The P1 biomarker for assessing cortical maturation in pediatric hearing loss: a review.

We review evidence for a high degree of neuroplasticity of the central auditory pathways in early childhood, citing evidence of studies of the P1 and N1 cortical auditory evoked potentials in congenitally deaf children receiving cochlear implants at different ages during childhood, children with auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder and children with hearing loss and comorbid multiple disabilities. We discuss neuroplasticity, including cortico-cortical de-coupling and cross-modal re-organization that occurs in deafness. We provide evidence for the clinical utility of the P1 cortical auditory evoked potential (CAEP) as a non-invasive biomarker that can be used to objectively assess maturation of auditory cortex in clinical cases of cochlear implant patients and candidates. Finally, we present clinical case studies in which the P1 CAEP biomarker proved useful in clinical decision-making regarding intervention in cases of single-sided deafness, auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder, mild hearing loss and hypoplastic auditory nerve.