Recording frequency-following responses to voice pitch in guinea pigs: preliminary results

Percept Mot Skills. 2014 Jun;118(3):681-90. doi: 10.2466/22.24.PMS.118k28w1. Epub 2014 May 14.

Abstract

Although scalp-recorded frequency-following response (FFR) to voice pitch has shown great potential to examine pitch processing mechanisms in human participants and animals, few reports have addressed the test-retest reliability of such a response in an animal model. The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility and reliability of recording such a response in an animal model and to evaluate the extent to which the response could be separated from background noise. A Chinese monosyllable with a rising pitch was used to elicit the FFR to voice pitch in four guinea pigs. Four objective measures (Root-Mean-Square, Amplitude, Tracking Accuracy, Frequency Error, and Slope Error) were computed from recorded brain waves and were used to examine the phase-locking magnitude and test-retest reliability of the response. Results demonstrated that the animal model produced FFR trends that were repeatable, reliable, and significantly different from responses to the background noise.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Brain / physiology*
  • Electroencephalography
  • Feasibility Studies
  • Female
  • Guinea Pigs / physiology*
  • Male
  • Neuropsychological Tests / standards*
  • Pilot Projects
  • Pitch Perception / physiology*
  • Reproducibility of Results