Cortical auditory evoked potentials to acoustic changes in speech stimuli in children.
OBJECTIVE
To compare the maturation of speech-evoked N170 components of cortical auditory evoked potentials with that of tone-evoked N1 components.


METHODS
Cortical auditory evoked potentials to speech and tone stimuli were derived in 42 children from age 4 to 14 years. The N170 was derived from the difference curve of responses to monosyllabic words with initial consonant-to-vowel transitions and their intensity-equivalent noise signals.


RESULTS
The incidence of N1 increased from 71% below age 9 to 91% above, that of N170 tended to increase from 40 to 67% above. From age 9, adult-like morphologies of the difference waveforms were found and the time constants of N1 and N170 latency maturation were nearly identical.


CONCLUSIONS
The N170 component is interpreted as a response to speech-specific acoustic changes such as the consonant-vowel transition. The late appearance of N170 indicates an electrophysiological correlate of speech perception that continues to develop into adolescence. Its clinical application, however, is limited due to the low incidence of N170.
Kummer
Peter
P
Department of Phoniatrics and Pediatric Audiology, University Hospital Erlangen, Medical School, Erlangen, Germany. peter.kummer@phoni.imed.uni-erlangen.de <kummer@phoni.imed.uni-erlangen.de>
Burger
Martin
M
Schuster
Maria
M
Rosanowski
Frank
F
Eysholdt
Ulrich
U
Hoppe
Ulrich
U
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005072:Evoked Potentials, Auditory / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011930:Reaction Time; D013060:Speech