Generator study of brainstem auditory evoked potentials by a radiofrequency lesion method in rats.

The generators of brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEPs) in rats were investigated experimentally. Discrete lesions of the brainstem auditory pathway were made unilaterally using a stereotaxic radiofrequency coagulation method, and the BAEPs were recorded before and after the lesions to observe the alterations. The waves of the BAEPs were affected by the lesions as follows: (1) all of the BAEP waves were attenuated or eliminated by a lesion of the auditory nerve; (2) wave II was abolished or attenuated in amplitude following a lesion of the cochlear nucleus; (3) marked reduction or abolition of wave III occurred with some effect on waves IV and V following lesions of the superior olivary complex; (4) the following trough in the wave III was significantly attenuated by lesions of the lateral lemniscus that were associated with inconsistent changes in waves IV and V; (5) no waves were affected significantly by a lesion of the inferior colliculus. The method of radiofrequency lesion using stereotaxic localization proved to be a simpler and more rapid procedure for determining the generators of BAEPs in animals than other surgical lesion methods.