Exposing distinct subcortical components of the auditory brainstem response evoked by continuous naturalistic speech

Polonenko, Melissa J, University of Rochester, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1914-6117

Maddox, Ross K, University of Rochester, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2668-0238

m.polonenko@rochester.edu, ross.maddox@rochester.edu

Publication date: March 1, 2021

Publisher: Dryad

https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.12jm63xwd

Citation

Polonenko, Melissa J; Maddox, Ross K (2021), Exposing distinct subcortical components of the auditory brainstem response evoked by continuous naturalistic speech, Dryad, Dataset, https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.12jm63xwd

Abstract

Speech processing is built upon encoding by the auditory nerve and brainstem, yet we know very little about how these processes unfold in specific subcortical structures. These structures are deep and respond quickly, making them difficult to study during ongoing speech. Recent techniques begin to address this problem, but yield temporally broad responses with consequently ambiguous neural origins. Here we describe a method that pairs re-synthesized 'peaky' speech with deconvolution analysis of EEG recordings. We show that in adults with normal hearing, the method quickly yields robust responses whose component waves reflect activity from distinct subcortical structures spanning auditory nerve to rostral brainstem. We further demonstrate the versatility of peaky speech by simultaneously measuring bilateral and ear-specific responses across different frequency bands, and discuss important practical considerations such as talker choice. The peaky speech method holds promise as a tool for investigating speech encoding and processing, and for clinical applications.

Methods

Methods information is provided in the manuscript as well as the README and accompanying files to the datasets.

Usage Notes

All necessary information is provided in the manuscript, a README file for the entire dataset, as well as README and sidecar files in the datasets.

Funding

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, Award: R00DC014288