no elevation) in the midsagittal plane. In the coronal plane, Pa2 equivalent dipole magnitude significantly decreased in response to right-horizontal (no elevation) clicks. Significant effects on equivalent dipole latencies of Pa2 were found for backward positions (no elevation) in the midsagittal plane. No significant effects on Pa2 and Nb equivalent dipole orientations were found across stimulus conditions.

CONCLUSIONS

The changes in equivalent dipole magnitudes and latencies of MLAEP BICs across stimulus conditions may reflect spectral tuning in binaural primary auditory cortex neurons processing the frequency cues for sound localization.

The neurophysiology of auditory perception: from single units to evoked potentials

Evoked electric potential and magnetic field studies have the immense benefit that they can be conducted in awake, behaving humans and can be directly correlated with aspects of perception. As such, they are powerful objective indicators of perceptual properties. However, given a set of evoked potential and/or evoked field waveforms and their source locations, obtained for an exhaustive set of stimuli and stimulus contrasts, is it possible to determine blindly, i.e. predict, what the stimuli or stimulus contrasts were? If this can be done with some success, then a useful amount of information resides in scalp-recorded activity for, e.g., the study of auditory speech processing. In this review, we compare neural representations based on single-unit and evoked response activity for vowels and consonant-vowel phonemes with distinctions in formant glides and voice onset time. We conclude that temporal aspects of evoked responses can track some of the dominant response features present in single-unit activity. However, N1 morphology does not reliably predict phonetic identification of stimuli varying in voice onset time, and the reported appearance of a double-peak onset response in aggregate recordings from the auditory cortex does not indicate a cortical correlate of the perception of voicelessness. This suggests that temporal aspects of single-unit population activity are likely not inclusive enough for representation of categorical perception boundaries. In contrast to population activity based on single-unit recording, the ability to accurately localize the sources of scalp-evoked activity is one of the bottlenecks in obtaining an accessible neurophysiological substrate of perception. Attaining this is one of the requisites to arrive at the prospect of blind determination of stimuli on the basis of evoked responses. At the current sophistication level of recording and analysis, evoked responses remain in the realm of extremely sensitive objective indicators of stimulus change or stimulus differences. As such, they are signs of perceptual activity, but not comprehensive representations thereof.

Acute effect of nicotine on non-smokers: II. MLRs and 40-Hz responses

This paper is the second in a series of three investigating the role of cholinergic mechanisms in the auditory system by assessing the acute effects of nicotine, an acetylcholinomimetic drug, on aggregate responses within the auditory pathway. In a single-blind procedure, auditory responses were obtained from 20 normal-hearing, non-smokers (10 male) under two conditions (nicotine, placebo). The effects of nicotine on central, mesogenous responses of the auditory system (middle latency and 40-Hz responses) are described in this second paper. Results indicated that transdermal administration of nicotine to non-smokers does significantly affect the central, neural transmission of acoustic information. Na-Pa amplitude and Nb latency of the middle latency response and latency measures of the 40-Hz response were acutely altered by the presence of nicotine.

Acute effect of nicotine on non-smokers: III. LLRs and EEGs

This paper is the last in a series of three investigating the role of cholinergic mechanisms in the auditory system by assessing the acute effects of nicotine, an acetylcholinomimetic drug, on aggregate responses within the auditory pathway. In a single-blind procedure, auditory responses were obtained from 20 normal-hearing, non-smokers (10 male) under two conditions (nicotine, placebo). The effects of nicotine on long-latency responses of the auditory system and on electroencephalograms are described in this paper. Results indicated that transdermal administration of nicotine to non-smokers significantly affects the afferent and efferent transmission of acoustic information, as well as enhancing cortical activation. Long-latency response amplitudes and electroencephalogram activity (dominant power and frequencies) were altered by acute doses of transdermal nicotine.

The effect of interstimulus intervals and between-block rests on the auditory evoked potential and magnetic field: is the auditory P50 in humans an overlapping potential?

