Potentials evoked by the sinusoidal modulation of the amplitude or frequency of a

tone
Terence W. Picton, Christopher R. Skinner, Sandra C. Champagne, Adrian J. C. Kellett, and Anita C. Maiste

Citation: 82, (1987); doi: 10.1121/1.395560

View online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.395560
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Published by the Acoustical Society of America
 Potentials evoked by the sinusoidal modulation of the amplitude
or frequency of a tone
Terence W. Picton,ChristopherR. Skinner,Sandra C. Champagne,AdrianJ. C. Kellett,
and Anita C. Maiste
Human Neurosciences
ResearchUnit, Universityof Ottawa, 4.51$myth Road, Ottawa, OntarioK1H 8M$,
Canada

(Received6 January1987;acceptedfor publication27 March 1987)

Steadystateresponses to the sinusoidalmodulationof the amplitudeor frequencyof a tone
were recordedfrom the humanscalp.For both amplitudemodulation(AM) and frequency
modulation(FM), the responses weremostconsistentat modulationfrequenciesbetween30
and 50 Hz. However, reliableresponses couldalsobe recordedat lower frequencies,
particularlyat 2-5 Hz for AM and at 3-7 Hz for FM. With increasingmodulationdepthat 40
Hz, both the AM and FM responseincreasedin amplitude,but the AM responsetendedto
saturateat largemodulationdepths.Neither responseshowedany significantchangein phase
with changesin modulationdepth.Both responses increasedin amplitudeand decreasedin
phasedelay with increasingintensityof the carrier tone, the FM reponseshowingsome
saturationof amplitudeat high intensities.Both responses couldbe recordedat modulation
depthscloseto the subjectivethresholdfor detectingthe modulationand at intensitiescloseto
the subjectivethresholdfor hearingthe stimulus.The responses were variablebut did not
consistentlyadapt overperiodsof 10 min. The 40-Hz AM and FM responses appearto
originatein the samegenerator,this generatorbeingactivatedby separateauditory systems
that detectchangesin either amplitudeor frequency.
PACS numbers:43.63.Rf, 43.63.Qe, 43.63.Bq

INTRODUCTION evokedby intensity-andfrequency-modulated tones.Jerger

andJerger(1970) reportedthat theywereableto recordN 1-
The auditory-evokedpotentialis usedextensivelyto P2 responsesto intensityincrements,andthat the amplitude
evaluatehearingin patientswho are unableto providereli- of theseresponses wasrelatedto the ability of the subjectto
ablebehavioralresponses (Picton et al., 1977;Sohmerand discriminate the increment.
Kinarti, 1984;Hall, 1984;Worthingtonand Peters,1984). These studieshave evaluatedthe transientevokedpo-
Evokedpotential(EP) audiometry is, for the mostpart, tentials,which are evokedby stimuli occurringat relatively
concernedwith the estimationof thresholds.However, the slowrates.At morerapid rates,the responses evokedby one
measurementof suprathreshold hearingis often far more stimulusoverlapwith thoseevokedby precedingstimuli so
importantin the evaluationof a patientthan the estimation as to createa "steadystate" response(Regan, 1982). Al-
of pure-tonethresholds. At present,thereisnoaccepted ob- thoughvisualsteadystateresponses havebeenwidely stud-
jective techniquefor measuringthe discriminationof su- ied, the small amplitude of the auditory steady state re-
prathresholdsounds--no electrophysiological technique sponsesmakesthem difficult to recordand, until recently,
akin to suchbehavioraltestsas speechdiscrimination.An theyhaveonlybeensporadicallyassessed. Rodenburget al.
evokedpotentialtechniqueto evaluatesuprathreshold hear- (1972) found that the responseto amplitude-modulated
ingwouldbehelpfulin theinvestigation ofa child'sabilityto white noisehad a maximum amplitudeof modulationfre-
understandspeech,in the selectionand monitoringof hear- quencies near9 Hz. Campbelletal. (1977) reportedthat the
ing aids,andin studyingdisorders of auditoryperception. responsesto somewhatfaster (6-32 Hz) modulationfre-
The abilityto discriminatechanges in thefrequencyand quenciescouldbe recognizeddownto intensitiesnear hear-
intensityof a soundis an essentialcomponentof auditory ing threshold.
perception.Several studieshave describedthe auditory- Galamboset al. ( 1981) reporteda "40-Hz auditory po-
evokedpotentialsto changesin the frequencyor amplitude tential" in responseto brief tonespresentedat a rate of 40/s.
of an auditorystimulus.Eggermont(1976) and Funasaka This responsecan be considereda steadystatemiddle la-
and Yamamoto (1983) have reported electrocochleogra- tencyresponse(MLR) ( Stapellset al., 1984). Many studies
phic responses to a changein the frequencyof a tone. Ar- have evaluatedthis 40-Hz responseas a possibleobjective
lingerandJerlvall ( 1981) describedan earlybrain-stemre- techniquefor evaluatinghearing thresholds(recently re-
sponseto a changein frequency.Severalreports (Clynes, viewedin Rodriguezet al., 1986).
1969;Ruhm, 1970;Lenhardt, 1971;Kohn et al., 1978;Ar- Steadystate MLRs may be evokedby changesin the
lingeret al., 1976;Arlinger et al., 1982) havedescribedthe amplitudeof a continuoustoneaswell asby rapidlypresent-
long-latencyresponse(N l-P2) evokedby a changein fre- ed discretetones(Rickards and Clark, 1984). Kuwada et al.
quency.Spooret al. (1969) comparedthe N l-P2 responses (1986) foundthat the steadystateresponse to the amplitude

165 J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 82 (1), July 1987 0001-4966/87/070165-14500.80 1987 AcousticalSociety of America 165
modulationof a continuous
tonewaslargestat modulation The amountof amplitudemodulationwascalculatedas
frequencies
between25 and 50 Hz, and largerfor carrier
(Ama
x -- Amin)/(Amax -{-Amin),
frequencies
at 500 or 1000Hz than for highercarrierfre-
quencies.
The amplitudeof theresponse evokedby a 50-Hz whereAma Xisthemaximumamplitude ofthesignalandAmi n
modulationdecreased
with decreasing
modulationdepth is the minimumamplitude.This formulais the sameasthat
but couldstill be recognized
at a depthof 11%. Reeset al. forthe"modulation index."Theintensityof thisamplitude-
modulated stimulus was calculated on the basis of the mean
(1986) have recentlydescribedhuman steadystate re-
sponsesto amplitudemodulationat frequenciesfrom 0.5 to amplitude.
400 Hz. Hall (1979) and Chamberset al. (1986) have de- The amountof frequencymodulationwascalculatedas
scribed
frequency
followingresponses
to theamplitude
en- (fmax -- fmin)/fcarrier,
velopesof complextones.
wherefmax is the highestfrequency,fmin is the lowestfre-
Pictonet al. (1987a) recordeda steadystateMLR to
quency,andfcarrier is the carrierfrequency.
frequency modulation. Like the AM response reportedby Theseformulasare not equivalentsincethe divisorfor
Kuwadaet al. (1986), this response waslargerfor lower
thefrequency modulation isone-halfof (fmax --fmin). The
carrierfrequenciesandlargerat higherintensities.
At modu-
amountof frequencymodulationcan alsobe measuredby
lation rates of 40 Hz, Picton et al. found that the FM re-
AF whichisthedifference between fmax andfcarrier, or by a
sponsecould be reliably recognizeddown to modulation
modulationindexwhichequalsAF/Fmod,whereFmoaisthe
depthsof 10%.
frequencyof the modulatingsignal.
The presentarticledescribes severalexperiments evalu- Figure 1 presents the acousticwaveformsandthe spec-
ating the humansteadystateresponses to the sinusoidal tra for AM and FM toneswith a carrierfrequencyof 1000
modulationof the amplitudeor frequencyof a tone. The Hz and a modulatingfrequencyof 40 Hz. For-theAM tone,
goalsof thesestudies were:to determine theoptimalrecord- theenergyof thestimulusisconcentrated at thefrequencyof
ingconditions fortheresponse withrespect to thefrequency the carrierandat two sidebands(gcarrie r --gmod), with the
of modulation andthelocationof therecording electrodes; relativeenergiesin thecarrierandthesidebandsdepending
to assess therelationsoftheresponse to changing theintensi- uponthe amountof amplitudemodulation.The spectrumof
ty andfrequency of thetoneor thedepthof themodulation; an FM signalvarieswith the modulationindex.For modula-
to relatetheresponse to the subject's
abilityto discriminate tion indicesbelow0.25, the amplitudespectraof AM and
frequencyand intensity;and to investigate the relations FM tonesareverysimilar.However,with largermodulation
betweenAM andFM responses.
indices(asin ourexperiments), thespectraof thefrequency-
modulatedstimuluscontainenergyin bandsout to F
I. Methods from the carrierfrequencyin bandsoccurringat intervals
A. Stimuli
equalto the modulatingfrequency.
The sinusoidalsignalcontrollingthe amplitudeor fre-
A continuous tonewaspresented to thesubject's right quencymodulationwasgeneratedby the MINC 11/23 com-
earthroughan unshielded TDH-49 earphone. Pilotwork puter and smoothedusinga low-passfilter. The sameclock
usingearplugs hadshown thattheresponse wasnota result controlledboth the modulationsignaland the A-D conver-
of electromagnetic artifact.Thetonewaspresented with sion.Thisclockhada frequencyof 125Hz for thefirstpartof
briefpauses ofbetween 1and2 soccurring every10s.The experiment1 and 500 Hz for all otherrecordings.Because
amplitudeor thefrequency of thetonecouldbemodulated the modulationsignalwasnot a pure tone,therewassome
usinglaboratory-constructed devices. distortionin theAM stimulicausingextrabandsof energy

