Steady-state analysis of auditory evoked potentials over a wide range of stimulus repetition rates in awake vs. natural sleep

Abstract

Objective: Auditory steady-state responses (ASSR) evoked by recurrent tones were assessed over a wide range of stimulus repetition rates embracing well the traditionally measured transient AEPs. Repetition rates of ≤10 Hz have received little attention in the context of the ASSR stimulus-response analysis approach which is speculated to provide technical advantages, if not additional/supplemental information, over more traditional transient stimulus-response paradigms. Design: Magnitudes were measured at repetition rates from 0.75 to 80 Hz, using trains of recurrent tone-burst stimuli. Study sample: Twenty-five normal-hearing adults during sleep and awake. Results: Results show that response magnitudes for adults tested during sleep were significantly larger than those for adults while awake at repetition rates <5 Hz. Magnitudes were largest at the two lowest repetition rates, as expected from corresponding results obtained using conventional methods. Conclusions: The analysis methods used in this paper may give information that will have applications for clinical testing. Results confirm and extend knowledge of the effects of repetition rate on AEPs over a range embracing the gamut of responses as traditionally classified, specifically at the beginning stages of natural sleep.

Key Words::

• Auditory evoked potentials
• auditory steady-state responses
• total harmonic distortion
• harmonic sum; sleep

Acknowledgements

Special thanks are given to Drs. Diane Sabo and Sheila Pratt for their input throughout this study, as well as Dr. Elaine Rubinstein for her assistance in statistical analysis. This project was supported in part by Intelligent Hearing Systems Inc. and the School of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences Developmental Fund at the University of Pittsburgh. The methods reported herein include proprietary information (patent pending). The contents do not represent the views of the Department of Veterans Affairs or the United States Government.

Declaration of interest:The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.