Normal short-latency electrophysiological filtered click responses recorded from vertex and external auditory meatus.
We recorded normal electrophysiological responses to third-octave filtered clicks from external auditory meatus (EAM) and vertex electrodes referred to coupled earlobe electrodes (forehead ground). From both vertex and EAM, polarity-sensitive responses predominated at low frequencies and exhibited characteristics of both phase-locked neural responses (frequency-following response or FFR) and cochlear microphonics (CM). The FFR-like response predominated at the vertex site and the CM-like response predominated at EAM. At high frequencies, polarity-insensitive responses closely resembled rectangular-pulse click action potentials and brainstem evoked potentials, with clearly defined N1 and V peaks recorded from EAM and vertex, respectively. As frequency was lowered, the N1 and V peak latencies increased, the peaks broadened, and the latency-intensity curves steepened with greater prolongation occurring at lower click intensities. Lowering click frequency also shortened the N1-V interval and caused the plot of N1-V interval versus click intensity to become steeper. Plots of polarity-insensitive response amplitudes and thresholds against frequency revealed a high frequency bias for both N1 and V, but the V "frequency response" was flatter. A possible explanation of the shortened N1-V interval at low click frequencies based on this flatter V "Frequency response" is presented.
D000158:Acoustic Impedance Tests; D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000200:Action Potentials; D001309:Auditory Threshold; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000502:physiology; D005071:Evoked Potentials; D006801:Humans; D000159:Vestibulocochlear Nerve / Q000502:physiology