Different functional properties of on and off components in auditory brainstem responses to tone bursts

Auditory brainstem responses to tone bursts of constant rise and fall time and variable plateau were obtained in 7 normal hearing adults with a vertex to mastoid electrode configuration. In all records, two vertex-positive components (A, B) were present. Peak A is probably an onset response. Peak B latency increased linearly with plateau duration (r = 0.93) and seems to be an off response. White and notched acoustic noise masking had a different effect on the two components. A greater latency shift was observed for peak A than for peak B, thus reducing the interpeak interval in the masked response. When using high-pass noise, as we lowered the cut-off points from 4 to 0.5 kHz, there was also a greater latency increment for peak A than for peak B. These results suggest a more apical cochlear origin for the off response.