Auditory Brainstem Responses to Spatialized Speech

Authors: Elizabeth Fish, Mishaela DiNino, Melissa Polonenko

SUNY Campus: SUNY Buffalo

Presentation Type: Poster

Location: Old Union Hall

Presentation #: 19

Timeslot: Session C 1:45-2:45 PM

Abstract: Electrophysiological measures, such as auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) and electroencephalography (EEG) are widely used by audiologists and researchers to examine function of the auditory brainstem and cortex. However, ABRs are traditionally conducted to a brief click stimulus, which does not mimic speech that we hear in everyday listening. Polonenko & Maddox (2021) created a paradigm in which ABRs can be collected in response to continuous speech, which is thought to better assess the neural function that occurs during everyday listening. In addition, neural responses to sound are typically examined from one electrode near the top center of the head (Fz); responses from other electrodes may be more optimal for speech versus click paradigms, but this possibility has not yet been thoroughly investigated. In this study, participants listened to continuous speech while brainstem and cortical responses were recorded. The experiment included two spatialized conditions, one where the two talkers were both played at the front, and the other where the two stories were spatially separated. The analyses will compare neural responses between these two conditions at different electrode locations, which may reflect different neural generators based on perceived spatial location. To examine how this paradigm can be used to conduct speech-based ABRs in clinics in the future, responses from electrodes in the left and right hemisphere in comparison to the typical Fz electrode will additionally be examined. These analyses should give us a greater understanding of neural processing in the auditory system.