title: Electrophysiological correlates of the retention of tones differing in timbre in auditory short-term memory.
abstract: We examined the electrophysiological correlates of retention in auditory short-term memory (ASTM) for sequences of one, two, or three tones differing in timbre but having the same pitch. We focused on event-related potentials (ERPs) during the retention interval and revealed a sustained fronto-central ERP component (most likely a sustained anterior negativity; SAN) that became more negative as memory load increased. Our results are consistent with recent ERP studies on the retention of pitch and suggest that the SAN reflects brain activity mediating the low-level retention of basic acoustic features in ASTM. The present work shows that the retention of timbre shares common features with the retention of pitch, hence supporting the notion that the retention of basic sensory features is an active process that recruits modality-specific brain areas.
authors.affiliation: CERNEC, Université de Montréal, Département de Psychologie, C.P. 6128, succursale Centre ville, Montreal, QC, Canada H3C 3J7; BRAMS, Montréal, QC, Canada. Electronic address: sophie.nolden@umontreal.ca.
authors.forename: Sophie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nolden
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bermudez
authors.forename: Kristelle
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Alunni-Menichini
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lefebvre
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Grimault
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jolicoeur
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005072:Evoked Potentials, Auditory / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology*; D012153:Retention, Psychology / Q000502:physiology*; D013057:Spectrum Analysis; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Audition; Electroencephalography (EEG); Event-related potentials (ERP); Short-term memory; Sustained anterior negativity (SAN); Timbre; Working memory