Neural manifestation of cognitive and precognitive mismatch detection in early infancy.
We recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) in 2-month-old infants in two different states of alertness: awake and asleep. Syllables varying in vowel duration (long vs short) were presented in an oddball paradigm, known to elicit a mismatch brain response. ERPs of both groups showed a mismatch response reflected in a positivity followed by a frontal negativity. While the positivity was present as a function of the stimulus type (present for long deviants only), the negativity varied as a function of the state of alertness (present for awake infants only). These data indicate a functional separation between precognitive and cognitive aspects of duration mismatch essential for the distinction between long and short vowels during early infancy.
Friederici
Angela D
AD
Max Planck Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, PO. Box 500 355, 04303 Leipzig, Germany.
Friedrich
Manuela
M
Weber
Christiane
C
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D001143:Arousal / Q000502:physiology; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D005072:Evoked Potentials, Auditory / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D010700:Phonetics; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology