Variability of amplitude and area of the auditory nerve compound action potential

The strength of neural response to sensory stimuli is often estimated by measurement of the amplitude of gross neural potentials. These gross potentials reflect the summed activity of a population of neurons. The amplitude of these potentials is dependent upon the synchrony of the contributing neural responses. We compared the variability of the peak-to-peak amplitude of the auditory nerve compound action potential (CAP) with that of the area under the peaks. The area under the peaks was significantly less variable than the amplitude for responses to low frequency stimuli. Responses to other stimuli showed differences in the same direction, but these were not significant. We conclude that the area under these peaks is a more precise measure of neural response than measurement of waveform amplitude at least for responses to low frequency stimuli.