title: Spectral dynamics of electroencephalographic activity during auditory information processing.
abstract: Dynamics of electroencephalographic (EEG) activity during auditory information processing were evaluated in response to changes in stimulus complexity, stimulus discriminability and attention using the oddball paradigm. In comparison to pre-stimulus baseline conditions, auditory stimulation synchronized EEG activity in delta, theta and alpha frequency bands. Event-related synchronization (ERS) effects were greatest at approximately 3 Hz (theta frequency band), and their magnitude depended on stimulus and task demands. Event-related desynchronization (ERD) of EEG activity was observed in the beta frequency band. This effect was greatest at approximately 21 Hz but occurred only for easily discriminable stimuli in attention-related target conditions. Because active discrimination tasks also required a button-press response with the right hand, ERDs involved more complex responses that may be related to a combination of perceptual, motor and cognitive processes. These results demonstrate that oddball and attention-related EEG responses to auditory stimulation could be characterized in the frequency domain. The specific design and analysis features described herein may prove useful since they provide a simple index of the brain's response to stimulation while at the same time provide powerful information not contained in typical time domain analysis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Division of Otolaryngology, Albany Medical College, 47 New Scotland Avenue, Albany, NY 12208, USA. cacacea@mail.amc.edu
authors.forename: Anthony T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Cacace
authors.forename: Dennis J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: McFarland
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D003344:Cortical Synchronization; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005071:Evoked Potentials; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008606:Mental Processes / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011601:Psychophysics; D011930:Reaction Time