Brain Stem Potentials Evoked by Binaural Click Stimuli with Differences in Interaural Time and Intensity

Abstract

Auditory-evoked brain stem potentials were recorded from 12 adults with normal hearing using click stimuli with differences in interaural time and intensity. Almost independent superimposed Jewett V peaks were produced, whose latency and amplitude depended on the parameters of the stimulus applied to either ear. This indicates that separate binaural information for the evaluation of sound source direction is still available at the brain stem level where wave Voriginates. We demonstrate that the normal nonlinear latency/intensity function may be responsible for the subjective compensation of time and intensity differences, since the well-known trading functions show similar intensity-dependent gradients.

Key Words:

• Electric response audiometry
• Brain stem potentials
• Binaural hearing
• Trading function