title: Abrupt unilateral deafness modifies function of human auditory pathways.
abstract: We studied nine patients with unilateral abrupt deafness caused by acoustic neuroma surgery. Cortical responses to tones delivered to the intact ear were recorded postoperatively with a 122-channel whole-scalp neuromagnetometer. In three patients, followed for 12 months with 2-4 measurements, evoked responses originating in the auditory cortices were weak and delayed one month after the operation in both hemispheres. During the follow-up, the amplitudes reached the control level. No response abnormalities were found in patients who were studied 1.5-4.5 years after the operation. Our findings suggest that abrupt unilateral deafness causes immediate changes in the function of auditory pathways of adult humans and that reorganization takes place within 1 year.
authors.affiliation: Low Temperature Laboratory, Helsinki University of Technology, Espoo, Finland.
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Vasama
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Mäkelä
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Pyykkö
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hari
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001306:Auditory Pathways / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003638:Deafness / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005072:Evoked Potentials, Auditory / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D015225:Magnetoencephalography; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009464:Neuroma, Acoustic / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery