Mismatch negativity to auditory stimulus change recorded directly from the human temporal cortex

TLDR

Mismatch negativity (MMN) is an event‑related potential elicited by any detectable change in a repetitive sound, generated by comparing deviant input with a neural memory trace of the sound’s physical features, even without attention. The study aimed to record MMNs to tonal frequency changes directly from the human temporal cortex. This was achieved by recording intracranial potentials from patients with implanted electrodes used for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. The intracranial MMN was found to be attention‑independent, modality‑specific, and confined to a small temporal‑cortex area distinct from the sites of attention‑dependent N2 and P3 responses.

Abstract

Abstract Mismatch negativity (MMN) is an event‐related potential (ERP) component elicited by any discernible change in a repetitive sound even in the absence of attention. Previous studies have established that MMN is generated by change detection in a process comparing the deviant sensory input with the neural memory trace encoding the physical features of the repetitive sound. In the present study, we recorded MMNs to tonal frequency changes directly from the human temporal cortex of patients with electrodes implanted in the brain for diagnosis and therapy. The intracranially recorded MMN was found to be attention independent and modality specific. It was confined to a rather small area in temporal cortex, which was different from the structures where attention‐dependent N2 and P3 responses to the frequency change could be recorded.