Scalp-recorded frequency-following responses in neonates.

Low-frequency tone bursts (250, 500 and 1 000 Hz) were used to elicit frequency-following responses (FFRs) from full-term, healthy neonates. Easily identifiable FFRs were recorded from all well babies with stimulation at low-to-moderate levels (30-45 dB HLn). The amplitude and threshold values of neonatal FFRs were not significantly different from those of normally hearing adults. As in the adult, neonatal FFRs elicited by tone burst stimuli of 250 and 500 Hz were of greater amplitude and were observed at lower stimulus levels than FFRs recorded at higher frequency stimuli. At stimulus levels of 65 dB HLn, latency to the first peak in the FFR decreased as a function of increasing stimulus frequency. Neonatal FFRs evoked by tone bursts of 250 and 500 Hz exhibited significantly longer latencies compared to FFR recordings obtained from adults. These results suggest that: (1) Low-frequency basilar membrane sensitivity in neonates can be assessed as early as the first day of life. (2) The response properties of the FFR recorded from neonates were similar to the response properties of the FFR recorded from the adult. (3) For infants who fail conventional brainstem-evoked response screening procedures and/or for infants who are born "at risk", the FFR holds great promise as an assessment technique to determine the integrity of the low-frequency-sensitive regions of the cochlea and auditory brainstem.

[1]  H. Pratt,et al.  Identification and separation of acoustic frequency following responses (FFRS) in man. , 1977, Electroencephalography and clinical neurophysiology.

[2]  J. T. Marsh,et al.  Far-field recorded frequency-following responses: correlates of low pitch auditory perception in humans. , 1975, Electroencephalography and clinical neurophysiology.

[3]  G Moushegian,et al.  Laboratory note. Scalp-recorded early responses in man to frequencies in the speech range. , 1973, Electroencephalography and clinical neurophysiology.

[4]  George Moushegian,et al.  Laboratory noteScalp-recorded early responses in man to frequencies in the speech rangeReponses precoces enregistrees sur le scalp chez l'homme a des frequences dans la gamme du langage , 1973 .

[5]  R. Galamboš,et al.  Brain stem auditory-evoked responses in premature infants. , 1975, Journal of speech and hearing research.

[6]  R. Galamboš,et al.  Brain stem auditory evoked responses in human infants and adults. , 1974, Archives of otolaryngology.

[7]  E M Glaser,et al.  The human frequency-following response: its behavior during continuous tone and tone burst stimulation. , 1976, Electroencephalography and clinical neurophysiology.

[8]  T. Picton,et al.  Evoked potential audiometry. , 1976, The Journal of otolaryngology.

[9]  H. Davis,et al.  Principles of electric response audiometry. , 1976, The Annals of otology, rhinology, and laryngology.

[10]  D. D. Greenwood.  Critical Bandwidth and the Frequency Coordinates of the Basilar Membrane , 1961 .

[11]  G. Moushegian,et al.  Components of the frequency-following potential in man. , 1978, Electroencephalography and clinical neurophysiology.

[12]  G. Moushegian,et al.  Early tone-evoked responses in normal and hearing-impaired subjects. , 1976, Audiology : official organ of the International Society of Audiology.

[13]  K. Kodera,et al.  Simultaneous recordings of the brain stem response and the frequency-following response to low-frequency tone. , 1977, Electroencephalography and clinical neurophysiology.

[14]  A. Salamy,et al.  Postnatal development of human brainstem potentials during the first year of life. , 1976, Electroencephalography and clinical neurophysiology.

[15]  P Osterhammel,et al.  Frequency following auditory brain stem responses in man. , 1977, Scandinavian audiology.

[16]  G M Gerken,et al.  Human frequency-following responses to monaural and binaural stimuli. , 1975, Electroencephalography and clinical neurophysiology.

[17]  G. Moushegian,et al.  The frequency-following response in subjects with profound unilateral hearing loss. , 1976, Electroencephalography and clinical neurophysiology.

[18]  E. D. Boer,et al.  Low-Level frequency-Following responses , 1977 .

[19]  A. Salamy,et al.  Auditory brainstem recovery processes from birth to adulthood. , 1978, Psychophysiology.

[20]  J. T. Marsh,et al.  Far-field recorded frequency-following responses: evidence for the locus of brainstem sources. , 1975, Electroencephalography and clinical neurophysiology.