Multi-feature Mismatch Negativity Paradigm Research Articles

Auditory discrimination profiles of speech sound changes in 6-year-old children as determined with the multi-feature MMN paradigm

A linguistic multi-feature mismatch negativity (MMN) paradigm with five types of changes (vowel, vowel-duration, consonant, frequency (F0), and intensity) in Finnish syllables was used to determine speech-sound discrimination in 17 normally-developing 6-year-old children. The MMNs for vowel and vowel-duration were also recorded in an oddball condition in order to compare the two paradigms. Similar MMNs in the two paradigms would suggest that they tap the same processes. This would promote the usefulness of the more time-efficient multi-feature paradigm for future studies in children. MMNs to five deviant types were recorded in the multi-feature paradigm in which these deviants (total of 50%) were presented in an alternating fashion with standards (50%). An oddball condition with vowel and vowel-duration deviants served as a control. The linguistic multi-feature paradigm elicited significant MMN responses to all changes used and the responses were comparable to the ones recorded with the traditional oddball paradigm. Compared to a previous adult study (Pakarinen S, Lovio R, Huotilainen M, Alku P, Näätänen R, Kujala T. Fast multi-feature paradigm for recording several mismatch negativities (MMNs) to phonetic and acoustic changes in speech sounds. Biol Psychol, submitted for publication), the MMN amplitudes seemed to be smaller and of longer latencies in general in children than in adults. The new time-efficient paradigm can be used in studies addressing cortical speech-sound discrimination in young children. The multi-feature paradigm enables fast (20 min) recording of MMNs for five speech-sound features. In future, it might be useful in detecting abnormalities in speech discrimination profiles of children with possible language-related disorders.

Cortical discrimination of speech sounds in children with Asperger syndrome as determined with the multi-feature mismatch negativity paradigm

Event Abstract Back to Event Cortical discrimination of speech sounds in children with Asperger syndrome as determined with the multi-feature mismatch negativity paradigm Soila Kuuluvainen1*, T. Kujala1, S. Saalasti1, 2, E. Jansson-Verkasa3, 4, L. Von Wendt2 and T. Lepistö1, 2 1 Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Finland 2 Department of Child Neurology, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Finland 3 Clinical Neurophysiology, Oulu University Hospital, Finland 4 Faculty of Humanities, Logopedics, University of Oulu, Finland OBJECTIVE:The aim of this study was to investigate the cortical discrimination ability for five speech-sound features in 9-year-old children with Asperger syndrome (AS). AS is a pervasive developmental disorder of the autistic spectrum. The early language development is considered to be within normal limits. However, parents of individuals with AS report peculiarities in the communication from early on. Often, the deficits become more evident from preschool age onwards. Previous studies have suggested that cortical encoding of speech sounds and the detection of changes in different speech-sound features is atypical in children with AS. The current study investigates cortical speech-sound processing in children with AS further with a multi-feature mismatch negativity (MMN) paradigm, which resembles the natural conversation setting more closely than the traditional oddball paradigm used in the previous studies in children with AS. METHODS:ERPs were recorded to five different syllable deviants (frequency, duration, intensity, vowel and consonant) using a multi-feature MMN paradigm in which the standard stimulus alternates with the deviants. RESULTS:The children with AS showed diminished MMN responses to changes in speech-sound frequency and duration as well as enhanced MMN responses to changes in intensity. In contrast, no group differences were found for the MMN elicited by vowel changes. The MMNs for consonant changes could not be compared since they were not significantly elicited. CONCLUSIONS:The MMN results suggest that in a variable auditory environment the cortical change detection of the prosody-related properties of the speech sound is abnormal in children with AS. The results also give support to both the model of enhanced perceptual functioning and to the theory of weak central coherence in autism spectrum disorders. SIGNIFICANCE:The results show that the multi-feature MMN paradigm is a feasible tool in studying cortical speech-sound processing in children with AS. Conference: MMN 09 Fifth Conference on Mismatch Negativity (MMN) and its Clinical and Scientific Applications, Budapest, Hungary, 4 Apr - 7 Apr, 2009. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: Poster Presentations Citation: Kuuluvainen S, Kujala T, Saalasti S, Jansson-Verkasa E, Von Wendt L and Lepistö T (2009). Cortical discrimination of speech sounds in children with Asperger syndrome as determined with the multi-feature mismatch negativity paradigm. Conference Abstract: MMN 09 Fifth Conference on Mismatch Negativity (MMN) and its Clinical and Scientific Applications. doi: 10.3389/conf.neuro.09.2009.05.127 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 26 Mar 2009; Published Online: 26 Mar 2009. * Correspondence: Soila Kuuluvainen, Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Helsinki, Finland, soila.kuuluvainen@helsinki.fi Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Soila Kuuluvainen T. Kujala S. Saalasti E. Jansson-Verkasa L. Von Wendt T. Lepistö Google Soila Kuuluvainen T. Kujala S. Saalasti E. Jansson-Verkasa L. Von Wendt T. Lepistö Google Scholar Soila Kuuluvainen T. Kujala S. Saalasti E. Jansson-Verkasa L. Von Wendt T. Lepistö PubMed Soila Kuuluvainen T. Kujala S. Saalasti E. Jansson-Verkasa L. Von Wendt T. Lepistö Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.

