Correlated brain stem and cortical evoked responses to auditory tone change.
Numerous human studies have separately observed the effects of auditory stimuli at brain stem and cortical levels, but little research has focused on possible functional coupling between these diverse brain areas. The present study recorded the cortical C-process [5] evoked by a pitch change between two successive tones, as well as the brain stem frequency-following response (FFR) evoked by each tone. The results replicated expected C-process component waveforms, including a late, negative (N2) component. FFR spectral intensity differences between the two tones were significantly correlated with N2 amplitude. These results suggest that signal processing reflected in long-latency auditory evoked response components is not exclusively a cortical phenomenon, but also depends upon patterns of neural processing occurring in brain stem pathways.
Galbraith
Gary C
GC
UCLA-MRRC Research Group, Lanterman Developmental Center, P.O. Box 100-R, Pomona, CA 91769, USA. garyg@ucla.edu
Gutterson
Ryan P
RP
Levy
Dana S
DS
Mussey
Joanna L
JL
Sabatasso
Francesca A
FA
Wasserman
Rebecca I
RI
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D000328:Adult; D001303:Auditory Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D001306:Auditory Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D001931:Brain Mapping; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000502:physiology*; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000379:methods; D005072:Evoked Potentials, Auditory / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010898:Pitch Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; D013057:Spectrum Analysis