FIG. 1. AM and FM tones.The upper

5o part of the figure shows the acoustic

stimulirecordedusinga BriielandKjaer
4152 artificialear. The signalsweresam-
pled overa 50-msperiodat 20 kHz. The
lowerpart of the figureshowsthe ampli-
tude spectraobtainedusinga 4-kHz rate
and a Hamming window. The left half of
o
the figure shows a 1000-Hz AM tone.
The depth of modulationwas 90% and
-20 the intensity was 106.5 dB SPL. The
bandsof energynear 500 and 1500 Hz
-40
resultfrom the digitizationand filtering
of the modulatingsine wave. The right
half of the figureshowsan FM tonewith
-60 a carrier frequency of 1000 Hz. The
dB depth of modulation was 50% (from
750-1250 Hz) and the intensitywas 111
dB SPL.
0 500 I000 1500 2000 0 500 I000 1500 2000 Hz

166 J.Acoust.
Soc.Am.,Vol.82,No.1,July1987 Picton
eta/.'Potentials
evoked
bysinusoidal
AMorFM 166
(near 1500 and 500 Hz in the spectrumfor the 1000-Hz
carrier) that were about 40 dB below the intensity of the
carrier.
B. Recording
Electroencephalographic (EEG) signalswererecorded
from the scalpuing gold-platedsurfaceelectrodes
applied
with collodion. The active electrodes were located at the ver-
tex (Cz) or at the left and right central regions(C3, C4).
The referenceelectrodeswere located on the right or left
mastoids (M 1 and M2) or the larynx (La). Two separate
channelsof EEG signalswererecordedin mostexperiments.
ThesewereC3-La and C4-La in the first experimentand Cz-
M 1andCz-M2 in subsequent experiments. The EEG signals
were amplifiedand filtered using Beckmanmodel R611
polygraphamplifierswith a bandpassof 0.5-100 Hz (first
experiment)or 5-100 Hz (subsequent experiments).The
polarityconventionof the recordingwasthat negativityat
the scalprelativeto thelarynxor mastoidwasrepresented
as
an upwarddeflectionin thewaveformandasa positivevalue
in the analysis.
The analysiswindowlasted1024msfor the firstpart of
the firstexperimentand256msfor all otherrecordings. The
numberof data pointsper analysiswindowwas256. When
two channelswererecorded,this represented128pointsper
channel.Rotating buffersallowedcontinuousstimulation
and recording--while one sweepwas being recorded,the
previoussweepwasbeinganalyzedand/or storedon disk.
The first two sweepsoccurringafter any pausein the tone
were not analyzed.
C. Analysis
In the off-line recordingprotocols,a total of 500 (120
for the firstpart of the experiment)sweepswererecordedon
disk in each experimentalcondition.Pairs of sweepswere
then averagedto provide250 setsof data (this stepwasnot
necessaryfor the first part of experiment1). Each point in
the sweepwasthenseparatelymultipliedby thesinefunction
at that latencyfor the frequencyof stimulationand by the
cosinefunction. The averagesof each of these products
acrossthe sweepweremultipliedby a scalingfactor to pro-
vide the values"X" and "." The amplitudeof the response
at the frequency of stimulation was then calculated as
x/X2'+ y 2 andthephase
oftheresponse
wastan- (Y/X).
This procedurerepresentsFourier analysislimited to a sin-
glefrequency.A "phasedelay" (Rodriguezet al., 1986) was
calculatedas 360minus the phaseof the responseof zero
time. This measurementis morehomologousto latencythan
the phaseat zero time. Phasemeasurementswere expressed
in degrees.
The repeatedX- measurementscan be representedas
a cloudof pointson a polar plot. Simplecalculationsof the
meanvaluefor X and yield the coordinatesof the average
responseover the recordingsession.The reliability of the
response
canbe assessed
usingthe Hotelling'sT 2 statistic
(Picton et al., 1987b). Using the variance-covariancema-
trix of the results,an ellipseis constructedto outline the
confidencelimits for the mean measurement.If this ellipse
167 J. Acoust.Soc.Am.,Vol.82, No. 1, July1987
doesnot containthe origin,the recordedresponse can be
considered reliablydifferentfromzeroat theprobabilityfor
which the ellipseis calculated.
Althoughthe analysis wasperformed off-linefor most
oftheexperiments, anon-lineprotocolwasusedin thestud-
iesof thresholdand in evaluatingthe relationshipsbetween
AM andFM. The on-lineprotocolrecordedonlyonechan-
nel of EEG (Cz-M2). A smallnumber (e.g., 40) of sweeps
wereaveragedon-lineto form a "subaverage"waveform.
The X and I/valueswerecalculatedfor thissubaverage
in the
briefpausepriorto beginninganothersubaverage. Several
(e.g., 10-20) suchsubaverageswerecombined to givethe
finalresponse.A T 2valuecouldthenbecalculated
fromthe
setof X and I/measurementsobtainedfrom the subaverages.
Onevariantof theon-lineprotocolallowedthesimultaneous
calculationof responses
at twodifferentfrequencies
of stim-
ulation.
The spectrum of theaverageresponsewasexaminedus-
ing a fast Fouriertransform.This providedinformation
aboutthe activityin the response
at frequencies
otherthan
the frequencyof stimulation.
An "apparentlatency" (Regan, 1982) was estimated
whenresponses wereobtainedat severalratesof stimulation.
If thephasedelaysarelinearlyrelatedto therateof stimula-
tion,theapparent latencycanbecalculated fromtheslopeof
theregression of phasedelayon rate.The apparentlatency
equalsthisslopedividedby 360.
The resultsof the experimentswere evaluatedwhere
appropriatewith repeatedmeasures analysesof variance
(BMDP2V) usingGeisser-Greenhouse adjustments when
calculatingthe probabilitylevels.Posthoctestingwasper-
formedusingNewman-Keulsprocedures. The significance
level wasp < 0.05.
D. Subjects
Seventeensubjects(8 female) participatedin various
partsof theseexperiments.Their agesrangedbetween22
and41 (mean28) years.All subjectsdemonstrated hearing
thresholdsof lessthan 20 dB HL at the frequenciestested.
Most subjects
participatedin severalexperiments.During
an experiment,the subjectsat in a comfortable
chairin a
sound-attenuated
room.In mostof the experiments,the sub-
jectsreadwhiletheirresponses
wererecorded.The EEG was
monitored to ensurethat they did not fall asleep.
II. RESULTS
A. Experiment 1: Modulation frequency
This experimentevaluatedthe steadystateresponses
to
AM or FM tonesat differentmodulation frequencies.The
stimuluswasa 1000-Hztonepresented
at anintensityof 76.5
dB SPL (70 dB HL). The amountof modulationwas 100%
for both AM and FM. In the first part of the experiment,a
1024-ms window was used and modulation occurred at fre-
quenciesof 2.0, 2.9, 4.9, 6.8, 8.8, 10.7,and 12.7 Hz. Re-
sponseswereevaluated over120sweeps (about2 min). The
secondpart of the experimentuseda 256-mswindowand
evaluatedresponses at frequencies of 15.6, 19.5,27.3, 35.2,
Pictoneta/.: Potentialsevokedby sinusoidal
AM or FM 167
 AMPLITUDE (pV) AM AMPLITUDE (pV) FM

I'O

0'5 0-5

., C3
PHASE (') o [] C4 PHASE onC4

180

// ,
0 5 I0 15 $0 45 60 0 5 I0 15 30 45 6O

MODULATION FREQUENCY (Hz) MODULATION FREQUENCY (Hz)

FIG. 2. Effectsof modulationfrequencyon the AM response.

This figure
showsthe amplitudeand phasedelayof the steadystateresponses to a
100% AM tone with a frequencyof 1000Hz and an intensityof 70 dB HL.
The responses wererecordedfrom C3 andfrom C4 usinga referenceon the
larynx.The squaresrepresentthe averageamplitudesfor 10 subjects.The
diamondsrepresentthe amplitudesand phasedelaysobtainedby vector
averagingthe resultsacrosstheten subjects.
The closerthe averageampli-
tudesare to the vector-averagedamplitudes,the more consistentwerethe
phasesbetweensubjects.Phasedelaysthat are within 90of 0(or360) are
plottedtwicesoasto portraybetterthe relationsof phasedelayto modula-
tion frequency.Note the changein the scalefor the modulationfrequency
just before 15 Hz.
39.1, 46.9, and 54.7 Hz over 500 sweeps.Ten subjectspar-
ticipatedin the experiment.
Figure 2 plotsthe amplitudesand phasedelaysfor the
steadystate responsefor amplitude-modulatedtones,and
Fig. 3 plotsthesemeasurements for the response
to frequen-
cy-modulatedtones.Two valuesare plottedfor eachampli-
FIG. 3. Effectsof modulationfrequencyon the FM response.This figure
showsthe samedataasin Fig. 2 exceptthat the stimuluswasa 100% FM
tone rather than an AM tone.
tude: the mean value acrosssubjectsobtainedby averaging
the individualamplitudes,and the mean value acrosssub-
jects obtainedby vectoraveraging(usingboth amplitude
and phasetogether).The more variablethe phaseamong
subjects,the smallerwas the vector-averaged amplitude.
The figuresplot the phasevaluesobtainedaftervectoraver-
aging sincenormal averagingis often inappropriatefor
phase.
TableI presents theassessmentof responsereliabilityin
the C3-La recording (the C4-La resultswere similar). It
shows
themeanandrangeof the T 2valuesobtained
forthe
individualsubjects
at eachrateof stimulation,thenumberof
subjects
showingresponses significantly
differentfromzero,

TABLE I. T 2 values at different modulation rates.

AM FM
Modulation Subjects Group Subjects Group

rate Meana Range Nb T 2c Meana Range Nb T 2c

2.0 4.8 0.2-19.4 2 5.3 1.6 0.0- 4.9 0 1.1

2.9 2.8 0.0- 6.3 1 28.0 3.6 0.1- 14.5 1 6.4
4.9 4.5 0.4-10.5 3 12.6 4.7 0.1- 10.9 4 12.6
6.8 4.8 0.1- 7.8 1 0.1 3.9 0.3- 11.9 2 8.2
8.8 3.4 0.1-11.2 1 10.5 2.9 0.1- 10.1 2 0.0
10.7 4.2 0.1-11.4 3 5.7 2.8 0.4- 7.0 1 3.6
12.7 3.3 0.3- 7.3 2 31.1 3.2 0.1- 9.5 3 2.8
15.6 2.7 0.2- 5.8 0 1.8 4.4 0.2- 14.6 2 4.7
19.5 7.4 1.0-44.5 1 18.1 9.7 0.0- 25.1 7 14.6
27.3 9.8 0.9-31.1 7 37.2 20.7 1.9- 79.1 6 21.4
35.2 25.3 2.7-80.2 8 35.5 60.0 1.4-187.9 8 19.8
39.1 31.5 0.2-90.6 7 25.1 104.2 2.4-320.0 8 22.3
46.9 17.6 0.6-38.1 6 30.4 72.9 0.4-304.9 9 33.0
54.7 17.6 0.0-53.7 7 33.2 45.1 3.6-134.1 9 33.0

aThisT 2is significant

atp <0.05 if greaterthan6.24for rateslessthan 15/sand6.11for ratesabove15/s.
Here,N isthenumberof subjects outof tenshowing responsesreliably(p < 0.05) different
fromzero.
CThisT 2is significant
atp <0.05 if greaterthan 10.0.

168 J. Acoust. Soc. Am., Vol. 82, No. 1, July 1987 Pictoneta/.' Potentialsevoked by sinusoidalAM or FM 168
 cent responsesthat were reasonablyreliable. The average
6-8 apparent latency over this region was 149 ms (range 53-
350).
-1'OpV 0-3.uv The FFT analysesof the averageresponses over all sub-
o24r,
s 0 61.5 Hz

jects revealedsmallerharmonic componentsat a frequency

equalto twice the stimulusratesfor certainratesof modula-
27'3 tion. For the AM response,therewererecognizableharmon-
ics when the modulation rate was 2.0 Hz, and for rates
between12.7 and 27.3 Hz. For the FM response,there were
256ms ' 23
harmonics when the modulation rate was 2.9, 6.8, 12.7, 27.3,
FIG. 4. Responses to FM tones.The responses wereevokedby a 100% FM 39.1, or 54.7 Hz, the harmonicbeingmostprominentat 2.9
toneat 70 dB HL with a centerfrequencyof 1000Hz. The upperpart of the Hz. Such harmonicscan be seenin Fig. 4. The harmonic
figureshowstheresponses whenthemodulationfrequencywas6.8 Hz (sev- responses werealwayssmallerthan the responses
at the fun-
en cyclesper sweepof 1024 ms). The lower part of the figureshowsthe
damentalfrequency.
responses whenthe modulationfrequency was27.3 Hz (sevencyclesper
256ms). On theleft areshowntheaverageresponses overtensubjects. Each
tracingrepresents one-halfof the responses
recordedfrom the C3-La mon-
tage.The replicabilityof theresponsegivessomeideaof the signal-to-noise B. Experiment 2: Depth of modulation
ratio. Responsesat 27.3 Hz are more reliable becausethere is lessback-
1. Between 90% and 10%
groundnoiseat thehigherfrequencies andbecausethe responseswereaver-
agedovermorethanfour timesasmanysweepsasthe responses at 6.8 Hz.
This experimentevaluatedthe effectsof changingthe
On the rightarethe amplitudespectrafor the responses. The amplitudeat
depthof modulationon the steadystateresponses.
the frequencyof stimulationis shownby the filledtriangle.Harmonicre- Since,in
sponses the firstexperiment,the responses
at twicethisfrequencyareindicatedby the opentriangle. to bothAM and FM were
mostconsistentat the 30- to 50-Hz region,we continuedour
evaluationat a modulationfrequencyof 39.1Hz. Sinceusing
the larynx as a referencecauseda great deal of artifact, the
andtheT 2valueestimated across subjects.Therecordings
were particularly noisy at the slower rates where the EEG
recordings in this secondexperimentwere taken from the
vertexusingthe left and right mastoids(M 1, M2) asrefer-
and EKG signalshavetheir major energy.
ences.The carriertoneof 1000Hz waspresentedto the right
The amplitudeplotsfor the AM indicatea broadareaof
earat an intensityof 70 dB HL. In the firstpart of the experi-
responsiveness at 27-55 Hz and suggestseveralpeaksat
slowerratesof 2-5, 9, 13, and 20 Hz. The resultsof FM show
ment, we evaluatedthe effectsof changingthe amount of
modulationbetween90% and 10%. Five subjectsparticipat-
two main areasof responseat 3-7 Hz and at 20-55 Hz. At
ed in this experiment.Responses were basedon 500 sweeps
modulationfrequencies near40 Hz, the FM response was of 256 ms each.
substantiallylargerthan the AM response.
The resultsof the firstpart of the experimentare shown
The phasedelaysshowedregularrelationsto rate at the
in Fig. 5. Increasingthedepthof modulationcauseda signif-
fasterratesof modulation.The apparentlatencieswerecal-
icantincreasein the amplitudeof the responsefor both AM
culatedfor eachsubjectoverthe region27-55 Hz, giving
(F--21.9, df=4,16, p0.01) and FM (F= 19.0,
averagevaluesof 37.2 ms (range 32-50) for the AM re-
df = 4,16,p 0.01). Phasedid not changesignificantly with
sponseand37.8 ms (range27-43) for the FM response. At
the depthof modulationfor eitherAM or FM. There were
theserates,the phasedelayof theAM response wasconsis-
no differencesbetweenresponses recordedusingthe left or
tentlylaterthanthat of theFM response. At theslowerrates,
right mastoidas a reference.The amplitudeof the FM re-
onlytheregionof 3-7 Hz for theFM response showedadja-
sponsewas larger than the amplitudeof the AM response,
but this differencedid not reach statisticalsignificanceand
wasof questionable meaningsincethe scalesof modulation
AMPLITUDE (pV) PHASE () are not really comparable.For the AM response,the in-
TI.5- creasein amplitude with increasingdepth of modulation
sloweddown at modulation depthsof greater than 50%.
There wasno evidencefor this tendencyto saturationfor the
FM response(modulationdepth X modulationtype inter-
action:F -- 4.1, df- 4,16,p 0.05). The phasedelay of the
0.5 FM responsewas significantlylessthan that of the AM re-
sponse(F-- 14.8, df- 1,4,p 0.05).
Figure 5 plotsvector-averaged data. Sinceit is not easy
o
o 50 IOO o 50 IOO to show intersubjectvariability for two-dimensionalmea-
DEPTH OF MODULATION (%) surements,the followingexamplescanprovidesomefeeling
AM FM o for this variability. At a modulationof 30%, the amplitude
of the AM responsevariedbetween0.37 and 0.72/zV and the
FIG. 5. Effectsof modulationdepth.The carrierfrequencywasa 1000-Hz
phasedelayvariedbetween120and 226. The amplitudeof
toneat 70 dBHL. On theleftareshowntheeffects of modulation
depthon
theamplitude of the response
andontherighttheeffects onphasedelay. the 30% FM responsevariedbetween0.42 and 1.36/zV and
Thisfigurepresents thevector-averaged
datafromfivesubjects. the phasedelayvariedbetween80and 167.

