Differences between congenitally blind and normally sighted subjects in the P1 component of middle latency auditory evoked potentials.

Auditory evoked potentials (0 to 100 msec. range) were recorded two times for 9 congenitally blind children (age = 14.1 yr. +/- 1.4 yr) and 9 age-matched children with normal vision. The groups' peak latency and amplitude of the P1 wave were compared. The peak latency was significantly lower for the congenitally blind than for the normally sighted on a two-factor analysis of variance. Since the P1 wave is thought to correspond to either the ascending reticular activating system or the primary auditory cortex, these results suggest that information processing at these neural levels may occur more efficiently in the blind.