title: Continued maturation of auditory brainstem function during adolescence: A longitudinal approach.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Considerable attention has been devoted to understanding development of the auditory system during the first few years of life, yet comparatively little is known about maturation during adolescence. Moreover, the few studies investigating auditory system maturation in late childhood have employed a cross-sectional approach.
  
  
  METHODS
  To better understand auditory development in adolescence, we used a longitudinal design to measure the subcortical encoding of speech syllables in 74 adolescents at four time points from ages 14 through 17.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We find a developmental decrease in the spectral representation of the evoking syllable, trial-by-trial response consistency, and tracking of the amplitude envelope, while timing of the evoked response appears to be stable over this age range.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Subcortical auditory development is a protracted process that continues throughout the first two decades of life. Specifically, our data suggest that adolescence represents a transitional point between the enhanced response during childhood and the mature, though smaller, response of adults.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  That the auditory brainstem has not fully matured by the end of adolescence suggests that auditory enrichment begun later in childhood could lead to enhancements in auditory processing and alter developmental profiles.
authors: Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA(3); Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
authors: Jennifer
authors: J
authors: Krizman
authors: Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA(3); Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
authors: Adam
authors: A
authors: Tierney
authors: Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA(3); Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
authors: Ahren B
authors: AB
authors: Fitzroy
authors: Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA(3); Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
authors: Erika
authors: E
authors: Skoe
authors: Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA(3); Department of Neurobiology and Physiology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
authors: Jordan
authors: J
authors: Amar
authors: Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA(3); Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA; Institute for Neuroscience, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA; Department of Neurobiology and Physiology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA; Department of Otolaryngology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA. Electronic address: nkraus@northwestern.edu.
authors: Nina
authors: N
authors: Kraus
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation / Q000379:methods*; D000293:Adolescent; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000254:growth & development*; D016057:Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology*; D013067:Speech Perception / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Adolescence; Auditory; Auditory brainstem response; Development; FFR; cABR