Journal article
The effect of development on cortical auditory evoked potentials in normal hearing listeners and cochlear implant users
Frontiers in human neuroscience, Vol.19, 1473365
10/15/2025
DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2025.1473365
PMCID: PMC12570083
PMID: 41170174
Abstract
Introduction: Cortical auditory evoked potentials (CAEPs), such as the P1-N1-P2 complex (onset response) and the acoustic change complex (ACC), provide insight into sound detection and discrimination. While their developmental trajectories are well documented in normal-hearing (NH) listeners, less is known about how these responses develop in pediatric cochlear implant (CI) users and how they are affected by background noise.
Methods: CAEPs were recorded in quiet and +10 dB SNR noise conditions using long-duration vowel stimuli from 91 children and 11 adults with NH and 59 CI users (48 pre-lingually deafened children/young adults and 11 post-lingually deafened adults). Peak latencies (P1, N1, P2) and N1-P2 amplitudes were measured. Developmental effects were analyzed using linear regression, t-tests, and correlation analyses comparing child and adult waveforms.
Results: Both onset and ACC responses were present across groups, with P1 latency decreasing significantly with age in NH and CI listeners. The ACC followed a similar developmental trajectory as the onset response but matured later, emerging reliably in adolescence. Noise delayed maturation, lengthened latencies, and reduced amplitudes, particularly for the ACC. CI users implanted before 3.5 years showed developmental patterns comparable to NH peers, though both onset and ACC responses were more affected by noise in CI users.
Discussion/Conclusion: These findings demonstrate that early implantation supports the typical development of cortical auditory responses, underscoring the importance of neuroplasticity in pediatric CI users. However, the pronounced vulnerability of the ACC to noise highlights ongoing challenges in sound discrimination for CI users. CAEPs, especially ACC measures, may serve as objective markers of auditory maturation and could complement behavioral assessments in clinical practice.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- The effect of development on cortical auditory evoked potentials in normal hearing listeners and cochlear implant users
- Creators
- Eun Kyung Jeon - University of Iowa, Communication Sciences and DisordersCarolyn Brown - University of IowaPaul Abbas - University of IowaBruce Gantz - University of Iowa
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Frontiers in human neuroscience, Vol.19, 1473365
- DOI
- 10.3389/fnhum.2025.1473365
- PMID
- 41170174
- PMCID
- PMC12570083
- NLM abbreviation
- Front Hum Neurosci
- ISSN
- 1662-5161
- eISSN
- 1662-5161
- Publisher
- FRONTIERS MEDIA SA
- Grant note
- NIH/NIDCD: R01 DC012082, P50 DC000242, 5 P50 DC000242 38 University of Iowa Foundation
The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research and/or publication of this article. This study was funded by grants from the NIH/NIDCD (R01 DC012082; P50 DC000242; grant 5 P50 DC000242 38) and the University of Iowa Foundation.
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 10/15/2025
- Academic Unit
- Communication Sciences and Disorders; Iowa Neuroscience Institute; Neurosurgery; Otolaryngology
- Record Identifier
- 9985014806002771
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