169 J. Acoust.Soc. Am., Vol. 82, No. 1, July 1987 Pictoneta/.: Potentialsevokedby sinusoidalAM or FM 169
2. Threshold for detecting modulation TABLE II. Thresholdsfor detectingmodulation.[Modulationdepthisex-
pressedasa percentage.The numbersrepresentthe meansandranges(in
The secondpart of thisexperimentestimatedthethresh- parentheses)for eightsubjects.
]
old for recognizingthe evokedpotentialto eitherAM or FM
Thresholds
andcomparedthisto psychoacoustic thresholds.The stimu-
lus was a 70-dB HL, 1000-Hz tone modulated at 39.1 Hz. Type of modulation Behavioral Evokedpotential
On-line recordingprotocolswere used.The responsewas Amplitude 5.1 4.9
judgedpositive
if theT2 valueattained
a significance
levelof (2-7) (3-8)
p <0.05 within 1200sweeps(in 30 blocks). For the higher Frequency 2.8 5.8
(2-3) (2-13)
modulationlevels,the analysiswas often stoppedafter 400
sweeps( 10blocks).The subjectmaintainedalertness by de-
tecting occasional(p- 0.1) blockswherein there was no
modulation.The stimuliwerepresentedto the right ear and
significance(F= 5.1,df= 1,7,0.05<p <0.10). The differ-
the recordingsweretakenfrom Cz-M2. The psychoacoustic
ence between these two thresholdsvaried acrosssubjects
thresholdswereestimatedon separatetrials, usinga forced-
between 0% and d- 10%.
choiceresponseto the equallyprobablepresenceor absence
of modulationin 2-s periods.Nonparametrictechniques
C. Experiment 3: Intensity of the carrier
(Pollack and Norman, 1964) were usedto evaluatethe sub-
1. From 30 to 70 dB HL
ject's detectionperformance.Modulation wasjudgedto be
suprathreshold if A ' wasgreaterthan 0.7. This experiment evaluatedthe effectsof changing the
Samplerecordings areshownin Fig. 6. The amplitudeof intensityof the carrier.The firstpart of the experimentvar-
the responsedecreasedas the depth of modulationde- ied the intensityfrom 30 to 70 dB HL. The carriertoneof
creased.There were no significantchangesin phaseas the 1000Hz waspresented to therightearandrecordings were
responseapproachedthreshold.At 5% modulation,the takenfrom Cz-M 1 andCz-M2. On thebasisof thepreceding
averagephasewas 169for AM and 108for FM (cf. Fig. 5). experiment,
wedecidedto usea modulation
depthof 50%
The thresholds obtainedin thesecond part oftheexperiment for FM and 90% for AM, sincethesegaveresponses
of com-
areshownin TableII. The thresholdfor recognizing theAM parablemagnitude.
Sixsubjects
participated
in thisexperi-
responsewas not significantlydifferentfrom the psycho- ment.The evokedpotentialswereobtainedover500sweeps
acousticthreshold.The differencebetweenthe evokedpo- of 256 ms usinga modulationrate of 39.1 Hz.
tential and the behavioralthresholdvariedacrosssubjects The resultsof thefirstpartof thisexperimentareshown
between -- 3% and d- 2%. The thresholdfor recognizing in Fig.7. Therewasa significantincreasein theamplitudeof
an FM responsewas higherthan the perceptualthreshold theresponse withincreasing intensityofthecarrierforboth
althoughthis differencedid not reachthe level of statistical AM (F = 32.3, df= 4,20, p < 0.001) and FM (F = 9.7,
df= 4,20,p < 0.01). Theamplitude-intensity functions
were
differentbetweenthetypesof modulation. The AM response
increasedmonotonically,whereasthe FM responsein-
AM FM
creasedrapidlyup to an intensityof 40 dB and thenin-
creasedlessrapidly (intensityX modulationtypeinterac-
tion: F= 3.9, df= 4,20, p <0.05). The phasedecreased
significantlywith increasingintensity for both AM
(F=33.3, df=4,20, p<0.001) and FM (F=30.8,
df= 4,20,p <0.001 ). The phaseof the FM response was
significantlyshorterthan the phaseof the AM response
(F= 74.4, df= 1,5,p<0.001).

0-3pV

20, I0, ,5,4, 3,2 .
20, I0, ,5,3,2, I AMPLITUDE (pV) PHASE (*)

FIG. 6. Thresholdstudies.This figurepresentsone subject'sdata plotted

usingpolar coordinates.A phasedelay of 0is plotted to the right and a
phasedelayof 90is plottedupward.The amplitudeof the response is plot-
ted asthe distancefrom the originat the intersectionof the axis.The ellipses
representthe confidencelimits for the meanmeasurementplottedwith the
0.5

180]
dot. On the left are shownthe resultsof a studyto measurethe thresholdfor
recognizingthe evokedpotentialwhenthe modulationdepthfor a 70-dB
o ' 5o 5 7o 3o 5o
HL AM toneis decreased from 20% to 2%. The response becomessmaller
(approachedthe origin) as the modulationdepth decreases. At 3%, the INTENSITY (dB HL)
responsewasno longerrecognizableas differentfrom zero; i.e., the confi- AM FM o
dence-limitellipseincludedthe origin. The EP thresholdwas therefore
measuredas 4% (arrow). The psychoacoustic thresholdfor this subject FIG. 7. Effectsof stimulusintensity.The stimuluswaseithera 90% AM
was 6%. On the right of the figure are shownthe resultsobtainedwhen tone or a 50% FM tone. On the left are shownthe effectsof intensityon the
measuringthe thresholdfor a 70-dB HL FM tone. The EP thresholdwas amplitudeof theresponse andontherightareshowntheeffects
onphase
2% (arrow). The psychoacoustic thresholdwasalso2%. delay.Thisfigureplotsthevector-averaged
datafromsixsubjects.

