Objective detection of the amplitude modulation following response (AMFR)

The amplitude modulation following response (AMFR) has been shown to be a p romising tool for objective frequency-specific assessment of hearing thresh olds in children. AMFR is represented in the frequency domain by a single s pectral line. This simplifies the objective statistical detection in compar ison to other responses with a more complex waveform. The aim of the presen t study is to compare the performance of four known tests (phase coherence (PC), new Hotelling T-2 (HT2*), modified PC (PC*), magnitude-squared cohere nce (MSC)) on the basis of a large sample (n=1484) of AMFR recordings (stim ulus level of 30 dB nHL in normally-hearing subjects, and 30 dB SL in heari ng-impaired subjects) to find the test best suited for AMFR detection. The decision was made on the basis of the detection rates as well as of the ROC curves. Based on the large data pool, MSC and PC* show equal performance a nd a small but consistent advantage in objective detection of AMFR over HT2 * and PC.