IT has been hypothesized that poor auditory temporal resolution is related
to language-learning problems in children as well as problems with speech p
erception in noise in the elderly. We show that the presence of occasional
silent gaps between short tone pips elicits mismatch negativity (MMN) in yo
ung adults. We also measured gap-detection thresholds with MMN that agree w
ell with behavioural thresholds. Near threshold, the MMN increases as the g
ap size increases millisecond by millisecond. The MMN methodology for measu
ring temporal resolution is not only robust, but can be applied identically
across the life span as it does not require the attention of participants
or a behavioural response, We are now in a position to examine temporal res
olution in infancy. NeuroReport 10:2079-2082 (C) 1999 Lippincott Williams &
Wilkins.