170 J. Acoust.Soc.Am.,Vol.82, No. 1, July 1987 Pictoneta/.: Potentialsevokedby sinusoidal

AM or FM 170
TABLE III. Intensitiesat which a responsebecomesdetectable.[The D. Experiment 4: Frequency of the carrier
numbers
representthemeans andranges(in parentheses)
foreightsubjects.
Theaveragepure-tonethresholdat 1000Hz was5.6 (range0-10) dBHL. ] 1. Carrier frequency and modulation frequency
This experimentinvestigatedthe effectsof changingthe
Thresholds
Type of modulation dB HL dB SL frequencyof the carrier on the response.In the first part of
the experiment,the carrier frequencyand the frequencyof
Amplitude 15.0 9.4 the modulatingsignalwere systematicallyvaried. The stim-
(10-20) (5-20) uluswaspresentedto the right ear at an intensityof 76.5 dB
Frequency 18.8 13.3
( 10-20) ( 5-20 )
SPL and with a frequencyof 500, 1000, or 2000 Hz. Evoked
potentialswere recordedfrom the Cz-M 1 and Cz-M2 mon-
tagesusinga 256-mssweepand evaluatedover 500 sweeps.
The amount of modulation was 50% for FM and 90% for
AM. The modulationfrequencyor rate was31.3, 35.2, 39.1,
43.0, or 46.9 Hz (equivalentto 8, 9, 10, 11, or 12 cyclesper
sweep).Eight subjectsparticipatedin this experiment.
The resultsof the firstpart of thisexperimentare shown
2. Thresho/d
in Fig. 8. The amplitudeof the responsewas significantly
In the secondpart of this experiment,we decreasedthe larger for the lower frequenciesof the carrier for both AM
carrier intensity in order to determinethe level at which the (F--11.3, df=2,14, p<0.01) and FM (F=14.5,
responsebecameno longer recognizable.The stimuli were df= 2,14,p < 0.01). The amplitudevariedsignificantly with
presentedto the right ear and the recordingswere from Cz- rate for both AM (F-- 14.4,df= 4,28,p < 0.001) and FM
M2. A response
wasdeemed
recognizable
if T 2exceeded
the (F = 10.0,df = 4,28,p < 0.001). The amplitudeof the 500-
p 0.05 value within 1000 sweeps(in 25 blocks). Hearing Hz FM responsewas largestat 39.1 Hz but this specific
thresholdsare measuredusingthemethodof limits. Both the amplitude-ratepeak was not seenfor the other carrier fre-
EP thresholds and the behavioral thresholds were evaluated quencies(frequencyX rate interaction:F = 3.4, df= 8,56,
using5-dB intensitysteps.The other stimulusand recording p < 0.01) or for the AM response.Therewereno othersig-
parameterswere the sameas in the first part of the experi- nificantdifferences betweenthe two typesof modulation.
ment. The phasedelay of the responsewasshorterfor slower
The resultsof this part of the experimentare shownin modulationfrequenciesfor both AM (F = 434.5, df= 4,28,
Table III. The responses to both AM and FM were detect- p < 0.001) and FM (F = 332.1, df= 4,28, p < 0.001). The
abledownto between10and 20 dB HL in all subjects.There phasedelaywassignificantlyshorterwhenthe carrier had a
wasno significantdifferencebetweenthe thresholdsfor AM higher frequency for both AM (F= 23.2, df= 2,14,
and FM. The responses becamesmalleras the intensityde- p <0.001) and FM (F= 36.5, df= 2,14, p <0.001). The
creased.The phasedelay becamelonger at near-threshold phasedelay was significantlyshorterfor the FM responses
intensities.At 10dB SL, the averagephasewas271for AM than for the AM responses(F -- 142.0,df = 1,7,p < 0.001).
and 215for FM (cf. Fig. 7). The apparentlatenciesof the responses were calculatedfor

AMPLITUDE (pV)

PHASE
[.O'

AM

FIG. 8. Effectsof carrier frequency.These ef-

fects were studied at different modulation fre-
3O 40 50 0 40 5O CARRIER
500
quenciesbetween30 and 50 Hz. The carrierfre-
o I OOO Hz quencywas500, 1000,or 2000 Hz. The stimulus
2000 was either a 90% AM tone or a 50% FM tone at
an intensityof 76.5 dB SPL. This figure plots
the vector-averageddata from eightsubjects.

FM IOO

0-5.

o
5o 40 50
ioi/
50 40 5O

MODULATION FREQUENCY (Hz)

