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Updated: Jun 23, 2026
Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations
Published on: July 1, 2015
Diffusion tensor imaging of the inferior colliculus and brainstem auditory-evoked potentials in preterm infants
Milla Reiman1, Riitta Parkkola, Reijo Johansson
1Department of Paediatrics, Turku University Central Hospital, Vaha-Hameenkatu 1 A 6, Turku, 20500, Finland. milla.reiman@utu.fi
Background:
Preterm and low-birth-weight infants have an increased risk of sensorineural hearing loss. Brainstem auditory-evoked potentials (BAEP) are an effective method to detect subtle deficits in impulse conduction in the auditory pathway. Abnormalities on diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) have been shown to be associated with perinatal white-matter injury and reduced fractional anisotropy (FA) has been reported in patients with sensorineural hearing loss.
Objectives:
To evaluate the possibility of a correlation between BAEP and DTI of the inferior colliculus in preterm infants.
Materials And Methods:
DTI at term age and BAEP measurements were performed on all very-low-birth-weight or very preterm study infants (n=56). FA and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of the inferior colliculus were measured from the DTI.
Results:
Shorter BAEP wave I, III, and V latencies and I-III and I-V intervals and higher wave V amplitude correlated with higher FA of the inferior colliculus.
Conclusion:
The association between the DTI findings of the inferior colliculus and BAEP responses suggests that DTI can be used to assess the integrity of the auditory pathway in preterm infants.
