Effect of frequency separation and stimulus rate on the mismatch negativity: an examination of the issue of refractoriness in humans.
Refractoriness of the generators of the mismatch negativity (MMN) was examined in two experiments in which two deviant tones occurred in a row. In Experiment 1, the size of the MMN elicited by the first deviant was manipulated by using deviants that were close to or far from the standard in frequency. In Experiment 2, the time between two identical deviants was varied. It was found that neither the size of the MMN elicited by the first deviant, nor the time between two deviants, affected the amplitude of the MMN elicited by the second deviant. It was concluded that refractoriness played no role in the amplitude of the MMN for the parameters used.
Deacon
D
D
Department of Psychology, The City College of the City University of New York, NY, USA. monterey@bcn.net
Gomes
H
H
Nousak
J M
JM
Ritter
W
W
Javitt
D
D
D000328:Adult; D001303:Auditory Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology; D005072:Evoked Potentials, Auditory / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology; D012032:Refractory Period, Electrophysiological / Q000502:physiology*