Differentiating musicians using a fast, musical multi-feature paradigm

Event Abstract Back to Event Differentiating musicians using a fast, musical multi-feature paradigm Peter Vuust1, 2*, Elvira Brattico3, 4, Miia Seppänen3, 4, S. Pakarinen3, 4, R. Näätänen1, 3, 5, E. Glerean3, 4 and M. Tervaniemi3, 4 1 Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Denmark 2 Royal Academy of Music, Denmark 3 Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Department of Psychology, University of Helsinki, Finland 4 Finnish Centre of Excellence in Interdisciplinary Music Research, University of Jyväskylä, Finland 5 Department of Psychology, University of Tartu, Estonia The Mismatch negativity (MMN) is a component of the auditory event-related potential (ERP) related to change in different sound features such as pitch, timbre, location, intensity, and rhythm. Importantly, the MMN is sensitive to discrimination learning and to musical expertise. Recently it has been shown that dependent on the performance and practice strategies, musicians develop enhanced auditory abilities reflected in shorter latency of the MMN to contour changes when they employ aural performance and practice strategies. Additionally, MMN findings have revealed that fine pitch changes are automatically detected by violinists only and that localization changes are more efficiently processed by band musicians than control subjects. These results suggest a sensitivity of the MMN to acoustic features specific of a musical genre or musical practice. The traditional MMN paradigms used so far, however, are both time consuming and far away from sounding musical. Here, we present a fast multi-feature MMN paradigm, in which six types of acoustic changes relevant for musical processing in different musical genres are presented in the same sound sequence which tackles the two challenges mentioned above. Specifically, the six musical features studied were: pitch mistuning, intensity, timbre, sound-source location, rhythm and a pitch slide typical for improvisational music. In contrast to the recently developed multi-feature paradigm, the present paradigm is closer to real music. It uses a musical figure, well-known in many genres of music, played with sample piano sounds: the Alberti bass, an accompaniment originally encountered in classical music such as Mozart’s sonatas or Beethoven’s rondos but later adopted in other contemporary musical genres. Using this paradigm, the length of the experiment is reduced to about 20 minutes, and the sequences sound like chord sequences (arpeggios). We measured ERPs in subjects classified in 3 groups according to their main genre of performance and education: jazz musicians, rock, and classical. In addition, a group of non-musicians was also measured. We found MMNs to most of the 6 deviant musical features as well as differences between the subject groups. Interestingly, these differences confirmed our expectation that the MMN reflects the auditory skills specific to a musical genre.This shows that auditory pattern change influences pre-attentive perception of musical notes, not just sound, differently in different musical populations. This study provides a novel way of investigating pre-attentive neural mechanisms involved during online music listening. Conference: MMN 09 Fifth Conference on Mismatch Negativity (MMN) and its Clinical and Scientific Applications, Budapest, Hungary, 4 Apr - 7 Apr, 2009. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: Poster Presentations Citation: Vuust P, Brattico E, Seppänen M, Pakarinen S, Näätänen R, Glerean E and Tervaniemi M (2009). Differentiating musicians using a fast, musical multi-feature paradigm. Conference Abstract: MMN 09 Fifth Conference on Mismatch Negativity (MMN) and its Clinical and Scientific Applications. doi: 10.3389/conf.neuro.09.2009.05.162 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 30 Mar 2009; Published Online: 30 Mar 2009. * Correspondence: Peter Vuust, Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Aarhus, Denmark, pv@pet.auh.dk Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Peter Vuust Elvira Brattico Miia Seppänen S. Pakarinen R. Näätänen E. Glerean M. Tervaniemi Google Peter Vuust Elvira Brattico Miia Seppänen S. Pakarinen R. Näätänen E. Glerean M. Tervaniemi Google Scholar Peter Vuust Elvira Brattico Miia Seppänen S. Pakarinen R. Näätänen E. Glerean M. Tervaniemi PubMed Peter Vuust Elvira Brattico Miia Seppänen S. Pakarinen R. Näätänen E. Glerean M. Tervaniemi Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.

