Multi-feature Mismatch Negativity Research Articles

Adapting to the Sound of Music - Development of Music Discrimination Skills in Recently Implanted CI Users.

Cochlear implants (CIs) are optimized for speech perception but poor in conveying musical sound features such as pitch, melody, and timbre. Here, we investigated the early development of discrimination of musical sound features after cochlear implantation. Nine recently implanted CI users (CIre) were tested shortly after switch-on (T1) and approximately 3 months later (T2), using a musical multifeature mismatch negativity (MMN) paradigm, presenting four deviant features (intensity, pitch, timbre, and rhythm), and a three-alternative forced-choice behavioral test. For reference, groups of experienced CI users (CIex; n = 13) and normally hearing (NH) controls (n = 14) underwent the same tests once. We found significant improvement in CIre's neural discrimination of pitch and timbre as marked by increased MMN amplitudes. This was not reflected in the behavioral results. Behaviorally, CIre scored well above chance level at both time points for all features except intensity, but significantly below NH controls for all features except rhythm. Both CI groups scored significantly below NH in behavioral pitch discrimination. No significant difference was found in MMN amplitude between CIex and NH. The results indicate that development of musical discrimination can be detected neurophysiologically early after switch-on. However, to fully take advantage of the sparse information from the implant, a prolonged adaptation period may be required. Behavioral discrimination accuracy was notably high already shortly after implant switch-on, although well below that of NH listeners. This study provides new insight into the early development of music-discrimination abilities in CI users and may have clinical and therapeutic relevance.

Multi-feature mismatch negativity: How can reliable data be recorded in a short time?

ObjectiveThe aim of the study was to conduct multi-feature mismatch negativity (MMN) implementations and identify via a test–retest study the reliability of MMN responses obtained through a 5-stimulus version of the MMN paradigm. It was also aimed to identify a reliable MMN recording number by comparing the MMN responses obtained under conditions of ten and four recordings conditions while making the recording time shorter. MethodsTwenty-one healthy volunteers, aged between 18 and 36 years, were included in the study. A 5-stimulus version of the multi-feature MMN paradigm was presented to participants. Ten recordings were obtained for each participant under both test and retest conditions. The MATLAB program was utilized in the evaluation of MMN amplitude and latency. The Fz was chosen for the statistical analysis. Four of the ten recordings were chosen at random, and statistical analyses were performed again for those four recordings. ResultsThere was no statistically significant difference in amplitudes obtained from test and retest conditions with ten recordings. With four recordings, for frequency, intensity, duration, and gap deviants, there were no statistically significant differences between amplitudes obtained under test and retest conditions. However, there was a statistically significant difference between amplitudes of the location deviant. No statistically significant difference was observed among latencies under test–retest conditions with both ten and four recordings. ConclusionsThese findings demonstrate that MMN amplitudes could be used reliably as short-time evaluations with four recordings, but more recordings are required for MMN latencies. In terms of practicality, four recordings are more advantageous and comfortable for both clinicians and patients in MMN practice. SignificanceWhen behavioral tests are required, MMN is regarded as an objective test that can be used reliably for adults, children, and infants who cannot be evaluated using behavioral methods. It is concluded that conditions with four recordings aremore advantageous and comfortable for both clinicians and patients in MMN practice.

Evaluation of multi-feature auditory deviance detection in Parkinson's disease: a mismatch negativity study.

Behavioral studies on auditory deviance detection in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) have reported contradictory results. The primary aim of this study was to investigate auditory deviance detection of multiple auditory features in patients with PD by means of objective and reliable electroencephalographic (EEG) measurements. Twelve patients with early-stage PD and twelve age- and gender-matched healthy controls (HCs) were included in this study. Patients with PD participated without their regular dopaminergic medication. All subjects underwent an audiometric screening and performed a passive multi-feature mismatch negativity (MMN) paradigm. Repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) demonstrated no significant differences between patients with PD and HCs regarding MMN mean amplitude and latency for frequency, duration and gap deviants. Nevertheless, a trend towards increased MMN mean amplitude and latency was found in response to intensity deviants in patients with PD compared to HCs. Increased intensity MMN amplitude may indicate that more neural resources are allocated to the processing of intensity deviances in patients with PD compared to HCs. The interpretation of this intensity-specific MMN alteration is further discussed in the context of a compensatory mechanism for auditory intensity processing and involuntary attention switching in PD.

