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Updated: May 4, 2026
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Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations
Published on: July 1, 2015
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Stability and plasticity of auditory brainstem function across the lifespan.
Erika Skoe1, Jennifer Krizman2, Samira Anderson3
1Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory Department of Communication Sciences Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA Current address: Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Faculty Affiliate of the Department of Psychology, Faculty Affiliate of the Cognitive Sciences Program, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA.
Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)
|December 25, 2013
Summary
Auditory brainstem development continues past age 2, with unique childhood "overshoot" in latency and amplitude. Age-specific norms are crucial for understanding auditory function across the lifespan.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Auditory Neuroscience
- Developmental Neuroscience
Background:
- Human auditory brainstem development was previously thought to stabilize around age 2.
- Limited data and averaging obscured subtle, prolonged developmental changes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate subtle variations in auditory brainstem function from infancy to old age.
- To characterize developmental trajectories beyond early childhood.
Main Methods:
- Recorded auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) in 586 healthy individuals across the lifespan.
- Utilized click and speech syllable (da) stimuli.
- Analyzed latency, frequency encoding, response consistency, and nonstimulus activity.
Main Results:
- Developmental changes in auditory brainstem function extend well beyond age 2.
- Identified an
- overshoot
- period in childhood (5-11 years) with earlier latencies and greater amplitudes than adults.
- Distinct developmental profiles observed for different ABR measures.
Conclusions:
- Auditory brainstem development follows an elongated trajectory with multiple processes.
- Childhood overshoot highlights unique developmental plasticity.
- Emphasizes the need for age-specific normative data in auditory research and clinical practice.
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