171 J. Acoust.Soc.Am.,Vol.82, No.1, July1987 Pictoneta/.' Potentials

evokedbysinusoidal
AMor FM 171
 AMPLITUDE
1.0(.uV) TPHASE
()
500
l
AM 0-5
O
0 0 'o
IOO]
O!
0 30
I'O
FM o.5
IO 30
MODULATION DEPTH (%)
individualsubjectsfrom the slopesof the regressionlinesfor
phasedelayversusmodulationfrequency.There wasa ten-
dencyfor the apparentlatencyto beslightlyshorterfor high-
er carrierfrequencies with the 2000-Hz responsesoccurring
on average3.2 ms earlierthan the 500-Hz responses. How-
ever, statisticalanalysisshowedno significanteffectfor ei-
ther carrier frequencyor type of modulation.The average
apparentlatencyover all conditionswas 39.8 ms (range 29-
52 over all conditions).
2. Carrier frequency and modulation depth
In the secondpart of the experiment,the carrier fre-
quencywasmanipulatedconjointlywith the depthof modu-
lation. The carrier frequencieswere 500, 1000, 2000, and
4000 Hz and the modulationdepthswere 10%, 30%, and
50%. The other parameterswere the sameas describedin
the first part of this experiment.Eight subjectsparticipated
in this experimentalthoughthe data for 30% modulation
wereonly obtainedin six. The statisticswerethereforeper-
formed for the six subjectsalthoughthe figuresshowthe
averagedata for all subjects.
The resultsof this experimentare shownin Fig. 9. For
the AM responses, the amplitudeshoweda significanteffect
of both modulationdepth (F-- 30.4, df- 2,10,p < 0.001)
andcarrier-frequency (F = 8.8,df= 3,15,p <0.01 ), aswell
as a significantinteractionbetweenthesetwo parameters
(F= 3.5, df- 6,30,p <0.01 ). This latter effectwas due to
the saturationof the responseat modulationdepthsabove
30% at the lowercarrierfrequencies, but not at the higher.
The phasedelaywassignificantlyshorterfor highercarrier
frequencies (F-- 9.1,df= 3,15,<0.01 ) butwasnot signif-
icantly affectedby the depthof modulation.
For the amplitudeof the FM response, therewasa sig-
nificant effect of both modulation depth (F--24.2,
df- 2,10, p <0.001) and carrier frequency (F-- 15.9,
df- 3,15,p < 0.01) with no significant
interaction.
The
172 J. Acoust.Soc. Am., Vol. 82, No. 1, July 1987
'o
CARRIER
[] 500
FIG. 9. Effectsof carrier frequency.Theseef-
fectswerestudiedat modulationdepthsof 10%,
30%, and 50%. The carrierfrequencywas 500,
o IOOO 1000, 2000, or 4000 Hz. The intensity of the
Hz
2000 stimuluswas76.5 dB SPL. This figureplotsthe
v 4000 vector-averageddata from eight subjects(six
subjectsfor the 30% responses).
50
phase delay showed significant effects of frequency
(F = 4.8, df-- 3,15,p <0.05) but no effectsof modulation
depth.
The responses at 10% modulationdepthswere very
small.For the AM responses, only 3 of 8 weresignificantly
(p < 0.05) differentfrom zeroat 500 Hz and 1 at 4000Hz.
For theFM responses, all 8 weresignificantlydifferentfrom
zero at 500 Hz but only 3 at 4000 Hz.
E. Experiment5: Relations between AM responsesand
FM responses
1. Concurrent stimulation
The first part of this experimentinvestigated the rela-
tionsbetweenthe responses to AM andthe responses to FM
by recordingtheresponses to concurrentAM andFM stim-
ulation.To the extentthat the responsessharethe samegen-
erator,they may be attenuatedwhen they are evokedcon-
currently.The experimentalmethod dependedupon the
ability of Fourier analysisto evaluateseparatelyresponses
that areevokedconcurrentlyat frequencies that arenot har-
monicallyrelated:the "method of simultaneousstimula-
tion" (Regan,1982). Responses wereevokedat frequencies
of 35.1and 50.8 Hz andrecordedusinga sweepdurationof
256 ms (i.e., 9 or 13 cyclesof stimulation per sweep). At
eachof the frequencies,eitherthe amplitudeor the frequen-
cy of the carrierwasmodulated.In controlruns,only one
typeof modulationwasused.
The stimulushad a carrierfrequencyof 1000Hz and an
intensityof 70 dB HL. The amountof modulationwas20%
for FM and 50% for AM. The stimuluswaspresentedto the
right ear and the response recordedfrom Cz-M2. The re-
sponse wasevaluatedover800sweeps(in 20 blocks).Eight
subjectsparticipatedin this experiment.
The majoranalysisconcerned the amplitudeof the re-
sponse.The measurements of amplitudewere collapsed
Pictoneta/.' Potentialsevokedby sinusoidalAM or FM 172
 ALONE SAME DIFFERENT
2. Selective adaptation
The secondpart of thisexperimentderivesfrom the con-
cept of selectiveadaptation (cf. Regan and Tansley, 1979;
AM Tansleyand Suffield,1983). The prolongedpresentationof
an amplitude-modulatedtonecausesan increasedthreshold
for detectingamplitudemodulationbut doesnot affectthe
thresholdfor detectingfrequencymodulation. The pro-
FM
longedpresentationof a frequency-modulated tone causesa
substantialincreasein the thresholdfor detectingfrequency
:55 51 Hz . 0.SpV
IOO Hz modulationand a slightincreasein the thresholdfor detect-
ing amplitudemodulationbecauseit is impossibleto modu-
FIG. 10. Concurrent stimulation. The stimuli were either AM or FM tones
late the frequencyof a tonewithoutalsomodulatingits am-
presentedat either 35 or 51 Hz either ALONE or in combinationwith an-
othermodulationat the otherfrequencythat waseitherthe SAME or DIF-
plitude at the level of the receptor.The adaptationoccurs
FERENT in type. The basiccomparisons(cf. Table IV) are betweenthe overa periodof 5-15 min. Recoveryoccurswith a periodof
responses
whichhaveamplitudes
thatareindicatedbysimilartriangles(ei- 1-3 min.
ther open or closed). When there is concurrentstimulation with another In this part of the experiment,the techniqueof simulta-
modulation,the responseissmallerthan whenit is alone.However,thereis neous stimulation was used to record concurrent AM and
no significant
difference
betweenthe amplitudeof the responses
whenthe
concurrent modulation is either the same or different. FM responses beforeand after exposureto prolongedAM or
FM tones.The responses wereevokedat frequencies of 39.1
and 43.0 Hz (9 and 11 cyclesper sweep). Responseswere
acrossthe differentratesto give three basicmeasurements analyzedover 500 sweeps(about 2 min). The depthof AM
for eachtypeof modulation:A lmthe amplitudeof the re- was 50% and of FM was 30%. The tone intensitywas 60 dB
sponsewithoutanyconcurrent stimulation; A2mthe ampli- HL. The post-adaptationrecordingcommencedwithin 15 s
tudeof the responsewhentherewasconcurrentstimulation of theendof a 10-minperiodof adaptationwith a continuous
of the sametype;and A3the amplitudeof the response 60-dB HL tone that was amplitude (50%) or frequency
whentherewasconcurrent stimulationwith the othertype (30%) modulatedat a modulationfrequencyof 40 Hz.
of modulation.The primaryhypothesis wasthat therewould There were four sets of before and after measurements
be someindependence of the FM and AM responses, i.e., determinedby the selectionof the frequencyfor AM and
that A2 wouldbesignificantly smallerthanA3. The second- FM, andby the typesof adaption(AM or FM ). The orderof
ary hypothesiswas that there would neverthelessbe some thesefour setsof recordingswasbalancedacrossthe eight
interactionbetweenthetworesponses,
i.e.,thatA3 wouldbe subjects.There was a 5- to 10-minrest periodbetweenthe
significantlysmallerthan A 1. sets.

Sampleresultsfrom onesubjectare illustratedin Fig. Table V showsthe averageresultsfor eight subjects.

10. The averageamplitudesfor the eightsubjectsare pre-
sentedin TableIV. Concurrentstimulationresultsin a sig-
nificant attenuationof both the AM response(F= 8.5,
df=2,14, p<0.01) and the FM response(F=9.9,
df= 2,14,p < 0.01). However,posthoctestingrevealedno
significantdifferencein the amplitudeof the responsefor
concurrentstimulationof the sameor differenttype (A2 vs
A3) for eithertheAM response or the FM response. There
wasnosignificant effectof modulationfrequency ontheam-
plitudeof theresponse,butthephasedelaywassignificantly
greaterfor the highermodulationfrequencyfor both AM
and FM responses.
There was no significantadaptation-relatedchange in the
amplitudeor phaseof either the AM or FM response.Fur-
thermore, there were no significantinteractionsinvolving
the type of adaptationstimulus.The only significanteffects
in the three-way ANOVA (before or after adaptation
X modulation frequencyX type of adapting stimulus)
were increasesin both amplitude and phasedelay with an
increasein modulationfrequencyfor both the AM and FM
responses, as expectedfrom the resultsof experiment3.
The data in this experimentalso providedsomemea-
surementof trial-to-trial variability. Each modulation fre-
quencyoccurredtwice for eachmodulationtype. Compari-
son of the amplitudes (recorded prior to the adaptation

TABLE IV. Concurrentstimulation.(Amplitudesexpressed in/V. The

numbersrepresentthe meansand standarddeviationsfor eightsubjects. TABLEV. Adaptation.(Amplitudesexpressed in/V.Thenumbersrepre-
Thedatahavebeencollapsedacrossthedifferentmodulationfrequencies.) sentthemeansandstandard deviations
for eightsubjects.
The datahave
beencollapsed
across
thedifferentmodulationfrequencies.)
Amplitude
Alone With concurrent stimulation
Amplitude
Same Different
Beforeadaptation After adaptationto
Type of modulation (A1) (A2) (A3) Type of modulation AM FM

Amplitude 0.79 0.62 0.63 Amplitude 0.51 0.49 0.49

+ 0.31 + 0.24 + 0.28 q- 0.31 q- 0.31 q- 0.33
Frequency 0.63 0.43 0.45 Frequency 0.43 0.45 0.46
q- 0.32 q- 0.19 q- 0.24 q- 0.23 + 0.23 q- 0.23

