Reliability of latency and amplitude values of auditory-evoked potentials

General formulas for the computation of the accuracy of latency and amplitude values, derived from evoked-potential recordings, are presented. In the case of brainstem auditory-evoked potentials (BAEPs), the comparison with the experimentally deduced standard deviations of these quantities proves that the residual noise present in the recording is the only source of inaccuracy, and that a short prestimulus time interval is the only requirement for a reliable computation of the error limits. The practical realization of the error estimation in computer programs is outlined and the relevance of the accuracy limits is discussed.