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Updated: May 19, 2026
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Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations
Published on: July 1, 2015
Brainstem auditory response findings in term neonates in intensive care unit
Ze D Jiang1, Chao Chen, Andrew R Wilkinson
1Division of Neonatology, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, China. zedong.jiang@paediatrics.ox.ac.uk
Summary
Term infants in neonatal intensive care units (NICU) show brainstem auditory evoked response (BAER) abnormalities. These auditory brainstem functional issues are more pronounced at higher click rates during testing.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal Neuroscience
- Auditory Neurophysiology
- Clinical Neurophysiology
Background:
- Neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) care for high-risk infants, including term neonates with perinatal issues.
- Auditory brainstem function is crucial for infant development, and abnormalities can impact long-term outcomes.
- Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response (BAER) is a non-invasive electrophysiological test to assess the auditory pathway from the cochlea to the brainstem.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate potential abnormalities in brainstem auditory function in term neonates admitted to the NICU.
- To determine if term neonates in the NICU exhibit differences in auditory brainstem pathways compared to healthy controls.
- To characterize the nature and prevalence of any detected auditory brainstem abnormalities using BAER.
Main Methods:
- Recruited 55 term neonates from a NICU with diverse perinatal problems.
- Conducted Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response (BAER) testing within the first week of life.
- Compared BAER results, including wave latencies and interpeak intervals, with those of normal term infants.
Main Results:
- While Wave I and III latencies were similar to controls, Wave V latency and I-V/III-V interpeak intervals showed increases, particularly at higher click rates (51 and 91/s).
- Analysis revealed significant increases in the III-V interval at 21/s and in Wave V latency and I-V/III-V intervals at higher rates (p < 0.05-0.01).
- Amplitudes of Waves I, III, and V were slightly reduced in NICU neonates but not significantly different from controls.
Conclusions:
- Term neonates in the NICU exhibit specific abnormalities in brainstem auditory evoked responses.
- These findings suggest a functional impairment within the auditory brainstem pathways of infants requiring NICU care.
- The observed abnormalities are more evident at higher auditory stimulation rates, indicating potential rate-dependent dysfunction.
