title: The auditory sensory memory trace decays rapidly in newborns.
abstract: The present study investigated the temporal dynamics of auditory sensory memory in newborns as reflected by the mismatch negativity (MMN), a preattentive electric change-detection response. MMN was obtained from 24 full-term healthy newborns who were either awake or asleep (quiet or active sleep) during the experiments. Stimuli were 1,000 Hz tones (standards) that were occasionally replaced by 1,100 Hz tones (deviants). The constant stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) was, in separate blocks, either 450, 800, or 1,500 ms. A prominent MMN was obtained at the 800 ms SOA in all three sleep or waking states, whereas no MMN occurred at 450 and 1,500 ms SOAs. In view of the fact that in adults MMN is elicited even with a 10s SOA, these results imply that the time span of auditory memory is considerably shorter in neonates than in adults and 8-12-year-old children.
authors.affiliation: Language and the Developing Brain Laboratory, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Turku, Finland. Marie.Cheour@utu.fi
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cheour
authors.forename: Rita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ceponiené
authors.forename: Paavo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Leppänen
authors.forename: Kimmo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Alho
authors.forename: Teija
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kujala
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Renlund
authors.forename: Vineta
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Fellman
authors.forename: Risto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Näätänen
mesh_terms: D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors; D014851:Wakefulness / Q000502:physiology