OBJECTIVE

The human auditory P50 may consist of overlapping potentials. To test this hypothesis, we manipulated interstimulus intervals (ISIs) and between-block rests, and recorded the P50, P50m, N100 and the N100m simultaneously.

METHODS

Subjects were 12 right-handed healthy adults. Four conditions included: (1) 1.5 s/rest, (2) 1.5 s/successive, (3) 0.5 s/rest, and (4) 0.5 s/successive. Auditory stimuli were presented a total of 880 times for each condition. Auditory evoked potentials and magnetic fields were recorded. We examined the P50, N100, P50m, N100m and dipoles of the P50m and the N100m.

RESULTS

There was no significant effect of the ISI on the P50 amplitudes, but the P50m amplitudes in the 0.5 s ISI conditions were significantly smaller than those in the 1.5 s ISI conditions. The N100 and the N100m amplitudes in the 0.5 s ISI conditions were significantly smaller than those in the 1.5 s ISI conditions. The N100 and the N100m amplitudes in the resting conditions were significantly larger than those in the successive conditions. The P50m dipoles were slightly deeper and more anterior than those of the N100m in primary auditory cortex.

CONCLUSIONS

Central structures other than supratemporal cortex contribute to the P50 and that the P50 in humans represents overlapping potentials.

Effects of tobacco smoking and abstinence on middle latency auditory evoked potentials

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the effects of tobacco cigarette smoking and overnight abstinence on middle latency auditory evoked potentials among smokers and nonsmokers.

METHODS

Groups of 9 to 10 adult male and female nonsmokers and smokers participated in the study. Each person volunteered for two laboratory sessions conducted in the early afternoon on 2 separate days. Smokers abstained from tobacco products 6 to 15 hours before the abstinent session and maintained their usual smoking behavior before the smoking session. The nonsmokers had a similar laboratory experience but sham smoked by means of inhaling air. Middle latency auditory evoked potentials were recorded from Cz to both ears as reference.

RESULT

The latencies of the Na and Pa potentials during the smoking session were significantly (p < 0.01) shorter than those in abstinent smokers and nonsmokers. After smoking, peak-to-trough amplitudes for the V-Na, Na-Pa, and Pa-Nb potentials were larger than those after abstinence and significantly larger than those among nonsmokers.

CONCLUSIONS

The shorter latencies of the middle latency brain wave components in the smoking session suggest faster processing of sensory information after cigarette smoking. Larger Pa amplitudes after cigarette smoking suggest a higher arousal level than that among partially abstinent smokers and nonsmokers.

Effect of stimulus level and frequency on ABR and MLR binaural interaction in human neonates

Auditory brainstem (ABR) and middle latency (MLR) responses were evoked by click and tone-burst stimuli from human neonates. Electrophysiologic evidence of binaural interaction was measured by subtracting waveforms obtained for binaural stimulus conditions from waveforms obtained for the sum of right ear monaural and left ear monaural stimulus conditions. The effects of stimulus level and stimulus frequency on binaural interaction were evaluated by measuring the number, latency and amplitude of components found in the derived binaural interaction waveform, that is, binaural interaction components (BIC). BICs were more prevalent in the latency range of ABRs than for MLRs. Click and tonal stimuli were equally effective for deriving ABR-BICs, while tone-bursts were somewhat less effective than clicks for deriving MLR-BICs. Stimulus-response dependencies for ABR and MLR component latencies were apparent in monaural, binaural and binaural interaction waveforms. Normalized amplitudes for BICs showed that low-frequency tone-burst stimuli resulted in the largest values compared to click and high-frequency tonal stimuli. Comparison of these results with published results from adults demonstrated immaturity of binaural interaction in neonates.

