Duration of auditory sensory memory in parents of children with SLI: a mismatch negativity study.
In a previous behavioral study, we showed that parents of children with SLI had a subclinical deficit in phonological short-term memory. Here, we tested the hypothesis that they also have a deficit in nonverbal auditory sensory memory. We measured auditory sensory memory using a paradigm involving an electrophysiological component called the mismatch negativity (MMN). The MMN is a measure of the brain's ability to detect a difference between a frequent standard stimulus (1000 Hz tone) and a rare deviant one (1200 Hz tone). Memory effects were assessed by varying the inter-stimulus interval (ISI) between the standard and deviant. We predicted that parents of children with SLI would have a smaller MMN than parents of typically developing children at a long ISI (3000 ms), but not at a short one (800 ms). This was broadly confirmed. However, individual differences in MMN amplitude did not correlate with measures of phonological short-term memory. Attenuation of MMN amplitude at the longer ISI thus did not provide unambiguous support for the hypothesis of a reduced auditory sensory memory in parents of affected children. We conclude by reviewing possible explanations for the observed group effects.
Barry
Johanna G
JG
Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, UK. oto_jo@yahoo.com
Hardiman
Mervyn J
MJ
Line
Elizabeth
E
White
Katherine B
KB
Yasin
Ifat
I
Bishop
Dorothy V M
DV
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D002648:Child; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005072:Evoked Potentials, Auditory; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010290:Parents