173 J. Acoust.Soc.Am.,Vol. 82, No. 1, July 1987 Pictonot a/.' Potentialsevokedby sinusoidal
AM or FM 173
periods) betweenthesetwo recordingsshowedchangesof
between -- 58% and -+-55% (mean: -+- 14%) for the AM
response and between-- 36% and -F 69% (mean: -+-8%)
for the FM response.(For thesecomparisons, the percent-
ageswere calculatedusingthe larger measurements as the
denominatorand usingthe sign to indicatethe direction of
change.)
III. DISCUSSION
A. Frequency of modulation
Our resultsindicatethat human steadystateresponses
evokedby the modulationof the amplitudeor frequencyof a
pure tone are mostreliablyrecordedat frequenciesnear 40
Hz. At lower frequencies,
the responsesare moredifficultto
recordbecausethe EEG noiselevelsare higher at thesefre-
quenciesand becausethe very slowness of the modulating
signalincreases thedurationof theanalysis. However,there
are someregionswherethereare clearresponses: between2
and 5 Hz for the AM responses andbetween3 and 7 Hz for
the FM responses. The FM responses in thefrequencyrange
3-7 Hz appearthemostpromisingfor furtherinvestigation.
With an apparentlatencyof approximately150 ms, these
responses may be relatedto the N1-P2 components of the
evoked potential to transient changesin frequency(re-
viewedby Arlinger et al., 1976).
Previousreports(RickardsandClark, 1984;Reesetal.,
1986) havesuggested that with increasingmodulationfre-
quencythe AM response showsa low-passfunctionwith a
small resonanceeffectat frequenciesnear 40 Hz. One diffi-
culty with this formulationis that it doesnot considerthe
increasedbackgroundnoisein the recordingat the lower
frequencies. Signal-to-noise estimates basedontheT2statis- Spydellet al. (1985) foundthat the phaseof the 40-Hz re-
tic (Picton et al., 1987b) certainlyindicatehighernoiselev- sponse wasaffectedby lesionsof the thalamusor midbrain
elsat low frequencies. Part of themeasuredamplitudeat low
modulationfrequenciesmay thereforereflect the residual responses
noisein the recording.
One way to decreasethe noisein the recordingsis to
averagethe responses acrosssubjectspayingdue regardto
phase.As seenin Fig. 2, thischanges themodulationtransfer laroriginforthetransient MLR hasbeensuggested
functionfor the AM responsefrom a simplelow-passfunc-
tion to onewith differentresonantfrequenciesin the 2- to 5- mon,1986),andbytheeffects
Hz and the 20- to 50-Hz regions.However,combiningdata
acrosssubjectsdoesnot distinguishbetweennoiseandinter-
subjectvariability.Prolongedaveragingof theresponses of a donotrespond
singlesubjectwould be necessaryto differentiatetheseef-
fects.
The presenceof a secondharmonicsuggests that there
are potentialsevokedby both the increaseand the decrease
in the amplitudeor frequencyof the tone.Reeset al. (1986)
foundsecondharmonicAM responses to belargestat modu-
lation frequencies
between5 and 20 Hz. We foundthat the
second harmonic was much smaller and much less consis-
tent than the fundamentalresponseat all modulation fre-
quencies.
B. AM responses and the 40-Hz potential
The 40-Hz responseto AM tonesis similar to the re-
sponsereportedby Kuwadaet al. (1986) andby Reeset al.
174 J. Acoust.Soc.Am.,Vol.82, No.1, July1987
(1986). Kuwadaet al. (their Fig. 2) reportfor onesubject
anamplitude of 0.35/iV fora 60-dBHL, 1-kHztonemodu-
latedat a depthof 91% anda frequency of 50Hz. Reesetal.
(theirFig. 8) reportedfor twosubjectsan amplitudeof ap-
proximately 1/iV for a (?55dB SL) 1-kHztonemodulated
at a depthof 100%anda frequency of40Hz. Ourresults(60
dB HL, 1 kHz, 90%, 40 Hz) showan averageamplitudeof
0.85/iV. Kuwadaetal. reported
littlechange
in phase(per-
haps30or 40) with changein modulationdepthandwe
wereunableto demonstrate any significantchange(Fig. 5).
Our resultsalsoreplicatethe strikingeffectof carrierfre-
quencyon the response.
The apparentlatencyreportedby
Kuwada et al. (30.8, 31.8 ms) was somewhatshorterthan
our average(37.2 ms) but of the sameorderof magnitude.
Reesetal. reportedan approximately linearincrease
in am-
plitudewith log intensityand a tendencyfor saturationat
intensities of above 60 dB. Similar results are shown in
Fig. 7.
The 40- to 50-Hz AM response is probablyverysimilar
to the steadystateMLR elicitedby rapidlypresenteddis-
crete tones (Galambos et al., 1981; Stapellset al., 1984;
Rodriguezetal., 1986).The amplitudesof theresponses are
similar.The phasedelayof the response to discretetonesis
somewhatshorter.Rodriguezet al. reporta phasedelayof
145between40 and 70 dB HL for a 1-kHz tone, whereasthe
phasedelayfortheAM response wasslightlyover200. This
difference
is probablyrelatedto the morerapidrisetime (4
ms) of the toneburstscomparedto the sinusoidalmodula-
tion.
The cerebralsourceof the 40-Hz responseis not yet
known.Galambos(1982) suggested that theresponse might
be generatedin the polysensory regionsof the thalamus.
butnotbylesions ofthetemporal lobe.However, magnetic
to stimulimodulatedor presented at frequencies
near 40 Hz (Romani et al., 1982; Mfikelfi and Hari, 1987)
andepidural recordings(Leeetal., 1984)suggest anactive
source in theregionof theprimaryauditorycortex.A simi-
byscalp
distributionanalyses(Cohen, 1982;Schergand von Cra-
of lesionsin thetemporallobe
(Krauset al., 1982;SchergandvonCramon,1986).
Studiesin animalshavesuggested thatcorticalneurons
tofluctuations
in amplitude atfrequenciesof
greater than20Hz (Creutzfeldt etal.,1980)although brain-
stemneuronscaneasilyfollowveryrapidchanges in ampli-
tude(orfrequency)
(ReesandM411er, 1983). Nevertheless,
althoughthemajorityofcorticalneurons
donotrespond to
rapidfluctuations,
therearesomecorticalneurons
thatdo
respond to frequencies
of greater
than30Hz (Fastletal.,
1986;Schreinerand Urbas, 1986).
The 40-Hz response is quitevariable.Galamboset al.
(1987) havedescribed minute-to-minute fluctuations
in the
amplitudeof the response. In our experiments,it wasnot
unusualto observethe amplitudechangeby a factorof two
fromonerecordingsession to another.The natureof these
fluctuationsis not knownalthoughtheymightbe relatedto
concomitantchangesin arousal.Certainly,drowsiness and
Pictoneta/.: Potentials
evokedby sinusoidal
AMor FM 174
sleepreducethe amplitudeof the response(Galamboset al., 1985). The FM response might thusrepresentthe response
1981;Lindenet al., t985; Jergeret al., 1986). When arousal to an intermittentlow-frequencytone,with the intervening
is controlled,selectiveattentionto the stimuli doesnot ap- high-frequency portionsof the FM signalbeingmasked.
pear to affectthe response(Linden et al., 1987). However,the phasedelayof the response is not correctfor
suchan interpretationsincethe FM response is not 180out
of phasewith the AM response.
C. FM responses Another possibilityis that the FM responseis an AM
The FM responses presentedin this articlereplicateand response evokedby eachfrequency throughwhichthemod-
extendthosepreviouslyrecordedfrom differentsubjectsin ulation travels.Becausethe responses are evokedthrough-
anotherlaboratory(Pictonet al., 1987a). As in the previous out the modulationthey tendto canceleachotherout. How-
report, we found that the amplitudeof the FM responsein- ever, becauseof the traveling wave, the responseoccurs
creasedandthe phasedid not changewith increasingmodu- earlier for the higher frequencies. Thus, when there is an
lation depth. The saturationpoint for the amplitudewith increasingfrequency,the responses tend to superimpose
increasingintensityoccurredsomewhatearlier in the pres- ratherthan cancel.Althoughthislogicis possible,the differ-
ent study (using 50% modulation) than in the previous encein latencyto a changein frequencyas small as 20% or
study (20% modulation), suggestingthat there may be 10% would be too small to result in any clear response.
someinteractionbetweenmodulationdepth and intensity. The most likely explanationfor the FM responseis
As in the previousstudy,the amplitudeof the response was thereforethat it representsthe responseof an auditorysys-
muchlargerfor lower carrierfrequencies. Pictonet al. re- tem specifically sensitiveto frequencychange.An extensive
portedno adaptationover30min,andthepresentstudyalso psychoacoustic literatureindicatesthe existenceof a cere-
found no evidencefor adaptation.Green et al. (1979) re- bral system specificallyresponsiveto frequency change
portedhumansteadystateresponses to FM tonesbut these (Kay and Mathews, 1972;Reganand Tansley, 1979;Tans-
were responses to burstsof frequencymodulationrather ley et al., 1982; Tansley and Suffield, 1983; Quine et al.,
than to the frequencymodulationitself.It is thereforediffi- 1984; Rees and Kay, 1985). Such a systemappearsto re-
cult to comparetheir resultsto ours. spondseparately to upgoinganddowngoingchangesin fre-
It is possiblethat the FM response is actuallya response quency (Gardner and Wilson, 1979; Tansley and Regan,
to concomitantchangesin amplitude.As shownin Fig. 1, 1979) andshouldthereforegeneratea responseat the second
there are small changesin amplitudein associationwith harmonicof the modulatingfrequencyrather than at the
changesin frequency(causedby the characteristics of the fundamentalfrequency.Although there wassomeevidence
earphone).Togetherwith the changesin threshold(related for a secondharmonicin our recordings(particularly at a
mainly to the frequencycharacteristics of the externaland modulationfrequencyof 2.9 Hz), this wasgenerallymuch
middleear), theremay beat the levelof the receptorasmuch smallerthan the response at the fundamentalfrequency.It is
as 6 dB of changeduring the modulation of frequency possiblethat the auditorysystemreflectedby the 40-Hz po-
between 750 and 1250 Hz (50% FM for a 1000-Hz tone). In tentialis moreresponsive to changesin frequencyfrom low
termsof amplitudemodulation,this would be equivalentto to high ratherthan the inverse. Althoughthepsychoacoustic'
lessthan 50% amplitudemodulation.The fact that the am- thresholds for transient frequency changes(and return to
plit.udeof theFM response for a modulationdepthof 50% is baseline) are similar for upgoing or downgoingchanges
greaterthan the amplitudeof the AM responseat a 50% (Arlinger, 1977),responses to frequencyglidesshowsignifi-
modulationdepthsuggests that the FM responsereflectsan cantlylowerthresholdswhentheglidegoesfrom low to high
independentphysiologicalsystem.Furthermore,the phase frequency(Nfiblek, 1978;Collinsand Cullen, 1978). The
delay of the FM responseis incompatiblewith the FM re- systemreflectedin the steadystateresponse may therefore
sponse beingan AM response. Sincetheintensityof the stim- be more sensitiveto upgoingthan to downgoingfrequency
ulus at the level of the receptorgetsgreateras the stimulus changes.
movesfromlow to highfrequencies, thereshouldnot be any Certainneuronsare particularlysensitiveto changesin
significantdifferencein phasebetweenthe AM response and frequency. WhitfieldandEvans(1965) recorded fromcorti-
the FM response. However,the phasedelayof the FM re- cal neuronsthat responded only to a specificdirectionof
sponseis consistently some300-60shorterthan the phase frequencychangewithin a frequencyregion,and not to a
delayof theAM response. As well, theFM response doesnot puretonewithinthat frequency region.The EEG recorded
showthe AM response's tendencyto saturationwith in- from the cat's auditory cortex can actually be driven by a
creasingmodulationdepth,andtheresponses havedifferent frequency-modulated tone(Whitfield,1957).Thereis only
relationsto intensity. minimal evidencefor sucha sensitivityto frequencychange
After an initial analysisin terms of frequency-specific in the auditory-nervefibers (Sinex and Geisler, 1981).
receptorchannels,theremustbe interactionsbetweenthe Neuronsspecifically sensitive to frequencymodulationoc-
differentchannelsprior to the generationof the cerebralre- cur in the cochlear nucleus (Erulkar et al., 1968; Metller,
sponsethat we recordasthe steadystateFM response. An 1974) and becomemore specificand more abundantasone
obviousinteractiondependsuponforwardmasking(Elliot, progresses up the auditorypathway(Rees and Metller,
1971). Forwardmaskinghasa timecourseof severaltensof 1983).
milliseconds(Weber and Moore, 1981) and is greaterwhen The probablemechanismunderlyingan FM detector
the maskerhas a lower frequencythan the probe (Moore, neuronwasinitiallydescribed by Erulkaretal. (1968). They

