Auditory Evoked Potentials in Communication Disorders: An Overview of Past, Present, and Future

Abstract

This article provides a brief overview of auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) and their application in the areas of research and clinics within the field of communication disorders. The article begins with providing a historical perspective within the context of the key scientific developments that led to the emergence of numerous types of AEPs. Furthermore, the article discusses the different AEP techniques in the light of their feasibility in clinics. As AEPs, because of their versatility, find their use across disciplines, this article also discusses some of the research questions that are currently being addressed using AEP techniques in the field of communication disorders and beyond. At the end, this article summarizes the shortcomings of the existing AEP techniques and provides a general perspective toward the future directions. The article is aimed at a broad readership including (but not limited to) students, clinicians, and researchers. Overall, this article may act as a brief primer for the new AEP users, and as an overview of the progress in the field of AEPs along with future directions, for those who already use AEPs on a routine basis.

A frequency peak at 3.1 kHz obtained from the spectral analysis of the cochlear implant electrocochleography noise

“…Several methods have been developed to study the auditory nerve function, such as the auditoryevoked compound action potentials obtained with electrocochleography [4][5][6], electrically evoked compound action potentials (ECAPs) obtained with cochlear implants (CI) [7], wave I auditory brainstem responses [8,9], or auditory-nerve compound responses recorded during neurosurgery in humans [10,11]. However, these techniques need to evoke neural responses using auditory or electrical stimulation [12], making it unfeasible to record auditory-nerve spontaneous activity.…”

A frequency peak at 3.1 kHz obtained from the spectral analysis of the cochlear implant electrocochleography noise

“…Several methods have been developed to study the auditory nerve function, such as the auditory-evoked compound action potentials obtained with electrocochleography (Galambos, 1956; Delano et al, 2007; Eggermont, 2019), electrically evoked compound action potentials (ECAPs) obtained with cochlear implants (CI) (Hey and Müller-Deile, 2015), wave I auditory brainstem responses (Steinhoff et al, 1988; Kujawa and Liberman, 2009), or auditory-nerve compound responses recorded during neurosurgery in humans (Yamakami et al, 2003; Ishikawa et al, 2017). However, these techniques need to evoke neural responses using auditory or electrical stimulation (Maggu, 2022), making it unfeasible to record auditory-nerve spontaneous activity.…”