Olfactory identification ability in schizophrenia spectrum disorders

Schizophrenia may be conceptualised using a dimensional approach to examine trait-like expression such as schizotypy within non-clinical populations to better understand pathophysiology. A candidate psychosis-risk marker, the auditory mismatch negativity (MMN) is thought to index the functionality of glutamatergic NMDA receptor mediated neurotransmission. Although the MMN is robustly reduced in patients with schizophrenia, the association between MMN and schizotypy in the general population is under-investigated. Thirty-five healthy participants completed the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) and a multi-feature MMN paradigm (standards 82%, 50 ms, 1000 Hz, 80 dB) with duration (100 ms), frequency (1200 Hz) and intensity (90 dB) deviants (6% each). Spearman's correlations were used to explore the association between schizotypal personality traits and MMN amplitude. Few associations were identified between schizotypal traits and MMN. Higher Suspiciousness subscale scores tended to be correlated with larger frequency MMN amplitude. A median-split comparison of the sample on Suspiciousness scores showed larger MMN (irrespective of deviant condition) in the High compared to the Low Suspiciousness group. The trend-level association between MMN and Suspiciousness is in contrast to the robustly attenuated MMN amplitude observed in schizophrenia. Reductions in MMN may reflect a schizophrenia-disease state, whereas non-clinical schizotypy may not be subserved by similar neuropathology.

The right profile: Mismatch negativity in schizophrenia with and without auditory hallucinations as measured by a multi-feature paradigm

Objective To examine pre-attentive acoustic change detection in schizophrenia patients with and without auditory hallucinations via mismatch negativity (MMN) extracted from a multi-feature paradigm. Methods This study examined the electroencephalograph (EEG)-derived MMN, recorded across 32 sites, in 12 hallucinating patients (HPs) with schizophrenia, 12 non-hallucinating patients (NPs) with schizophrenia and 12 healthy controls (HCs). MMN was recorded in response to a multi-feature MMN paradigm [Näätänen, R., et al., 2004. The mismatch negativity (MMN): towards the optimal paradigm. Clin. Neurophys. 115, 140–144] which employs frequency, duration, intensity, location and gap deviants. Differences in source localization were probed using standardized low resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (sLORETA). Results HPs showed significantly smaller MMNs to duration deviants compared to HCs and NPs, as well as smaller MMNs to intensity deviants compared to HCs. Regionalized differences between HCs and each of the patient groups were observed in response to frequency deviants. There were no significant group effects for location or gap deviants, or for MMN latency. Source localization using sLORETA showed no significant differences in MMN generator location across groups for any of the deviant stimuli. Conclusions The often-reported robust MMN deficit to duration deviants may be specific to schizophrenia patients afflicted with auditory hallucinations. Furthermore, by using symptom-specific groups, novel deficits of pre-attentive auditory processing, such as that observed to intensity deviants in HPs, may be revealed. Significance The differential responding observed between both groups of patients with schizophrenia has implications for automatic processing within the auditory cortex of hallucinating patients and suggests that care must be taken when recruiting participants in studies involving schizophrenia to ensure consistent, replicable results.

Measurement of extensive auditory discrimination profiles using the mismatch negativity (MMN) of the auditory event-related potential (ERP)

Objective Mismatch negativity (MMN), a change-specific component of the auditory event-related potential (ERP), is sensitive to deficits in central auditory processing associated with many clinical conditions. The aim of this study was to obtain a comprehensive multi-dimensional profile of central auditory processing by extending the recently developed fast multi-feature MMN paradigm [Näätänen R, Pakarinen S, Rinne T, Takegata R. The mismatch negativity (MMN): towards the optimal paradigm. Clin Neurophysiol 2004;115:140–144]. Methods MMN responses to changes in sound duration, frequency, intensity, and perceived sound-source location at six different magnitudes of deviation were recorded from healthy young adults by using the multi-feature MMN paradigm. In addition, behavioural discrimination accuracy and speed were measured to examine the relationship between MMN and behavioural performance. Results All the 24 sound changes elicited significant MMNs. MMN amplitude increased and latency decreased with increasing magnitude of sound change. Furthermore, the MMN amplitude and latency predicted the subjects’ accuracy and speed in detecting these deviations. Conclusions This new paradigm provides an extensive auditory discrimination profile for several auditory attributes at different deviation magnitudes in a minimal recording time. Significance The auditory discrimination profiles can offer a comprehensive view of the development, plasticity, and deficits of central auditory processing.