1 Department of Psychology, Concordia University, 1455 Boulevard de Maisonneuve Ouest, Montréal, QC, H3G 1M8, Canada. emily.coffey@concordia.ca.
2 International Laboratory for Brain, Music, and Sound Research (BRAMS), Montréal, QC, Canada. emily.coffey@concordia.ca.
3 Centre for Research on Brain, Language and Music (CRBLM), McGill University, 3640 de la Montagne, Montréal, QC, H3G 2A8, Canada. emily.coffey@concordia.ca.
4 Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Communication Sciences, Northwestern University, 2240 Campus Dr., Evanston, IL, 60208, USA.
5 Communication Sciences and Disorders, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Forbes Tower, 3600 Atwood St, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260, USA.
6 Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, The Connecticut Institute for the Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Connecticut, 2 Alethia Drive, Unit 1085, Storrs, CT, 06269, USA.
7 International Laboratory for Brain, Music, and Sound Research (BRAMS), Montréal, QC, Canada.
8 Centre for Research on Brain, Language and Music (CRBLM), McGill University, 3640 de la Montagne, Montréal, QC, H3G 2A8, Canada.
9 Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, 3801 rue Université, Montréal, QC, H3A 2B4, Canada.
10 Department of Neurobiology, Northwestern University, 2205 Tech Dr., Evanston, IL, 60208, USA.
11 Department of Otolaryngology, Northwestern University, 420 E Superior St., Chicago, IL, 6011, USA.

Evolving perspectives on the sources of the frequency-following response.

Nat Commun. 2019 Nov 06;10(1):5036

Authors: Coffey EBJ, Nicol T, White-Schwoch T, Chandrasekaran B, Krizman J, Skoe E, Zatorre RJ, Kraus N

Abstract

The auditory frequency-following response (FFR) is a non-invasive index of the fidelity of sound encoding in the brain, and is used to study the integrity, plasticity, and behavioral relevance of the neural encoding of sound. In this Perspective, we review recent evidence suggesting that, in humans, the FFR arises from multiple cortical and subcortical sources, not just subcortically as previously believed, and we illustrate how the FFR to complex sounds can enhance the wider field of auditory neuroscience. Far from being of use only to study basic auditory processes, the FFR is an uncommonly multifaceted response yielding a wealth of information, with much yet to be tapped.

PMID: 31695046 [PubMed - in process]