Abstract
Introduction The Mismatch Negativity (MMN) auditory evoked potential evaluation is a promising
procedure to assess objectively the ability of auditory discrimination.
Objective To characterize the latency and amplitude values of MMN in children with normal auditory
thresholds and without auditory complaints.
Methods Children between 5 and 11 years old participated in the present study. All participants
underwent acoustic immittance measurements and tonal and vocal audiometry. The MMN
was recorded with the MASBE ATC Plus system (Contronic, Pelotas, RS, Brazil). The
electrodes were fixed in Fz (active electrode), Fpz (ground electrode) and in M2 and
M1 (references electrodes). The intensity used was 80 dBHL, the frequent stimulus
was 1,000 Hz and the rare stimulus was 2,000 Hz. The stimuli were presented in both
ears separately.
Results For the female group, the mean latencies and amplitude of MMN were 177.3 ms and 5.01
μV in the right ear (RE) and 182.4 ms and 5.39 μV in the left ear (LE). In the male
group, the mean latencies were 194.4 ms in the RE and 183.6 ms in the LE, with an
amplitude of 5.11 μV in the RE and 5.83 μV in the LE. There was no statistically significant
difference between ears (p = 0.867 - latency and p = 0.178 - amplitude), age (p > 0.20) and the gender of the participants (p > 0.05).
Conclusion Using the described protocol, the mean latency value of MMN was 184.0 ms for RE and
182.9 ms for LE, and the amplitude was 5.05 μV and 5.56 μV for the left and right
ears, respective.
Keywords
auditory evoked potential - electrophysiology - children
