Krista L. Johnson|Trent Nicol|Steven G. Zecker|Nina Kraus
Developmental Plasticity in the Human Auditory Brainstem
Northwestern University
development human auditory brainstem thought primarily complete age approximately 2 years subsequent sensory plasticity confined primarily cortex however recent findings revealed experiencedependent developmental plasticity mammalian auditory brainstem animal model known whether human system demonstrates similar changes whether experience sounds composed acoustic elements relevant speech may alter brainstem response characteristics recorded brainstem responses evoked click speech syllables children ages 3 12 years report neural response discrepancy brainstem encoding two sounds observed 3 4yearold children schoolage children whereas children exhibited identical neural activity click 3 4yearold children displayed delayed less synchronous onset sustained neural response activity elicited speech compared 5 12yearolds results suggest human auditory system exhibits developmental plasticity frequency time domains sounds composed acoustic elements relevant speech findings interpreted within contexts stimulusrelated differences experiencedependent plasticity