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Updated: Jun 17, 2026
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Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations
Published on: July 1, 2015
Auditory development in the absence of hearing in infancy
Karen Ann Gordon1, Jerome Valero, Stephanie F Jewell
1Archie's Cochlear Implant Laboratory, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 1X8, Canada. karen.gordon@utoronto.ca
Neuroreport
|January 1, 2010
Summary
Auditory brainstem pathways mature with stimulation. Early-onset deafness in children shows activity-independent development in the caudal brainstem, while rostral brainstem changes require cochlear implant input.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Auditory Neuroscience
- Developmental Neuroscience
Background:
- Auditory brainstem pathways require stimulation for maturation.
- The developmental trajectory in the absence of auditory input remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the development of auditory brainstem pathways in early-onset deafness.
- To differentiate between activity-independent and activity-dependent maturation processes.
Main Methods:
- Electrically evoked auditory nerve (eN1) and brainstem response (eII, eIII, eV) peaks were measured in 117 children with early-onset deafness.
- Data were collected at cochlear implant activation and analyzed for interpeak latencies.
Main Results:
- The interpeak latency eN1-eIII decreased in the first year of life without significant input, indicating activity-independent changes in the caudal auditory brainstem.
- Chronic cochlear implant stimulation was necessary for a significant reduction in the eIII-eV interpeak latency, suggesting activity-dependent maturation in the rostral brainstem.
Conclusions:
- Auditory brainstem maturation involves both activity-independent changes in infancy, primarily in the caudal regions and auditory nerve, and activity-dependent changes, predominantly in the rostral brainstem.
- Cochlear implants are crucial for driving the maturation of rostral auditory brainstem pathways.
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