Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 21, 2025
Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations
Published on: July 1, 2015
Altered Auditory and Visual Evoked Potentials following Single and Repeated Low-Velocity Head Rotations in 4-Week-Old
Anna Oeur1, William H Torp1, Kristy B Arbogast2,3
1Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Emory University and Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA.
Insights
Auditory and visual evoked potentials (EP) reveal distinct brain activity changes after concussion. Rapid non-impact head rotations (RNR) impact auditory and visual processing differently, highlighting the role of injury biomechanics in neurofunctional deficits.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Biomedical Engineering
- Traumatic Brain Injury Research
Background:
- Auditory and visually evoked potentials (EP) can monitor cognitive changes post-concussion.
- Literature shows varied EP responses, including decreased activity and increased cortical activity after injury.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate auditory and visual EP changes following single (sRNR) and repeated (rRNR) rapid non-impact head rotations (RNR) in piglets.
- To determine if injury biomechanics influence neurofunctional deficits after concussion.
Main Methods:
- Auditory and visual EPs were assessed in 4-week-old female Yorkshire piglets (N=35) using a 32-electrode net.
- Piglets underwent anesthetized sham, sRNR, or rRNR procedures, with assessments pre-injury and at 1, 4, and 7 days post-injury.
- Traditional EP indices (N1, P2 amplitudes/latencies) were extracted, and source localization estimated brain activity.
Main Results:
- Sham group showed decreased auditory EPs and brain activity, but not visual activity.
- sRNR group exhibited increased N1 and P2 amplitudes for both auditory and visual stimuli.
- rRNR group displayed decreased visual N1 amplitudes and faster visual P2 latencies.
Conclusions:
- Auditory and visual EPs exhibit different change patterns after sRNR and rRNR.
- Injury biomechanics are critical in defining neurofunctional deficits following concussion.
Abstract:
Auditory and visually evoked potentials (EP) have the ability to monitor cognitive changes after concussion. In the literature, decreases in EP are commonly reported; however, a subset of studies shows increased cortical activity after injury. We studied auditory and visual EP in 4-week-old female Yorkshire piglets (N = 35) divided into anesthetized sham, and animals subject to single (sRNR) and repeated (rRNR) rapid non-impact head rotations (RNR) in the sagittal direction. Two-tone auditory oddball tasks and a simple white-light visual stimulus were evaluated in piglets pre-injury, and at days 1, 4- and 7 post injury using a 32-electrode net. Traditional EP indices (N1, P2 amplitudes and latencies) were extracted, and a piglet model was used to source-localize the data to estimate brain regions related to auditory and visual processing. In comparison to each group's pre-injury baselines, auditory Eps and brain activity (but not visual activity) were decreased in sham. In contrast, sRNR had increases in N1 and P2 amplitudes from both stimuli. The rRNR group had decreased visual N1 amplitudes but faster visual P2 latencies. Auditory and visual EPs have different change trajectories after sRNR and rRNR, suggesting that injury biomechanics are an important factor to delineate neurofunctional deficits after concussion.
