Envelope Following Responses to Natural Vowels

• Published in: Audiology & neurotology Vol. 11; no. 4; pp. 213 - 232
• Main Authors: Aiken, Steven J., Picton, Terence W.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel, Switzerland Karger 01.01.2006; S. Karger AG
• Subjects: Acoustic Stimulation - methods; Adult; Audiology; Auditory Cortex - physiology; Biological and medical sciences; Ears & hearing; Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem - physiology; Female; Fourier Analysis; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Original Paper; Otorhinolaryngology. Stomatology; Reaction Time; Speech; Speech Acoustics; Speech Perception - physiology; Envelope following responses; Fourier analyzer; Evoked potentials; Auditory steady state responses; Speech perception; Electrodiagnosis; Evoked potential; Vowel; ENT; Verbal perception; Steady state response; Envelope
• ISSN: 1420-3030; 1421-9700
• DOI: 10.1159/000092589

Envelope following responses to natural vowels were recorded in 10 normal hearing people. Responses were recorded to individual vowels (/ɑ/, /i/, /u/) with a relatively steady pitch, to /∧/ with a variable and steady pitch, and to a multivowel stimulus (/∧ui/) with a steady pitch. Responses were analyzed using a Fourier analyzer, so that recorded responses could follow the changes in the pitch. Significant responses were detected for all subjects to /ɑ/, /i/ and /u/ with the time required to detect a significant response ranging from 6 to 66 s (average time: 19 s). Responses to /∧/ and /∧ui/ were detected in all subjects, but took longer to demonstrate (average time: 73 s). These results support the use of a Fourier analyzer to measure envelope following responses to natural speech.