Neural processing of changes in phonetic and emotional speech sounds and tones in preterm infants at term age

ObjectiveAuditory change-detection responses provide information on sound discrimination and memory skills in infants. We examined both the automatic change-detection process and the processing of emotional information content in speech in preterm infants in comparison to full-term infants at term age. MethodsPreterm (n = 21) and full-term infants' (n = 20) event-related potentials (ERP) were recorded at term age. A challenging multi-feature mismatch negativity (MMN) paradigm with phonetic deviants and rare emotional speech sounds (happy, sad, angry), and a simple one-deviant oddball paradigm with pure tones were used. ResultsPositive mismatch responses (MMR) were found to the emotional sounds and some of the phonetic deviants in preterm and full-term infants in the multi-feature MMN paradigm. Additionally, late positive MMRs to the phonetic deviants were elicited in the preterm group. However, no group differences to speech-sound changes were discovered. In the oddball paradigm, preterm infants had positive MMRs to the deviant change in all latency windows. Responses to non-speech sounds were larger in preterm infants in the second latency window, as well as in the first latency window at the left hemisphere electrodes (F3, C3). ConclusionsNo significant group-level differences were discovered in the neural processing of speech sounds between preterm and full-term infants at term age. Change-detection of non-speech sounds, however, may be enhanced in preterm infants at term age. SignificanceAuditory processing of speech sounds in healthy preterm infants showed similarities to full-term infants at term age. Large individual variations within the groups may reflect some underlying differences that call for further studies.

Evaluation of auditory temporal processing in patients fitted with bone-anchored hearing aids.

The present study aimed to identify temporal processing abilities in users of bone-anchored hearing aid (BAHA). Seventeen subjects with BAHA (SWB) users and 29 subjects with normal-hearing were compared using the frequency pattern test, duration pattern test, and speech-in-noise test. Besides behavioral temporal processing tests, a multi-feature mismatch negativity (MMN) test was performed in BAHA users to assess the accuracy of objective auditory discrimination at the cortical level, irrespective of the subjects' attention or behavioral task. The results of the multi-feature MMN test showed that BAHA users could perceive differences in frequency, duration, intensity. However, no response was elicited regarding localization of stimulus and gaps within tones. Word recognition performance in noise was significantly poorer compared with normal hearing groups. All age groups showed no differences in terms of temporal processing abilities except 30-39years duration pattern ability weaker in SWB group. The present study was the first to indicate that the use of unilateral BAHA has no effect on the localization of auditory stimuli at the cortical level according to electrophysiological test. Although Baha users have near-normal levels of hearing thresholds and temporal ordering abilities with their devices, since they benefit from the unilateral device, they still have some difficulties in resolution, recognizing and distinguishing the spatial aspects of speech, especially in multiple and noisy listening environments.

Prenatal exposure to antiepileptic drugs and early processing of emotionally relevant sounds

IntroductionPrenatal exposure to antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) is associated with developmental compromises in verbal intelligence and social skills in childhood. Our aim was to evaluate whether a multifeature Mismatch Negativity (MMN) paradigm assessing semantic and emotional components of linguistic and emotional processing would be useful to detect possible alterations in early auditory processing of newborns with prenatal AED exposure. Material and methodsData on AED exposure, pregnancy outcome, neuropsychological evaluation of the mothers, information on maternal epilepsy type, and a structured neurological examination of the newborn were collected prospectively. Blinded to AED exposure, we compared a cohort of 36 AED-exposed with 46 control newborns at the age of two weeks by measuring MMN with a multifeature paradigm with six linguistically relevant deviant sounds and three emotionally uttered sounds. ResultsFrontal responses for the emotionally uttered stimulus Happy differed significantly in the exposed newborns compared with the control newborns. In addition, responses to sounds with or without emotional component differed in newborns exposed to multiple AEDs compared with control newborns or to newborns exposed to only one AED. ConclusionsThese preliminary findings suggest that prenatal AED exposure may alter early processing of emotionally and linguistically relevant sound information.

