Analysis of the click‐evoked brainstem potentials in man using high‐pass noise masking

Brainstem electrical responses (BSER) to 60‐dB‐SL click in noise high passed at various cutoff frequencies separated by 1/2‐octave steps were recorded in normal‐hearing adult subjects. By applying a derived response technique, narrow‐band contributions to the BSER from specific portions of the basilar membrane were revealed. Latencies and amplitudes of the various waves in the derived BSER were recorded. Results indicate that nearly the whole cochlear partition can contribute to the brainstem response. The shifts in latency of waves I, III, and V and amplitude changes of waves I and III as a function of CF appear to be fully comparable to those of the AP. In contrast, the amplitude behavior of wave V as a function of CF is different from waves I and III depending upon the frequency range. The discrepency in the behavior of wave V with respect to the earlier waves suggests some sort of neural reorganization at the level where wave V is generated. The fact that there are contributions to the brainstem response from apical portions of the cochlea opens the possibility for extending the brainstem technique in assessing the higher cochlear turn function.