Possible overlapping potentials of the auditory P50 in humans: factor analysis of middle latency auditory evoked potentials

The auditory P50 in humans may consist of overlapping potentials. To test this hypothesis, we manipulated the conditions of stimulus discrimination and motor response difficulty and evaluated the data by factor analysis. Twenty right-handed males (mean age 27 years) performed the following 4 tasks: (1) a counting task, (2) an easy Go, No-Go task, (3) a difficult Go, No-Go task, and (4) a choice reaction task. Middle latency auditory evoked potentials were obtained with 100 times summation triggered by the onset of the auditory stimulus. Four factors were extracted by factor analysis for a 0-100 ms time period. Factor 1, the maximum factor loading at 91 ms, corresponded to N1, and factor 4, the maximum factor loading at 23 ms, appeared to correspond to P30. The latency of the maximum factor loading in factor 2 was adjacent to that in factor 3, the latency of factor 2 being 12 ms earlier than that of factor 3. Factor 2 and factor 3 latencies were approximately 55 ms which corresponded to the P50. Factor 3 started rising at the point that factor 2 reached the maximum factor loading, and the factor score demonstrated a significant group difference only when analyzed by motor response criteria. These results suggest that the P50 in humans consists of overlapping potentials and that a part of the potential might relate to a motor response process.

Neurobiology of speech perception

The mechanisms by which human speech is processed in the brain are reviewed from both behavioral and neurobiological perspectives. Special consideration is given to the separation of speech processing as a complex acoustic-processing task versus a linguistic task. Relevant animal research is reviewed, insofar as these data provide insight into the neurobiological basis of complex acoustic processing in the brain.

Middle latency response in children with learning disabilities: preliminary findings

The objective of this investigation was to determine if auditory middle latency responses (MLR) obtained from children with learning disabilities (LD) differ from those obtained from children without LD. Simultaneous recordings of auditory brainstem and middle latency responses were obtained in both vertex-ipsilateral (V-I) and vertex-contralateral derivations (V-C) in 22 children (11 LD and 11 normal) in the age range of eight to twelve years whose peripheral hearing was within normal limits to bilateral. The results indicate that for specific recording conditions, the latencies of middle latency responses differ significantly between children with LD and a normal group of children.

Specific tonotopic organizations of different areas of the human auditory cortex revealed by simultaneous magnetic and electric recordings

This paper presents data concerning auditory evoked responses in the middle latency range (wave Pam/Pa) and slow latency range (wave N1m/N1) recorded from 12 subjects. It is the first group study to report multi-channel data of both MEG and EEG recordings from the human auditory cortex. The experimental procedure involved potential and current density topographical brain mapping as well as magnetic and electric source analysis. Responses were compared for the following 3 stimulus frequencies: 500, 1000 and 4000 Hz. It was found that two areas of the auditory cortex showed mirrored tonotopic organization; one area, the source of N1m/N1 wave, exhibited higher frequencies at progressively deeper locations, while the second area, the source of the Pam/Pa wave, exhibited higher frequencies at progressively more superficial locations. The Pa tonotopic map was located in the primary auditory cortex anterior to the N1m/N1 mirror map. It is likely that N1m/N1 results from activation of secondary auditory areas. The location of the Pa map in A1, and its N1 mirror image in secondary auditory areas is in agreement with observations from animal studies.

Recovery of hypoglycaemia-associated compromised cerebral function after a short interval of euglycaemia in insulin-dependent diabetic patients

To test the hypothesis that compromised cerebral function, induced by recurrent hypoglycaemic episodes, may recover after a short interval of euglycaemia, we examined electrophysiological activity and symptom awareness during two sequential euglycaemic-hypoglycaemic clamp studies in 11 insulin-dependent diabetic patients without any signs of peripheral or autonomic neuropathy. Neurophysiological testing and evaluation of hypoglycaemic symptoms were performed at stable glycaemic plateaus of 5.6, 3.3, 2.2, and 1.7 mmol/l. The first clamp study was preceded by 3 short-term hypoglycaemic episodes, whereas the second clamp study followed a 2 day interval of strict euglycaemia. The latter caused a recovery of electrophysiological activity, which was demonstrated by recovery of delays of the middle latency auditory evoked potentials (latency shift of the P(a) component, MANOVA, P < 0.01). Reversal of hypoglycaemic symptom unawareness involved the overall symptom perception (MANOVA, P < 0.04), as well as the autonomic symptoms of heart pounding (P < 0.05) and sweating (P < 0.05). We conclude that the previously reported impaired cerebral function, occurring as a consequence of repetitive hypoglycaemic episodes, may recover after a single euglycaemic interval.

