Frequency specificity of human auditory brainstem responses as revealed by pure-tone masking profiles.
The frequency specificity of the auditory brainstem response (ABR) was examined by means of pure-tone masking profiles using click, 4000-Hz, and 1000-Hz filtered-click stimuli. Simultaneous pure-tone maskers were presented at one-half octave intervals around stimulus center frequency. Masking profiles at two intensities (60 and 40 dB SL) were obtained by measuring both latency and amplitude shifts in wave V as a result of the discrete-frequency maskers. Both latency and amplitude analyses showed masking profiles at 40 dB SL that were narrow and centered around stimulus frequency, whereas profiles at 60 dB SL showed high-frequency spread of the cochlear excitation area.
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000328:Adult; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000502:physiology*; D005072:Evoked Potentials, Auditory; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010470:Perceptual Masking; D010898:Pitch Perception / Q000502:physiology; D011930:Reaction Time