title: Effect of frequency deviance direction on performance and mismatch negativity.
abstract: The mismatch negativity (MMN) component of the auditory event-related potential is associated with automatic perceptual inference concerning changes in auditory stimulation. Recent studies have addressed the question whether performance and MMN is affected by the direction of frequency deviance. In the present study, the frequency MMN and performance is investigated during an auditory identification task. Specifically, we examined the effect of positive and negative differences between the present stimulus and the previous response frequencies on performance as well as on the characteristics of stimulus-locked ERPs and brain activation maps. The results show that frequency deviants creating mismatch conditions increase the likelihood of error commission. The decrease in performance achieves statistical significance in the case of positive frequency deviants. In the latter case, ERP amplitude values of the Fz electrode at 164 ms after stimulus onset are statistically larger for mismatch as opposed to no-mismatch condition. This corresponds to significance differences in the activation maps at Brodmann area 11, superior frontal gyrus, and the frontal lobe. The present findings revealed dissociations in behavioral and ERP responses in the processing of positive and negative frequency deviance, lending support to the notion that MMN is more sensitive to increments than to decrements in frequency.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Communications and Computer Systems, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 1st Department of Psychiatry, Eginition Hospital, Greece. ikaran@esd.ece.ntua.gr
authors.forename: Irene S
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Karanasiou
authors.forename: Charalabos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Papageorgiou
authors.forename: Miltiades
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kyprianou
authors.forename: Eleni I
authors.initials: EI
authors.lastname: Tsianaka
authors.forename: George K
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Matsopoulos
authors.forename: Errikos M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Ventouras
authors.forename: Nikolaos K
authors.initials: NK
authors.lastname: Uzunoglu
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation / Q000379:methods*; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain; D001931:Brain Mapping; D003265:Contingent Negative Variation / Q000502:physiology*; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005072:Evoked Potentials, Auditory / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011571:Psychoacoustics; D055815:Young Adult