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Mismatch negativity (MMN), the deviance‐elicited auditory deflection, explained
Author(s) -
May Patrick J. C.,
Tiitinen Hannu
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
psychophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.661
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1469-8986
pISSN - 0048-5772
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-8986.2009.00856.x
Subject(s) - mismatch negativity , psychology , sensory memory , stimulus (psychology) , negativity effect , neuroscience , audiology , afferent , electrophysiology , cognitive psychology , electroencephalography , medicine
The current review constitutes the first comprehensive look at the possibility that the mismatch negativity (MMN, the deflection of the auditory ERP/ERF elicited by stimulus change) might be generated by so‐called fresh‐afferent neuronal activity. This possibility has been repeatedly ruled out for the past 30 years, with the prevailing theoretical accounts relying on a memory‐based explanation instead. We propose that the MMN is, in essence, a latency‐ and amplitude‐modulated expression of the auditory N1 response, generated by fresh‐afferent activity of cortical neurons that are under nonuniform levels of adaptation.