Steady-state auditory evoked potentials to amplitude-modulated tones in hearing-impaired subjects

Evoked potentials to sinusoidal amplitude-modulated tones have been described in normally hearing adults. Our aim was to test the use of this response to estimate pure tone threshold in adults with a sensorineural hearing loss. Patients with symmetrical pure tone audiograms with near-normal responses in the lower frequencies but with a hearing loss of greater than 65 dB HL at 8 kHz were tested. The stimulus carrier frequency was 1, 2, 4 and 8 kHz and this was modulated at a frequency of 40 kHz to a depth of 85%. The resulting EEG response is a sine wave of the same frequency as the modulation frequency. Threshold is determined when the sine wave disappears. Twenty-two patients were tested. None showed a response to the high frequencies. At the lower frequencies 18 patients showed clear responses and the threshold was 16 to 27 dB above the psychoacoustical threshold. The remaining four cases showed responses at the lower frequencies but only at higher threshold levels. These evoked potentials may provide a rapid method to assess hearing in those subjects unable to provide a reliable volitional response.     

Analysis of evoked responses in man elicited by sinusoidally modulated noise

For two subjects responses at the cortex, elicited by sinusoidally modulated white noise, have been measured. The influences of the modulation frequency, in a region around 9 Hz, and of the modulation depth are investigated. For one subject an undistored sine wave was measured at frequencies between 8 and 11 Hz, with a maximum amplitude of 3 μV at about 9 Hz. For the other subject a distorted wave was found. This wave has been analysed into its harmonic components. The spectrum consists mainly of the first and the second harmonic.

Plotting the amplitudes of the different spectral components as a function of the modulation frequency gives a characteristic for the first harmonic which is comparable with that for subject 1, although less sharp. For the second harmonic the greatest amplitudes are found at lower frequencies. By varying the modulation depth a saturation effect was found at about 25% modulation depth for both subjects.

The characteristics found with evoked response techniques are very different from those found in psychophysical experiments with sinusoidally amplitude-modulated white noise. In this case the transfer function suggests a low-pass filtering effect with cut-off frequencies between 50 and 80 Hz, depending upon the subject.

The discrepancy between the results of the psychological and the electrophysiological experiments can possibly be explained by a model which consists of a low-pass filter, a rectifier, a saturation mechanism and a cortical filter.     

Stimulus properties influencing the responses of inferior colliculus neurons to amplitude-modulated sounds

The temporal pattern of the responses of neurons in the inferior colliculus of the anesthetized rat were studied using continuous tone or noise carrier signals, amplitude modulated by pseudorandom noise. Period histograms of the responses, cross-correlated with the pseudorandom noise, gave an estimate of the unit's impulse responses to modulation. The amplitude-modulation rate transfer function (MTF) was obtained by Fourier transforming the correlograms. At sound levels within approximately 15 dB of the unit threshold, the MTFs were near lowpass functions between 6 and 200 Hz but became more bandpass-like as the intensity was increased. There was a steep decline in the response to modulation at modulation frequencies above 200 Hz for all stimulus intensities. For the bandpass-type MTFs the greatest modulation of the discharge pattern occurred at modulation frequencies between 10 and 200 Hz with a maximum in the distribution of MTF peak values between 100 and 120 Hz. There was no consistent relationship with characteristic frequency of either the position of the MTF peak or the high-frequency cutoff of the MTF. The cross-correlograms obtained at high stimulus intensities (30-60 dB above threshold) often showed a negative peak, representing a decrease in the probability of firing in response to intensity increments in the stimulus, and denoting a nonmonotonic rate-intensity function. The MTFs for units responding to amplitude-modulated broadband noise were often flatter in the low frequency region than those generated with tone carriers at corresponding intensities. For some units addition of a broadband noise background to the modulated tone changed the response characteristic of the MTF from bandpass to lowpass and shifted the MTF peak to a lower modulation frequency. The results demonstrate that although neurons in the inferior colliculus are selectively sensitive to the modulation frequency of dynamic stimuli, the response characteristics are not invariant, but instead are closely dependent on the conditions under which the modulation is presented.     

