Auditory Brainstem Response
INTRODUCTION TO AUDITORY EVOKED RESPONSES An auditory evoked response (AER) is activity within the auditory system that is produced or stimulated by sounds. In simplest of terms, AERs are brain waves (electrical potentials) generated when a person is stimulated with sounds. Since the stimulus is a sound, it is clear that the response arises from the auditory system. The specific source of the response within the auditory system is often difficult or impossible to pinpoint. Nonetheless, by analyzing the pattern of the response and by calculating the time period after the stimulus in which the response occurs, it is usually possible to determine the regions in the auditory system generating the response and, sometimes, specific anatomic structures. The t...