Brainstem Evoked Potential Indices of Subcortical Auditory Processing Following Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

摘要

ObjectivesThe primary aim of this study was to assess subcortical auditory processing in individuals with chronic symptoms following mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) by measuring auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) to standard click and complex speech stimuli. Consistent with reports in the literature of auditory problems following mTBI (despite normal hearing thresholds), it was hypothesized that individuals with mTBI would have evidence of impaired neural encoding in the auditory brainstem compared to non-injured controls, as evidenced by delayed latencies and reduced amplitudes of ABR components. We further hypothesized that the speech-evoked ABR would be more sensitive than the click-ABR to group differences due to its complex nature, particularly when recorded in a background noise condition.