Test-Retest Reliability of Cortical Evoked Potentials Using Naturally Produced Speech Sounds

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Abstract
Objective To determine if naturally produced speech stimuli evoke distinct neural response patterns that can be reliably recorded in individuals. Design Auditory cortical evoked potentials were obtained from seven normal-hearing young adults in response to four naturally produced speech tokens (/bi/, /pi/, /ʃi/, and /si/). Stimuli were tokens from the standardized UCLA version of the Nonsense Syllable Test (NST) (Dubno & Schaefer, 1992). Using a repeated measures design, subjects were tested and then retested within an 8-day period. Results Auditory cortical evoked potentials elicited by naturally produced speech sounds were reliably recorded in individuals. Also, naturally produced speech tokens, representing different acoustic cues, evoked distinct neural response patterns. Conclusions 1) Cortical evoked potentials elicited by naturally produced speech sounds can be reliably recorded in individuals. 2) Naturally produced speech tokens, representing different acoustic cues, evoke distinct neural response patterns. 3) Given the reliability of the response, this work has potential application to the study of neural processing of speech in individuals with communication disorders as well as changes over time after various types of auditory rehabilitation.