Multifeature Mismatch Negativity in Patients With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

The mismatch negativity (MMN) component of the event-related brain potential has been used to examine auditory monitoring in various mental disorders. Previous research with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) patients has revealed contradictory results. Enhanced as well as diminished MMNs have been obtained. The multifeature protocol was employed to investigate the pattern of MMN in 17 military deployment-related PTSD patients and a group of healthy university student controls. Our results suggest no general effect of PTSD on the MMN involving the majority of acoustic features. There were slightly reduced MMNs in patients relative to controls for 2 of the features (duration, location). On the other hand, the N1 component was reduced in patients compared with controls. Choice of the stimulus protocol might be an important factor to explain inconsistent results in previous research. Differences in the auditory context between stimulus protocols and deficits in the formation of larger (auditory) contexts in PTSD might account for the results. This study adds to the small number of studies on PTSD and MMN and revealed valuable information to guide future, related studies.

Healthy full-term infants’ brain responses to emotionally and linguistically relevant sounds using a multi-feature mismatch negativity (MMN) paradigm

We evaluated the feasibility of a multi-feature mismatch negativity (MMN) paradigm in studying auditory processing of healthy newborns. The aim was to examine the automatic change-detection and processing of semantic and emotional information in speech in newborns. Brain responses of 202 healthy newborns were recorded with a multi-feature paradigm including a Finnish bi-syllabic pseudo-word/ta-ta/as a standard stimulus, six linguistically relevant deviant stimuli and three emotionally relevant stimuli (happy, sad, angry). Clear responses to emotional sounds were found already at the early latency window 100–200 ms, whereas responses to linguistically relevant minor changes and emotional stimuli at the later latency window 300–500 ms did not reach significance. Moreover, significant interaction between gender and emotional stimuli was found in the early latency window. Further studies on using multi-feature paradigms with linguistic and emotional stimuli in newborns are needed, especially those containing of follow-ups, enabling the assessment of the predictive value of early variations between subjects.

Cortical speech and non-speech discrimination in relation to cognitive measures in preschool children.

Effective speech sound discrimination at preschool age is known to be a prerequisite for the development of language skills and later literacy acquisition. However, the speech specificity of cortical discrimination skills in small children is currently not known, as previous research has either studied speech functions without comparison with non-speech sounds, or used much simpler sounds such as harmonic or sinusoidal tones as control stimuli. We investigated the cortical discrimination of five syllable features (consonant, vowel, vowel duration, fundamental frequency, and intensity), covering both segmental and prosodic phonetic changes, and their acoustically matched non-speech counterparts in 63 6-year-old typically developed children, by using a multi-feature mismatch negativity (MMN) paradigm. Each of the five investigated features elicited a unique pattern of differentiating negativities: an early differentiating negativity, MMN, and a late differentiating negativity. All five studied features showed speech-related enhancement of at least one of these responses, suggesting experience-related neural commitment in both phonetic and prosodic speech processing. In addition, the cognitive performance and language skills of the children were tested extensively. The speech-related neural enhancement was positively associated with the level of performance in several neurocognitive tasks, indicating a relationship between successful establishment of cortical memory traces for speech and enhanced cognitive functioning. The results contribute to the understanding of typical developmental trajectories of linguistic vs. non-linguistic auditory skills, and provide a reference for future studies investigating deficits in language-related disorders at preschool age.

Statistical Learning, Syllable Processing, and Speech Production in Healthy Hearing and Hearing-Impaired Preschool Children: A Mismatch Negativity Study.

The objectives of the present study were to investigate temporal/spectral sound-feature processing in preschool children (4 to 7 years old) with peripheral hearing loss compared with age-matched controls. The results verified the presence of statistical learning, which was diminished in children with hearing impairments (HIs), and elucidated possible perceptual mediators of speech production. Perception and production of the syllables /ba/, /da/, /ta/, and /na/ were recorded in 13 children with normal hearing and 13 children with HI. Perception was assessed physiologically through event-related potentials (ERPs) recorded by EEG in a multifeature mismatch negativity paradigm and behaviorally through a discrimination task. Temporal and spectral features of the ERPs during speech perception were analyzed, and speech production was quantitatively evaluated using speech motor maximum performance tasks. Proximal to stimulus onset, children with HI displayed a difference in map topography, indicating diminished statistical learning. In later ERP components, children with HI exhibited reduced amplitudes in the N2 and early parts of the late disciminative negativity components specifically, which are associated with temporal and spectral control mechanisms. Abnormalities of speech perception were only subtly reflected in speech production, as the lone difference found in speech production studies was a mild delay in regulating speech intensity. In addition to previously reported deficits of sound-feature discriminations, the present study results reflect diminished statistical learning in children with HI, which plays an early and important, but so far neglected, role in phonological processing. Furthermore, the lack of corresponding behavioral abnormalities in speech production implies that impaired perceptual capacities do not necessarily translate into productive deficits.