Scalp potentials of normal and hearing-impaired subjects in response to sinusoidally amplitude-modulated tones

None of the current electrical audiometric procedures, alone or in combination, has yet achieved the precision of conventional audiometric testing that is used to assess hearing in verbally capable children and adults. The reason for this, in part, lies in the use of stimuli which have a wide frequency content. We have measured scalp potentials which follow the envelopes of sinusoidally amplitude-modulated tones: a frequency-specific stimulus. In normal subjects such amplitude-modulation following responses (AMFRs) appear to be generated by two sources. One source has a latency of about 30 ms, generates large responses and is only observed at modulations below 55 Hz, while the other source has a latency of 7-9 ms, generates smaller responses, and is only observed at modulations from 100-350 Hz. The latencies of these two sources are consistent with origins in the cortex and midbrain, respectively. We examined AMFRs to low frequency (50 Hz) modulations as a possible audiometric tool. In normal subjects, the amplitude of the AMFR increased as a function of intensity, decreased as a function of carrier frequency, and could be evoked across the whole audiometric range (250-8000 Hz). In hearing-impaired subjects, the AMFR amplitudes as a function of carrier frequency accurately reflected the pattern of hearing loss on a frequency-by-frequency basis. In most subjects, the threshold for evoking the AMFR was within 0-25 dB of hearing threshold. It therefore appears that the AMFR may be a potentially useful tool to assess hearing in those unable to undergo conventional audiometric testing.     

Addition of noise enhances neural synchrony to amplitude-modulated sounds in the frog's midbrain

The ability of 109 single units in the midbrain acoustic centre of frogs (Rana ridibunda, Rana temporaria) to reproduce 10%, 20 Hz sinusoidal amplitude modulation of a long-duration characteristic frequency tone was studied. The sinusoidal modulation was presented either in isolation or summed with a low-frequency (0-50 Hz) noise. Recordings were obtained in the adapted state. The magnitude of the 20 Hz periodic response component was estimated by means of the synchronisation coefficient and the amplitude of the sine modulation of the instantaneous spike rate. In many units, addition of noise modulation produced considerable enhancement of both the mean discharge rate and the discharge rate synchronised to the 20 Hz amplitude modulation. This enhancement phenomenon is interpreted in the context of stochastic resonance theory.     

Nonlinear functional modeling of scalp recorded auditory evoked responses to maximum length sequences

The purpose of this study was to model the adult human's scalp recorded evoked response to auditory pulses separated by varying inter pulse intervals (IPIs). The responses modeled probably reflect auditory nerve and brainstem generators. The subjects were 10 young adult humans with normal hearing. They were presented pseudo random sequences of pulses (maximum length sequences, MLSs) in order to characterize their system response. For the stimuli and the responses modeled accounting for temporal nonlinearities (interactions among the pulses) improved model performance only marginally. Nonlinear contributions to the models decreased with increasing interval between the input pulses. Increasing the memory of the model beyond 20 ms did not increase modeled performance dramatically. Model performance varied as a function of minimum IPI (MIPI) of the MLSs. At the shortest MIPI overall model performance deteriorated (due, in part, to a decrease in SNR), but nonlinear effects became relatively more important. At the longest MIPI performance also deteriorated, possibly due to the increasing influence of longer latency, more variable evoked potential components. Modeled performance generalized to responses recorded in the same recording session to the same and different MLSs. This study confirms the similarity between MLS linear kernels and conventionally averaged evoked responses- both are adapted responses reflecting the IPIs of the evoking stimuli.     

Coherence analysis of scalp responses to amplitude-modulated tones

Magnitude squared coherence is a method of auditory evoked potential (AEP) frequency-domain analysis, measuring the degree to which the AEP is determined by the stimulus as a function of frequency. In 10 normal-hearing human subjects, scalp responses to an amplitude-modulated (AM) tone (500 Hz carrier modulated with a 40 Hz envelope) were recorded. Critical value criteria were utilized in the statistical analysis of coherence-intensity functions for determination of threshold responses. When compared with subjective determination of AEP threshold from time-domain waveforms, coherence analysis provided a significantly (p less than 0.001) more sensitive threshold measure. Coherence analysis provides information on the spectral content of the response, and allows for the objective determination of threshold which may potentially be utilized in a more expeditious threshold measurement scheme.     

Mechanical preprocessing of amplitude-modulated sounds in the apex of the cochlea

Sound-evoked vibrations of individual Hensen's cells in the apical turn of a living guinea pig cochlea were recorded using a displacement-sensitive laser interferometer. The mechanical responses to amplitude-modulated (AM) tones were investigated, and are shown to be physiologically vulnerable. In the healthy cochlea, the AM responses are demodulated strongly at both moderate and high sound pressure levels. In the less healthy and postmortem cochlea, AM demodulation is weaker and is only seen at high stimulus levels. The physiologically vulnerable component of the demodulation is considered to be an analogue of the baseline position shifts that can be seen in the apical cochlea's responses to pure-tone stimuli, and is likely to originate in the cellular motility of the cochlea's outer hair cells.     

Speech evoked auditory brainstem responses: a new tool to study brainstem encoding of speech sounds

The neural encoding of speech sound begins in the auditory nerve and travels to the auditory brainstem. Non speech stimuli such as click or tone bursts stimulus are used to check the auditory neural integrity routinely. Recently Speech evoked Auditory Brainstem measures (ABR) are being used as a tool to study the brainstem processing of Speech sounds. The aim of the study was to study the Speech evoked ABR to a consonant vowel (CV) stimulus. 30 subjects with normal hearing participated for the study. Speech evoked ABR were measured to a CV stimulus in all the participants. The speech stimulus used was a 40?ms synthesized/da/sound. The consonant and vowel portion was analysed separately. Speech evoked ABR was present in all the normal hearing subjects. The consonant portion of the stimulus elicited peak V in response waveform. Response to the vowel portion elicited a frequency following response (FFR). The FFR further showed a coding of the fundamental frequency (F0) and the first formant frequency (F1). The results of the present study throw light on the processing of speech in brainstem. The understanding of speech evoked ABR has other applications both in research as well as in clinical purposes. Such understanding is specially important if one is interested in studying the central auditory system function.     

Nasal vasomotor responses in man to breath holding and hyperventilation recorded by means of intranasal balloons

Nasal vasomotor responses were recorded in conscious human subjects by means of water filled balloons. Hyperventilation caused an increase in intranasal balloon pressure associated with vasodilatation whereas breath holding caused a decrease associated with vasoconstriction. The amplitude of the nasal vasomotor response was influenced by the nasal cycle with the greatest response always observed on the congested or low airflow side of the nose. The results suggest that an elevated arterial level of carbon dioxide causes a pronounced vasoconstruction of the nasal blood vessels and that this response may be clinically relevant in controlling nasal bleeding.     

Intensity and rate functions of cochlear and brainstem evoked responses to click stimuli in man

Summary The complex of five waves, which are the responses to click stimuli of the auditory nerve and the brainstem auditory nuclei, were recorded in ten human subjects by means of earlobe and scalp electrodes. The rate of the stimuli was varied from 5/s to 80/s and their intensity was varied over a 70 dB intensity range in order to study the rate and intensity functions of each of the response components. With increasing click intensity, the amplitude of the first wave (generated by the auditory nerve) increased proportionally while the amplitudes of the later waves (generated by the brainstem auditory nuclei) reached their maximum amplitudes at intermediate click levels (saturation), and at high intensities occasionally even decreased in amplitude. The latency of each of the waves decreased by similar amounts as the intensity was increased. With increasing click rates, the amplitude of the first wave decreased the most, while there were smaller effects on the amplitude of the later waves. There was no effect of click rate on the latency of the first wave, but the latency of the later waves increased with click rate, the effect being greater on the later waves. In the rate functions, the latency change of a wave was greater than that of the waves preceding it (accumulative effect). These results are explained by overlapping convergence and divergence in the ascending auditory pathway. These results support the notion that the principal component of each wave is activated by the principal component of the previous wave. These results may explain the relative ease with which several workers record the fourth wave of the complex, and their preference for this response.     

Steady-state evoked potentials to amplitude modulated tones in the monkey.

A frequency-specific, objective assessment of hearing thresholds is required for use in subjects unable to perform behavioural audiometry. One such method using steady-state evoked potentials (SSEPs) in response to amplitude-modulated tones was evaluated in an experimental animal, the macaque monkey. An amplitude-modulation frequency of 165 Hz was found to produce optimum response detection in the anaesthetised animal. Auditory thresholds determined by a computerised automatic response detection system accurately reflected behavioural thresholds previously described in this species.     

Comparison of neonatal transient evoked otoacoustic emission responses recorded with linear and QuickScreen protocols

Linear and QuickScreen (non-linear) transient evoked otoacoustic emission (TEOAE) protocols were compared in terms of standardized clinical parameters in order to define the protocol producing recordings with the highest signal quality. Neonatal responses (520) were obtained from three different screening sites. The linear recordings were evoked by 69 and 75-dB p.e. SPL clicks. All responses were post-windowed by a 3.5- to 12.5-ms window, chosen by time-frequency analysis as the segment representing 97.35 per cent (linear) and 95.6 per cent (quick) of the total cumulative spectral energy. Evidence from hearing loss cases and the high similarity between the profile contours of the QuickScreen and the linear normal recordings have strongly suggested that a linear response evoked by a 75-dB p.e. SPL stimulus and post-processed by a 3.5 to 12.5 window is free of stimulus artefacts. The data indicate that the 75-dB linear protocol produces higher signal to noise ratios at 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0 kHz, higher wave reproducibility, and lower TEOAE noise values than the QuickScreen protocol.