Comparison between intracranially recorded potentials from the human auditory nerve and scalp recorded auditory brainstem responses (ABR).

Recordings from the intracranial part of the auditory nerve in patients undergoing operations for cranial nerve disorders show that the compound action potential of the nerve in response to tonebursts has a latency that matches the N2P2N3 complex of potentials recorded from the scalp using mastoid-vertex electrodes. The results indicate that the audiotory nerve gives rise to two of the peaks in the scalp-recorded potentials and not, as was earlier assumed, to only the first peak in the scalp-recorded ABR. Recordings from two locations on the nerve show identical waveshapes of the compound action potential and a difference in latency that can be accounted for by the conduction time of nerve.