Changes in contralateral brain-stem auditory evoked responses to cerebellopontine angle compression in rats

Eleven rats were subjected to graded compression of the brain stem at the cerebellopontine angle (CPA) following craniectomy and cerebellectomy. Clicks were delivered to the ear contralateral to the compression site, and brain-stem auditory evoked responses (BAER's) were collected before and during compression. With increasing compression, there was an increase in the latency and a decrease in the amplitude of the peaks of the BAER. The later peaks of the BAER (V and VI) demonstrated changes with minimal compression that progressed as compression increased, while changes in the amplitude and latency of the earlier peaks (II, III, and IV) occurred at the higher grades of compression. Following decompression of the brain stem, there was a decrease in the latencies of most of the BAER peaks. Peak amplitude remained depressed following brain-stem decompression. These experimental findings corroborate clinical reports of abnormal BAER's elicited from stimulation of the ear contralateral to a CPA tumor. The relative sensitivity of the later peaks of the BAER to even minimal brain-stem compression explains the prolonged III to V interpeak latency reported in the literature in patients with brain-stem compression from a CPA lesion. The possible mechanisms for the BAER changes that were observed contralateral to compression are discussed.