175 J.Acoust.
Soc.Am.,Vol.82,No.1,July1987 Picton
eta/.:Potentials
evokedbysinusoidal
AMorFM 175
postulatedthat an FM neuroncouldhavethe synapticin-
putsfrom differentfrequency-specificneuronsarrangedac-
cordingto frequencyin an orderly sequenceof distances
from the triggerzonefor the actionpotential.As the stimu-
lusfrequencychanged,spatiotemporal summationwouldbe
more efficientif the stimulussweptthe synapticbombard-
ment toward,rather than awayfrom, the triggerzone.
D. Relations between AM and FM responses
The resultsof concurrentstimulationsuggestthat there
is a similargeneratorfor bothFM andAM responses. If the
generatormechanisms wereindependent,concurrentmodu-
lation of both frequencyandamplitudeshouldhaveresulted
in larger responses than concurrentmodulationof only one
parameter.A possible modelfor theseresponsescouldbegin
with an initial frequency/intensity
analysisthroughthe hair
cells and auditory-nervefibers.Certain brain-stemneurons
whichare specifically responsive to changesin eitherampli-
tude or intensityare the neurophysiological basisfor sepa-
rate AM and FM channels(cf. Tansleyand Regan, 1979).
Once the auditory information has been analyzedin these
separatesystems,both channelsactivatea muchlessspecific
mechanismthat generatesthe 40-Hz steadystateresponse.
One of the characteristics
of a channelis its susceptibil-
ity to selectiveadaptation.Our experimentsshow no evi-
dencefor such adaptationin the 40-Hz response.This is
quite differentfrom the clear adaptationshownfor the de-
tection of modulation (Tansley and Suffield, 1983). These
resultssuggestthat the neuralbasisfor adaptationoccursin
a systemseparatefrom that responsible for generatingthe
40-Hz response.The processingof modulationin the ner-
voussystemmaybemultitieredwith adaptationoccurringat
a laterlevelthanthat whichinitiatesthe40-Hz response. It is
possiblethat steadystateresponses at lowermodulationfre-
quenciesmay showthis adaptation.
E. Relations to psychoacoustics
The behavioralthresholdsfor detectingmodulationat
the ratesof 40 Hz are higher than thoseobtainedat lower
frequencies of modulation.Fastletal. ( ! 986) havesuggest-
ed that the detectionof low-frequencyamplitudemodula-
tion is relatedto the detectionof "fluctuationin strength,"
whereasthe evaluationof high-frequencyamplitudemodu-
lationis relatedto the perceptionof "roughness." Our sub-
jectsperceivedboth the AM and FM tonesat 40 Hz asharsh
or rough.
The psychoacoustic thresholdspresentedin this article
are similarto thosereportedby others.For AM at 1000Hz,
one usually obtainsa thresholdof 2%-6% at slow rates of
modulation (Riesz, 1928; Zwicker, 1952; Zwicker,and
Feldtkeller, 1967; Viemeister, 1979; Tansley and Suffield,
1983;Schorer,1986), andthisincreases by a factorof 2-3 for
modulationfrequencies near40 Hz. We recordedan average
thresholdof 5%. For FM at 1000Hz, oneusuallyobtainsa
threshold(definedasthe differencebetweenfmax andFrein)
of 3-8 Hz (ShowerandBiddulph,1931;Zwicker, 1952;Feth
et al., 1969; Fastl, 1978; Tansley and Suffield, 1983), the
thresholdagainincreasingby a factor of 2-3 asthe modula-
176 J. Acoust.Soc.Am.,Vol.82, No. 1, July1987
tion frequency
increases
to 40 Hz. Our averagethreshold
wasequivalentto 28 Hz.
The steadystateresponsescan be detectedby modu-
lationdepthscloseto thebehavioralthresholds.
Theymay
therefore
behelpfulin theobjective
evaluation
of a patient's
ability to discriminatesounds.
The responses mayalsobeusefulin objectively evaluat-
inghearingthresholds, Our resultsindicatethat in normal
subjectsthe thresholdcanbe estimatedto within 5-20 dB.
Similarresultshavebeenreportedby Kuwadaet al. (1986)
in patientswith hearinglosses.
Oneparticularadvantage of
usingAM tonesratherthan discretetonesis that theyare
morefrequency specific.
The amplitudespectrumof an AM
tonecontainsenergyonlyat the carrierfrequencyandat two
sidebands,separated from the carrierfrequencyby the fre-
quencyof the modulatingsignal.They are thereforemuch
more frequencyspecificthan brief tone bursts.The FM
tonesmay alsobe usedalthoughthey are lessfrequencyspe-
cific than the AM tones.One difficulty in usingthe 40-Hz
response asanobjective measurement for hearingthresholds
is that it varies with the state of the subject (reviewed by
Linden et al., 1985). Furthermore, it is difficult to record in
infants(Stapellset al., 1987), the patientsfor whomobjec-
tive audiometryis most important.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This researchwassupportedby the Medical Research
Council of Canada and by the Ontario DeafnessResearch
Foundation.Marjorie Berry typed the manuscript.Edna
Leech assistedin the data analysis.Gilles Hamel provided
essentialtechnicalsupport.
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