Auditory brain stem evoked response in normal neonates and infants

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Audiology
• Pediatrics

Background:

• Auditory brainstem evoked responses (ABER) are crucial for assessing auditory pathway function in infants.
• Establishing normative data is essential for identifying auditory processing disorders in early development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish normative data for auditory brainstem evoked response (ABER) latency and interwave conduction times in term neonates and infants up to 24 months.
• To track the maturation of the auditory brainstem pathway during the first two years of life.

Main Methods:

• Auditory brainstem evoked responses (ABER) were recorded in term neonates and infants up to 24 months.
• Stimuli were presented at 75 decibels with a click rate of 20/sec.
• Latency of waves I, III, and V, and interwave latencies (I-III, I-V, III-V) were measured.

Main Results:

• Mean wave I latency decreased from 1.86 ms at birth to 1.64 ms at 12 months.
• Mean wave V latency decreased from 7.10 ms at birth to 6.15 ms at 12 months.
• Interwave conduction times (e.g., I-V) showed significant reductions, indicating maturation of brainstem pathways.

Conclusions:

• Auditory brainstem function undergoes significant maturation from birth to 12 months of age.
• The established normative data for ABER parameters are valuable for clinical audiological assessments in infants.
• These findings contribute to understanding auditory development and diagnosing hearing impairments in early childhood.