Brainstem auditory evoked potentials in receptive developmental language disorder.

It has been hypothesized that receptive developmental language disorder (RDLD) may be explained by an auditory processing deficit. The neuroanatomical locus of this deficit is unknown. Brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEPs) reflect the functioning of the auditory nerve and auditory brainstem pathways to high-frequency acoustical stimulation in humans and reflect the first stages of auditory processing. These were studied in 12 subjects with RDLD (four females and eight males, ages 12 to 19) and twelve control subjects (three females and nine males, ages 14 to 24). Click intensity and rate of stimulation were varied. The BAEPs for the RDLD group were comparable to the control group as well as to hospital norms across intensity levels and stimulation rates. The evidence obtained suggests that a disorder in the neurophysiological systems underlying the BAEPs and reflecting initial stages of auditory processing is not essential for RDLD.