Electrical Auditory Brain Stem Response: An Objective Verification of Auditory System Activation with Cochlear Implantation in an Animal Model

Abstract

Deprivation of auditory input has been thought to be a major factor in the etiology of behavioral disturbances in the deaf. The provision of artificial auditory input might reasonably be expected to ameliorate or prevent such behavior disturbances. This paper reports the use of electrical auditory brain stem response measurements to validate objectively the activation of the auditory system in deafened monkeys implanted with the 3M House cochlear implant system. The study was conducted as part of a larger investigation that documented the social behavior of deafened monkeys receiving long-term electrical stimulation.