Binaural response patterns in subdivisions of the medial geniculate body

Auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) to binaural click stimulation were examined in the ventral (MGv) and caudomedial (MGcm) subdivisions of the medial geniculate body (MG) in guinea pigs. Binaural stimulation caused a decrease in amplitude for the response component recorded from the MGv, but an increase in amplitude for the AEP component recorded from the MGcm. Findings suggest that the evoked responses recorded from MGv and MGcm are functionally distinct. The inhibitory binaural response (BR) pattern seen in MGv was similar to that of the middle latency response (MLR) component recorded over the temporal cortex, while the additive BR pattern typical of the MGcm was similar to that of the surface midline MLR component. Furthermore, these data imply that the binaural response patterns seen in the primary and non-primary auditory cortex may be processed and encoded at the thalamic level. It is concluded that the distinct BR patterns noted for the two MG subdivisions reflect the predominant type of binaurally responsive neurons within the respective pathways.

Auditory evoked responses in Krabbe disease

Serial auditory evoked responses were investigated in 3 children with Krabbe disease. Auditory brainstem responses revealed prolongation of each wave component and interpeak latency with decreased amplitudes in later components which finally disappeared except for wave I. Long-latency auditory responses (LLRs) persisted in the advanced stage when all wave components of middle-latency auditory responses (MLRs) had disappeared. The results of auditory brainstem responses and MLRs are compatible with magnetic resonance imaging findings and a review of pathologic findings in Krabbe disease, including extensive involvement of brainstem and subcortical structures. It is suggested that the source of LLR waves is different from that of MLR because of the persistent existence of LLR waves. It is speculated that the cerebral cortex and/or subcortical U fibers, which are spared in Krabbe disease, have an important role in generating LLR wave components.

Contributions of medial geniculate body subdivisions to the middle latency response

Ongoing studies in our laboratory, concerned with identifying the neural pathways responsible for the auditory middle latency response (MLR), have involved analysis of surface and intracranial potentials following pharmacologic inactivation (with lidocaine) of small regions in the guinea pig brain. Previous studies indicate that MLR surface waves recorded over the temporal lobe originate from pathways anatomically distinct from those that generate MLR waves recorded over the midline. The medial geniculate body (MG) contributes to both MLR responses. At issue here are the relative contributions of ventral and caudomedial subdivisions, which have been linked to primary and non-primary auditory pathways, respectively. Ventral and caudomedial subdivisions contributed to the surface-recorded MLR in a distinctive manner. Lidocaine injections to both areas reduced the amplitude of the surface temporal response. Caudomedial injections had a much greater effect on the surface midline responses than did injections in the ventral portion. Thus, the ventral division, a part of the primary auditory pathway, contributes chiefly to the temporal response. The caudomedial portion, which may be linked to non-primary auditory pathways, contributes to both responses.

Binaural stimulation reveals functional differences between midline and temporal components of the middle latency response in guinea pigs

Two morphologically distinct auditory middle latency response (MLR) wave forms can be recorded from the surface of the guinea pig brain. The temporal response is recorded from the temporal lobe contralateral to the stimulus ear, and the midline response is recorded over the posterior midline. Experimental evidence suggests that different neural generators contribute to the two responses. Furthermore, it appears that the temporal response principally reflects activity of the primary auditory pathway while the midline response reflects non-primary pathways. Although it is known that neurons throughout the auditory pathway exhibit distinct binaural interaction (BI) properties, thus far there have been no systematic attempts to differentiate the MLR wave forms in response to binaural stimulation. The purpose of this study was to determine if binaural click stimulation could functionally differentiate the midline and temporal MLR responses in the guinea pig. Binaural click stimulation caused a significant decrease in temporal MLR peak amplitudes, and a significant increase in midline MLR amplitudes. The fact that different BI patterns were observed suggests that the two MLR components are functionally distinct. The data further support the hypothesis that the midline and temporal MLR in guinea pigs reflect different neural generators and pathways.