Age- and sex-related differences in brainstem auditory evoked potentials in secondary school students living in Northern European Russia

• Published in: Human physiology Vol. 35; no. 6; pp. 703 - 713
• Main Authors: Rozhkov, V. P, Soroko, S. I
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Dordrecht : SP MAIK Nauka/Interperiodica 2009; SP MAIK Nauka/Interperiodica
• Subjects: Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Human Physiology; Life Sciences; Auditory Nerve; Auditory Brainstem Response; Brainstem Auditory Evoke Potential; Wave Versus; Wave Latency
• ISSN: 0362-1197; 1608-3164
• DOI: 10.1134/S0362119709060073

Brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEPs) were studied in 46 1st- to 11th-year students (22 boys and 24 girls) of a rural secondary school in Arkhangel'sk oblast. The objective of this work was to study age- and sex-related differences in BAEP characteristics in children and adolescents, living in the North and assess the BAEP characteristics as compared to reference values. In all three age groups of students, interpeak intervals I-III, III-V, and I-V characterizing the peripheral and central conduction times were shorter in girls than in boys. Interpeak interval III-V tended to increase with age only in boys (at puberty), with a significant increase in the latencies of waves I, III, and V. The BAEP characteristics in the subjects examined included a shorter peak latency and a greater amplitude of wave I (except senior students), relatively prolonged interpeak interval I-III, and more pronounced sex-related differences in BAEPs, especially at puberty. These findings show that it is necessary to revise regional reference values for BAEPs, differentiated by sex and age, including at puberty.