Mismatch negativity and behavioural discrimination in humans as a function of the magnitude of change in sound duration.
This study investigated how duration changes are processed in the human brain as indexed by the mismatch negativity (MMN), a component of the auditory event-related potential (ERP) reflecting sensory memory. Subjects were presented with sequences of repetitive 100-ms white noise bursts interspersed by occasional duration deviants which were 1, 10, or 50 ms (decrements) or 110, 150, or 200 ms (increments) in duration. In a separate task, subjects were asked to detect deviants within the sequence via a button-press. MMN was elicited by both stimulus decrements and increments and increased in amplitude as a function of the amount of deviation from the standard duration except for the shortest, 1-ms deviant. Behavioural detection paralleled the MMN responses, suggesting a link between the processes underlying MMN and behavioural measures.
Jaramillo
M
M
Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Department of Psychology, University of Helsinki, Finland, PO Box 13, FIN-00014, Helsinki, Finland. jaramill@cc.helsinki.fi
Paavilainen
P
P
Näätänen
R
R
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation / Q000379:methods*; D000328:Adult; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D004193:Discrimination Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors