Interhemispheric connection of auditory neural pathways assessed by auditory evoked magnetic fields in patients with fronto-temporal lobe infarction

In auditory evoked magnetic fields (AEFs), the latency of temporal N100m response elicited by the ipsilateral ear stimulation (Ipsi-Stim) is generally longer than that of N100m response elicited by the contralateral ear stimulation (Cont-Stim). The reason for this difference remains unclear. We measured AEFs in patients with fronto-temporal or frontal lobe infarction to clarify this question. In the patients with fronto-temporal lobe infarction, the N100m peak latencies in the healthy hemisphere by Ipsi-Stim measurements were significantly longer than the corresponding normal values. Such a latency prolongation was not observed in the patients with frontal lobe infarction. The results suggest that auditory impulses originated from the ear may first arrive at the contralateral temporal cortex and then return to the ipsilateral temporal cortex mediating through the corpus callosum. The disturbance of interhemispheric conduction by ischemic temporal lesions likely delays the N100m latency at the contralateral temporal cortex. The mediation of interhemispheric route may, thus, make the ipsilateral N100m latency generally longer than the contralateral N100m latency.