Brief Latency Click‐Evoked Potentials During Waking and Sleep in Man

Abstract

ABSTRACT Very early auditory evoked potentials, commencing from 1 to 2 msec after stimulation, can be recorded from human scalp by averaging; they appear to be generated in the VIII nerve and brain stem structures. This study was conducted to obtain data concerning possible variations of these early auditory responses with sleep in man. Our results show little or no change in the amplitude and latency characteristics of these potentials from waking to sleep or between sleep stages. Prolonged stimulation, during waking or sleep, produced increases of latency and a tendency for decrease of amplitude. The findings were interpreted to indicate that changes in latency and amplitude of later components of auditory evoked responses during sleep occur at levels above the brain stem. They also support the view that the increased threshold for auditory arousal associated with sleep is mediated centrally rather than peripherally.