Evaluation of an automated procedure for detecting frequency-following responses in American and Chinese neonates

To date, observations of the scalp-recorded frequency-following response (FFR) to voice pitch have depended on subjective interpretation of the experimenter. The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate an automated procedure for detecting the presence of a response. Twenty American (9 boys, 1-3 days) and 20 Chinese (10 boys, 1-3 days) neonates were recruited. A Chinese monosyllable that mimicked the English vowel /i/ with a rising pitch (117-166 Hz) was used as the stimulus. Three objective indices (Frequency Error, Tracking Accuracy, and Pitch Strength) were computed from the recorded brain waves and the test results were compared with human judgments to calculate the sensitivity and specificity values. Results demonstrated that the automated procedure produced sensitivity values between 53-90% and specificity values between 80-100%, and could be used to assess the presence of an FFR for neonates who were born in a tonal or non-tonal language environment.