Ly. Deouell et S. Bentin, VARIABLE CEREBRAL RESPONSES TO EQUALLY DISTINCT DEVIANCE IN 4 AUDITORY DIMENSIONS - A MISMATCH NEGATIVITY STUDY, Psychophysiology, 35(6), 1998, pp. 745-754
In this study we compared the amplitude, latency, and spatial distribu
tion of the mismatch negativity (MMN), elicited by tones deviating in
either frequency, intensity, stimulus-onset asynchrony (SOA) or locati
on, and assessed inter- and intra-subject variability. Cross-dimension
al comparisons were facilitated by adjusting the magnitude of deviance
individually, so that the detection rates were similar, both across d
imensions (within subject) and across subjects (within dimension). Des
pite similar detection rates, the MMN elicited by frequency deviance w
as larger, and the MMN elicited by SOA deviance was earlier than the o
ther types of MMN. The reliability of frequency-related MMN was better
than that of the other types of MMN. The results highlight the proble
ms of comparing MMN across dimensions, especially in clinical populati
ons.