Effects of aging on event-related potentials to single-cycle binaural beats and diotic amplitude modulation of a tone.

Effects of aging on event-related potentials to single-cycle binaural beats and diotic amplitude modulation of a tone. Brain Res. 2020 Apr 21;:146849 Authors: Ungan P, Yagcioglu S, Ayik E Abstract Aim of the study is to determine whether the auditory processing of temporal fine structure (TFS) is affected with normal aging, even in the presence of normal audiometric hearing and fine cognitive state; and, if it is, to see whether a comparable effect is also observed in the processing of a diotic change in sound envelope. The event-related potentials (ERPs) to binaural beats (BBs), which are the responses of the binaural mechanisms processing TFS of a sound, and the ERPs to diotic amplitude modulation (AM) stimuli, which are the responses of the monaural mechanisms processing the changes in its envelope, were recorded from thirteen young university students and ten senior but active university professors, all with normal hearing in low frequencies. To obtain directly the specific BB responses without confounding monaural frequency change-evoked responses, we used single-cycle BB stimuli with temporary sub-threshold frequency shifts. BBs of a 250-Hz tone and diotic AM of the same tone with similar perceptual salience were presented with 2-second stimulus onset asynchrony. The N1 components of the ERPs to both stimuli displayed notable age-dependent changes in their scalp topography and significant amplitude reduction and latency prolong...
Source: Brain Research - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: Brain Res Source Type: research