ABSTRACT
Central slowing of auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) and excessive breathing irregularity
on pneumogram recordings indicate dysfunction in central auditory pathways and brainstem
respiratory control mechanisms, respectively. These centers are anatomically proximate
within the brainstem so that ABR slowing and respiratory instability might be expected
to occur concomitantly, reflecting overall dysfunction of this part of the central
nervous system. To examine the relationship between these two assessments, testing
results were compared for 15 infants in the intensive care nursery who had ABRs and
12-hour pneumograms performed at about the same age for separate clinical indications.
Wave V latency at 70 dB was found to correlate significantly with three pneumogram
measurements of breathing irregularity: the density of short apneas during sleep (p
< 0.01), the number of episodes of periodic breathing per 100 minutes of sleep (p
< 0.05), and the percentage of sleep time spent in periodic breathing (p < 0.05).
Interwave interval I-V correlated significantly with the density of short apneas during
sleep (p < 0.01). The auditory brainstem response and the pneumogram appeared to serve
as related indicators of brainstem function in these infants.
