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The late auditory evoked potential masking-level difference as a function of noise level
1Veterans Administration Medical Center, Long Beach, CA.
Journal of Speech and Hearing Research
|February 1, 1992
Summary
The late auditory evoked potential masking-level difference (MLD) increases with noise, unlike behavioral MLD which saturates. This suggests similar but not identical characteristics between electrophysiological and psychoacoustic MLD measures.
Area of Science:
- Auditory Neuroscience
- Psychoacoustics
- Neurophysiology
Background:
- The masking-level difference (MLD) is a measure of binaural hearing ability.
- Behavioral MLD magnitude is known to increase with noise level, but typically saturates at high levels.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if the MLD derived from late auditory evoked potentials (P2) mirrors behavioral MLD characteristics regarding noise level effects.
- To compare electrophysiological and psychoacoustic MLD responses to varying noise levels.
Main Methods:
- P2 auditory evoked potential thresholds were measured in normal-hearing adults under SoNo and SπNo conditions.
- Noise levels ranged from 0 to 60 dB pressure spectrum level (Lps).
- The MLD was calculated as the threshold difference between SoNo and SπNo conditions.
Main Results:
- The P2-based MLD showed a linear increase with increasing noise levels up to 60 dB Lps.
- This linear increase contrasts with the reported saturation of behavioral MLD at high noise levels.
Conclusions:
- Late-potential MLD exhibits similarities to behavioral MLD but also key differences in response to noise levels.
- Electrophysiological MLD measures may reflect distinct neural processing compared to behavioral MLD.