Comprehensive auditory discrimination profiles recorded with a fast parametric musical multi-feature mismatch negativity paradigm.

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. 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). 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. This novel paradigm provides an extensive, objective measure of auditory discrimination profile for different sound features embedded in a complex sound context. 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.

Fast determination of MMN and P3a responses to linguistically and emotionally relevant changes in pseudoword stimuli

We developed a new multi-feature mismatch negativity (MMN) paradigm with two improvements: Firstly, the standard tone, a pseudoword /ta-ta/ was presented with equal probability to the nine linguistically relevant deviants, reducing the recording time by 45%. Secondly, three rare, emotionally valenced stimuli: happy, angry, and sad utterances of the standard pseudoword were included in the sequence. MMN signals reflecting the perceptual properties of the sounds were observed for all stimuli. In addition, P3a signals were observed for the rare emotionally uttered pseudowords. This 28-min paradigm allows a multi-dimensional evaluation of central speech–sound representations (MMN), and attention allocation (P3a) to emotional information content of speech. We recommend this paradigm for studies on subject groups with impairments in language or emotional information processing, such as autism spectrum disorders, attention disorders, and alexithymia.

The encoding of vowels and temporal speech cues in the auditory cortex of professional musicians: An EEG study

Here, we applied a multi-feature mismatch negativity (MMN) paradigm in order to systematically investigate the neuronal representation of vowels and temporally manipulated CV syllables in a homogeneous sample of string players and non-musicians. Based on previous work indicating an increased sensitivity of the musicians' auditory system, we expected to find that musically trained subjects will elicit increased MMN amplitudes in response to temporal variations in CV syllables, namely voice-onset time (VOT) and duration. In addition, since different vowels are principally distinguished by means of frequency information and musicians are superior in extracting tonal (and thus frequency) information from an acoustic stream, we also expected to provide evidence for an increased auditory representation of vowels in the experts. In line with our hypothesis, we could show that musicians are not only advantaged in the pre-attentive encoding of temporal speech cues, but most notably also in processing vowels. Additional “just noticeable difference” measurements suggested that the musicians' perceptual advantage in encoding speech sounds was more likely driven by the generic constitutional properties of a highly trained auditory system, rather than by its specialisation for speech representations per se. These results shed light on the origin of the often reported advantage of musicians in processing a variety of speech sounds.

Infants’ brain responses for speech sound changes in fast multifeature MMN paradigm

ObjectiveWe investigated whether newborn speech-sound discrimination can be studied in 40min using fast multifeature mismatch negativity (MMN) paradigm and do the results differ from those obtained with the traditional oddball paradigm. MethodsNewborns’ MMN responses to five types of changes (consonant identity, F0, intensity, vowel duration and vowel identity) were recorded in the multifeature group (N=15) and vowel duration and vowel identity changes in the oddball group (N=13), after which the MMNs from both groups were compared with each others. ResultsStatistically significant MMNs in the 190–600ms time range from the stimulus onset were found for most change types in both paradigms. Newborn MMN responses were predominantly positive but a small number of participants elicited negative MMNs instead. MMN amplitudes did not differ between the multifeature and oddball groups. ConclusionsNewborn speech-sound discrimination can be assessed in a short recording time using the fast multifeature paradigm. SignificanceThe paradigm presented here can be used to record extensive auditory discrimination profiles in newborns and assess development of speech-sound discrimination and its difficulties.

