Signal type and signal-to-noise ratio interact to affect cortical auditory evoked potentials.

Use of speech signals and background noise is emerging in cortical auditory evoked potential (CAEP) studies; however, the interaction between signal type and noise level remains unclear. Two experiments determined the interaction between signal type and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) on CAEPs. Three signals (syllable /ba/, 1000-Hz tone, and the /ba/ envelope with 1000-Hz fine structure) with varying SNRs were used in two experiments, demonstrating signal-by-SNR interactions due to both envelope and spectral characteristics. When using real-world stimuli such as speech to evoke CAEPs, temporal and spectral complexity leads to differences with traditional tonal stimuli, especially when presented in background noise.