Electrophysiologic signs of auditory competition in the human brain.
The present project investigated the electrophysiologic effects of auditory competition on components of the late auditory evoked potential (LAEP). A group of 12 young female listeners attended to deviant tones interspersed among frequent tones in one ear while trains of deviant and frequent tones of a different frequency were either present or absent at the opposite ear. Comparison of event-related potential (ERP) waveforms with competition- and attention-related difference waves revealed evidence that the neural effects of competition were not simply a moderation of the effects of selective attention (i.e. the processing negativity). The two difference waves exhibited amplitude peaks that were not mirror-images with respect to polarity. This suggests the existence of a unique underlying neural process that is responsible for the effects of competition on the LAEP.
Hymel
M R
MR
Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders, School of Allied Health Sciences, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858, USA.
Cranford
J L
JL
Carpenter
M
M
Holbert
D
D
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D004594:Electrophysiology / Q000379:methods; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D005072:Evoked Potentials, Auditory / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans