title: Attention effects on the processing of task-relevant and task-irrelevant speech sounds and letters.
abstract: We used event-related brain potentials (ERPs) to study effects of selective attention on the processing of attended and unattended spoken syllables and letters. Participants were presented with syllables randomly occurring in the left or right ear and spoken by different voices and with a concurrent foveal stream of consonant letters written in darker or lighter fonts. During auditory phonological (AP) and non-phonological tasks, they responded to syllables in a designated ear starting with a vowel and spoken by female voices, respectively. These syllables occurred infrequently among standard syllables starting with a consonant and spoken by male voices. During visual phonological and non-phonological tasks, they responded to consonant letters with names starting with a vowel and to letters written in dark fonts, respectively. These letters occurred infrequently among standard letters with names starting with a consonant and written in light fonts. To examine genuine effects of attention and task on ERPs not overlapped by ERPs associated with target processing or deviance detection, these effects were studied only in ERPs to auditory and visual standards. During selective listening to syllables in a designated ear, ERPs to the attended syllables were negatively displaced during both phonological and non-phonological auditory tasks. Selective attention to letters elicited an early negative displacement and a subsequent positive displacement (Pd) of ERPs to attended letters being larger during the visual phonological than non-phonological task suggesting a higher demand for attention during the visual phonological task. Active suppression of unattended speech during the AP and non-phonological tasks and during the visual phonological tasks was suggested by a rejection positivity (RP) to unattended syllables. We also found evidence for suppression of the processing of task-irrelevant visual stimuli in visual ERPs during auditory tasks involving left-ear syllables.
authors.affiliation: Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Cognitive Science, Institute of Behavioural Sciences, University of Helsinki Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mittag
authors.affiliation: Division of Cognitive Psychology and Neuropsychology, Institute of Behavioural Sciences, University of Helsinki Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Karina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Inauri
authors.affiliation: Division of Cognitive Psychology and Neuropsychology, Institute of Behavioural Sciences, University of Helsinki Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Tatu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Huovilainen
authors.affiliation: Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Cognitive Science, Institute of Behavioural Sciences, University of Helsinki Helsinki, Finland ; Finnish Centre of Excellence in Interdisciplinary Music Research, University of Jyväskylä Jyväskylä, Finland.
authors.forename: Miika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Leminen
authors.affiliation: Division of Cognitive Psychology and Neuropsychology, Institute of Behavioural Sciences, University of Helsinki Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Salo
authors.affiliation: Division of Cognitive Psychology and Neuropsychology, Institute of Behavioural Sciences, University of Helsinki Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Teemu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Rinne
authors.affiliation: Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Cognitive Science, Institute of Behavioural Sciences, University of Helsinki Helsinki, Finland ; Cicero Learning Network, University of Helsinki Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Teija
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kujala
authors.affiliation: Division of Cognitive Psychology and Neuropsychology, Institute of Behavioural Sciences, University of Helsinki Helsinki, Finland ; Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies, University of Helsinki Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Kimmo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Alho
keywords: EEG; attention; audition; event-related potential; speech; suppression