Three-channel Lissajous' trajectories of auditory brainstem evoked potentials: contribution of fast and slow components to planar segment formation.

Three-Channel Lissajous' Trajectories (3CLT) of Auditory Brainstem Evoked Potentials (ABEP) to clicks were obtained after finite impulse response filtering in three frequency bands. These bands were chosen to replicate the widely used passband (100-3000 Hz) and to selectively enhance the definition of the 'pedestal' (10-240 Hz) or the first, third and fifth components (240-483 Hz). Quantitative measures of 3CLT were calculated to describe apex latencies, planar segment orientations, durations, trajectory amplitude peaks and their latencies. In addition, dipole moments at the latencies of apical points along 3-CLT were calculated. The planarity of ABEP 3-CLT segments persisted after selective enhancement of the 'pedestal' or the first, third and fifth components. These results rule out the suggestion that planarity of ABEP segments results from the interaction of the 'pedestal' with the superimposed faster components. These results demonstrate summation of 3-CLT planar segments ('a' 'c' and 'e' with the 'pedestal') to form new segments (wide-band 'a', 'c' and 'e'). With the exception of 'c', planar segments and the equivalent dipole moments associated with apexes did not change orientations across passbands. The effects of passband on the orientation of planar segment 'c' and the dipole moment of its apex are explained by its superimposition on the 'pedestal' in the wide-band records. A similar analysis of ABEP to clicks as compared to low-frequency stimuli (high-pass masked clicks) revealed no change in planarity nor in plane parameters. These results are compatible with the suggestion that the generators of the first, third and fifth ABEP components are curved fiber tracts. The planarity of the slow 'pedestal' may be due to the summation of slow synaptic potentials in auditory brainstem nuclei. These findings indicate that the generators of ABEP are composites that may be separated by selective lesion studies.