Children’s brain responses to sound changes in pseudo words in a multifeature paradigm

ObjectiveThe multifeature mismatch negativity (MMN) paradigm has previously been used to study MMN responses to changes in tones or isolated syllables. We tested 4–12year old children’s MMNs to changes in a naturally produced pseudo word context. MethodsWe studied preschoolers’ (under the age of 7years, N=15, mean age 5years 4months) and school childrens’ (over the age of 7years, N=15, mean age 9years 3months) MMNs to five types of changes (vowel duration, fundamental frequency, gap, intensity, vowel identity) in the middle syllable of a pseudo word [tɑtɑtɑ] using a multifeature paradigm. ResultsVowel duration and gap changes elicited larger frontocentral MMN responses than other change types and the vowel identity change also produced an early positive p-MMR. The presence of the MMN was also determined at the individual level, and it was found that vowel duration and gap deviants produced MMNs in most of the participants. ConclusionsThe current study shows that children’s neural speech sound discrimination can be assessed in a word context in a short recording time (30min) by using the multifeature paradigm. SignificanceA paradigm which can be used to investigate the discrimination of several change types of speech-sounds in a natural context can be useful for investigating speech development and deficits.

Musical expertise and foreign speech perception

The aim of this experiment was to investigate the influence of musical expertise on the automatic perception of foreign syllables and harmonic sounds. Participants were Cuban students with high level of expertise in music or in visual arts and with the same level of general education and socio-economic background. We used a multi-feature Mismatch Negativity (MMN) design with sequences of either syllables in Mandarin Chinese or harmonic sounds, both comprising deviants in pitch contour, duration and Voice Onset Time (VOT) or equivalent that were either far from (Large deviants) or close to (Small deviants) the standard. For both Mandarin syllables and harmonic sounds, results were clear-cut in showing larger MMNs to pitch contour deviants in musicians than in visual artists. Results were less clear for duration and VOT deviants, possibly because of the specific characteristics of the stimuli. Results are interpreted as reflecting similar processing of pitch contour in speech and non-speech sounds. The implications of these results for understanding the influence of intense musical training from childhood to adulthood and of genetic predispositions for music on foreign language perception are discussed.

The sound of music: Differentiating musicians using a fast, musical multi-feature mismatch negativity paradigm

Musicians’ skills in auditory processing depend highly on instrument, performance practice, and on level of expertise. Yet, it is not known though whether the style/genre of music might shape auditory processing in the brains of musicians. Here, we aimed at tackling the role of musical style/genre on modulating neural and behavioral responses to changes in musical features. Using a novel, fast and musical sounding multi-feature paradigm, we measured the mismatch negativity (MMN), a pre-attentive brain response, to six types of musical feature change in musicians playing three distinct styles of music (classical, jazz, rock/pop) and in non-musicians. Jazz and classical musicians scored higher in the musical aptitude test than band musicians and non-musicians, especially with regards to tonal abilities. These results were extended by the MMN findings: jazz musicians had larger MMN-amplitude than all other experimental groups across the six different sound features, indicating a greater overall sensitivity to auditory outliers. In particular, we found enhanced processing of pith and sliding up to pitches in jazz musicians only. Furthermore, we observed a more frontal MMN to pitch and location compared to the other deviants in jazz musicians and left lateralization of the MMN to timbre in classical musicians. These findings indicate that the characteristics of the style/genre of music played by musicians influence their perceptual skills and the brain processing of sound features embedded in a musical context. Musicians’ brain is hence shaped by the type of training, musical style/genre, and listening experiences.

Linguistic multifeature MMN paradigm for extensive recording of auditory discrimination profiles

We studied whether a multifeature mismatch negativity (MMN) paradigm using naturally produced speech stimuli is feasible for studies of auditory discrimination accuracy of adult participants. A naturally produced trisyllabic pseudoword was used in the paradigm, and MMNs were recorded to changes that were acoustic (changes in fundamental frequency or intensity) or potentially phonological (changes in vowel identity or vowel duration). All the different changes were presented in three different word segments (initial, middle, or final syllable). All changes elicited an MMN response, but the vowel duration change elicited a different response pattern than the other deviant types. Changes in vowel duration and identity also had an effect on MMN lateralization. Our results show that assessing speech sound discrimination of several features in word context is possible in a short recording time (30 min) with the multifeature paradigm.

