title: Comprehensive auditory discrimination profiles recorded with a fast parametric musical multi-feature mismatch negativity paradigm.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Mismatch negativity (MMN), a component of the auditory event-related potential (ERP) in response to auditory-expectancy violation, is sensitive to central auditory processing deficits associated with several clinical conditions and to auditory skills deriving from musical expertise. This sensitivity is more evident for stimuli integrated in complex sound contexts. This study tested whether increasing magnitudes of deviation (levels) entail increasing MMN amplitude (or decreasing latency), aiming to create a balanced version of the musical multi-feature paradigm towards measurement of extensive auditory discrimination profiles in auditory expertise or deficits.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using electroencephalography, we measured MMNs in healthy young adults to six types of sound feature change (pitch, timbre, location, intensity, slide and rhythm) at three different magnitudes of deviation, embedded in a music-sounding context. We also behaviourally assessed the individual musical aptitude using the Musical Ear Test (MET).
  
  
  RESULTS
  16 of 18 sound feature changes elicited significant MMNs. For pitch, intensity, location, and slide, the MMN amplitude increased with increasing magnitude of feature change. We observed a ceiling effect for rhythm, and a floor effect for timbre. The slide MMN amplitude correlated positively with MET melody score and negatively with MET rhythm score.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This novel paradigm provides an extensive, objective measure of auditory discrimination profile for different sound features embedded in a complex sound context.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The paradigm can be adopted to study the neurophysiology of individuals with music processing difficulties or with special musical skills, and may be a useful tool for investigating development, plasticity, and deficits of auditory processing.
authors.affiliation: Center for Music in the Brain, Dept. of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University & The Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg, Denmark. Electronic address: pv@pet.auh.dk.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vuust
authors.affiliation: Department of Computer Science and Information Systems, University of Jyväskylä, Finland.
authors.forename: Lari
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liikala
authors.affiliation: Center for Music in the Brain, Dept. of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University & The Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg, Denmark; Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Institute of Behavioural Sciences, University of Helsinki, Finland; Department of Psychology, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.
authors.forename: Risto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Näätänen
authors.affiliation: Department of Computer Science and Information Systems, University of Jyväskylä, Finland.
authors.forename: Pauli
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Brattico
authors.affiliation: Center for Music in the Brain, Dept. of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University & The Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg, Denmark.
authors.forename: Elvira
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Brattico
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation / Q000379:methods*; D000328:Adult; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D004193:Discrimination Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000379:methods*; D005072:Evoked Potentials, Auditory / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009146:Music
keywords: Central auditory processing; Event-related potential (ERP); Mismatch negativity (MMN); Sound discrimination