Perception of auditory movement in children with poor listening skills: an ERP study

Long-latency ERP components were examined for scalp activation differences in children with poor and good listening skills in response to auditory movement created by IIDs. Eighteen children were grouped based on a parent questionnaire (CHAPS; Smoski et al, 1998) and clinical evaluation by a licensed audiologist. Obligatory cortical responses were recorded to an auditory movement and an auditory control task. Results showed greatest activation at fronto-central electrode sites. P1, N1, and P2 showed no significant effects. Significant differences in N2 amplitude and latency were present between groups at the lateral electrode sites (FC3, FC4) in the auditory movement but not in the auditory control task. More specifically, good listeners exhibited predominance of activation over the right hemisphere for left-moving sounds, whereas the poor listeners exhibited symmetric activation. These results suggest that abnormal hemispheric activation may be one of the reasons behind poor listening skills observed in some school-aged children.