Could Tailored Chirp Stimuli Benefit Measurement of the Supra-threshold Auditory Brainstem Wave-I Response?

This study aimed to test previous claims that ABR latency dispersion differs between waves I and V, and between males and females, and thus that using wave- and/or sex-tailored chirps may provide more reliable wave-I benefit . Using the derived-band technique, we measured responses from frequency-restricted (one-octave-wide) cochlear regions to energy-matched click and chirp stimuli. The derived-band responses’ latencies were used to assess any wave- and/or sex-related dispersion differences across bands, and their am plitudes, to evaluate any within-band dispersion differences. Our results suggest that sex-related dispersion difference within the lowest-frequency cochlear regions (<  1 kHz), where dispersion is generally greatest, may be a predominant driver of the often-reported sex difference in broadband ABR amplitude. At the same time, they showed no systematic dispersion difference between waves I and V. Instead, they suggest that reduced chirp benefit on wave I may ari se as a result of chirp-induced desynchronization of on- and off-frequency responses generated at the same cochlear places, and resultant reduction in response contributions from higher-frequency cochlear regions, to which wave I is thought to be particularly sensitive.

Source: JARO - Journal of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology - August 19, 2022 Category: ENT & OMF Source Type: research