Fast parametric evaluation of central speech-sound processing and phoneme categorization of 11-12 year old children with the mismatch negativity of the auditory event related potential

Event Abstract Back to Event Fast parametric evaluation of central speech-sound processing and phoneme categorization of 11-12 year old children with the mismatch negativity of the auditory event related potential Satu Pakarinen1*, Laura Sokka2 and Minna Huotilainen1 1 University of Helsinki, Finland 2 Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Finland We used a multi-feature mismatch negativity (MMN) paradigm with different magnitudes of phonemic and prosodic sound changes for investigating the speech-sound discrimination and phoneme categorization in 11-12 year old typically developing children. The MMN responses were recorded to three magnitudes of vowel, vowel-duration, and intensity changes, as well as to two magnitudes of pitch changes from vowel /i:/ in 34 minutes. All MMNs were statistically significant, and the MMN amplitude increased with the magnitude of sound change. Moreover, the different types of sound changes were processed differently in relation to the sound-change magnitude. For instance, the MMN amplitude for the intensity change increased linearly as a function of sound-change magnitude, whereas the MMN amplitude for the vowel duration (significant in Finnish language) reflected also the quantity categorization to short and long vowels. Moreover, the relationship between the magnitude of stimulus deviance and the MMN amplitude was similar to that found previously in adults (Pakarinen et al., 2011). These results indicate that this paradigm produces reliable MMN responses and allows also investigation of phoneme categorization in school-aged children. Further, the results suggest that the central auditory speech processing is in many parts developed to its adult form already before the age of 11. With this MMN paradigm, one could follow the language development and specifically the evolution of phoneme categories already from birth, as well as during second and foreign language learning. Importantly, one could detect the possible deviations of auditory processing underlying speech and language disorders at very early stages, enabling corrective rehabilitation before the problems accumulate. Keywords: Language, MMN Conference: XI International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON XI), Palma, Mallorca, Spain, 25 Sep - 29 Sep, 2011. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: Poster Sessions: Neural Bases of Language Citation: Pakarinen S, Sokka L and Huotilainen M (2011). Fast parametric evaluation of central speech-sound processing and phoneme categorization of 11-12 year old children with the mismatch negativity of the auditory event related potential. Conference Abstract: XI International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON XI). doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2011.207.00190 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: 19 Nov 2011; Published Online: 28 Nov 2011. * Correspondence: Dr. Satu Pakarinen, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland, satu.pakarinen@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 Satu Pakarinen Laura Sokka Minna Huotilainen Google Satu Pakarinen Laura Sokka Minna Huotilainen Google Scholar Satu Pakarinen Laura Sokka Minna Huotilainen PubMed Satu Pakarinen Laura Sokka Minna Huotilainen 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.

Effects of deviant probability on the ‘optimal’ multi-feature mismatch negativity (MMN) paradigm

The introduction of the multi-feature ‘optimal’ mismatch negativity (MMN) paradigm was a significant innovation that allows for the collection of MMNs from five different deviant types in a relatively short period of time. Given the very specific stimulus presentation structure of this paradigm, the deletion of deviants results in an increase in the stimulus probability of each remaining deviant while holding constant the probability of the standard stimulus. The focus of this paper is two-fold: first, to examine the effects of altering deviant probability, but not standard probability, on MMN generation and, secondly, to validate a shorter, 3-stimulus version of the ‘optimal’ paradigm. Methods Twenty-four participants were presented either with the original 5-stimulus ‘optimal’ multi-feature MMN paradigm (Optimal-5) or a modified, 3-stimulus version containing only duration, frequency and intensity deviants (Optimal-3). MMN amplitudes and latencies to common deviant types were compared between groups. Results MMN amplitudes elicited by Optimal-3 were significantly smaller than those elicited by Optimal-5 for frequency and intensity deviants. There were no significant differences between MMN amplitudes for duration deviants, nor were there any significant MMN latency differences for any of the three deviant types. Conclusions These results support previous suggestions that MMN attenuation following increased deviant presentation probability is due to the development of separate deviant memory traces, not due to a weakening of the standard memory trace. Furthermore, while MMN amplitudes to Optimal-3 were reduced, they were still present; the Optimal-3 paradigm may be a useful tool for eliciting MMNs in populations unable to tolerate long test sessions, such as acute schizophrenia.