Abstract
AbstractThe cortical mechanisms underlying echoic memory and change detection were investigated using an auditory change-related component (N100c) of event-related brain potentials. N100c was elicited by paired sound stimuli, a standard followed by a deviant, while subjects watched a silent movie. The amplitude of N100c elicited by a fixed sound pressure deviance (70 dB vs. 75 dB) was negatively correlated with the logarithm of the interval between the standard sound and deviant sound (1 ~ 1000 ms), while positively correlated with the logarithm of the duration of the standard sound (25 ~ 1000 ms), indicating that the temporal representation of echoic memory is logarithmic. The amplitude of N100c elicited by a deviance in sound pressure, sound frequency and sound location was correlated with the logarithm of the magnitude of physical differences between the standard and deviant sounds, suggesting that Weber-Fechner's law holds for the automatic cortical response to sound changes.
Highlights
The quick detection of an abrupt change in the environment is one of the most important functions of sensory systems
Brain activity in response to sensory changes is expected to be affected by the strength of memory for a preceding event, time between the new event and the preceding event, and the degree of physical difference between the two events
The delay of N100c for the sound location deviance in this study might indicate the time delay necessary to process at the parietal lobe
Summary
The quick detection of an abrupt change in the environment is one of the most important functions of sensory systems. Neural networks sensitive to sensory changes are known in humans[1, 2]. Such a change-detecting system should orient animals to a new event involuntarily and facilitate subsequent behavior. Knowing the involuntary process of activation in the brain in response to sensory changes should help us to understand the mechanisms of the sensory change-detecting system. To respond to any kind of sensory change, a new event must be compared with a preceding condition, that is, the change-detecting process should involve short-term sensory memory. Brain activity in response to sensory changes is expected to be affected by the strength of memory for a preceding event (memory storage), time between the new event and the preceding event (memory decay), and the degree of physical difference between the two events. Results supported the hypothesis and we found some laws relating to the change-detecting system and echoic memory
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