title: Electrophysiological correlates of the maintenance of the representation of pitch objects in acoustic short-term memory.
abstract: We studied the neuronal mechanisms that implement acoustic short-term memory (ASTM) for pitch using event-related potentials (ERP). Experiment 1 isolated an ERP component, the sustained anterior negativity (SAN), that increased in amplitude with increasing memory load in ASTM using stimuli with equal duration at all memory loads. The SAN load effect found in Experiment 1, when pitch had to be remembered to perform the task, was absent in Experiment 2 using the same sounds when memory was not required. In Experiment 3, the memory task was performed without or with concurrent articulatory suppression during the retention interval to prevent rehearsal via an articulatory loop. Load-related effects observed in Experiment 1 were found again, whether participants engaged in concurrent suppression or not. The results suggest that the SAN reflects activity required to maintain pitch objects in an ASTM system that is distinct from articulatory rehearsal.
authors.affiliation: Département de Psychologie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, CanadaÉcole de Psychologie, Université Laval, Québec City, Québec, CanadaDepartment of Psychology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, GermanyCentre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Synthia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Guimond
authors.affiliation: Département de Psychologie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, CanadaÉcole de Psychologie, Université Laval, Québec City, Québec, CanadaDepartment of Psychology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, GermanyCentre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Vachon
authors.affiliation: Département de Psychologie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, CanadaÉcole de Psychologie, Université Laval, Québec City, Québec, CanadaDepartment of Psychology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, GermanyCentre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Sophie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nolden
authors.affiliation: Département de Psychologie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, CanadaÉcole de Psychologie, Université Laval, Québec City, Québec, CanadaDepartment of Psychology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, GermanyCentre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lefebvre
authors.affiliation: Département de Psychologie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, CanadaÉcole de Psychologie, Université Laval, Québec City, Québec, CanadaDepartment of Psychology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, GermanyCentre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Grimault
authors.affiliation: Département de Psychologie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, CanadaÉcole de Psychologie, Université Laval, Québec City, Québec, CanadaDepartment of Psychology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, GermanyCentre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jolicoeur
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000328:Adult; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005072:Evoked Potentials, Auditory / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010898:Pitch Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology