Skip to main content
Journal cover image

The effects of channel-selective attention on the mismatch negativity wave elicited by deviant tones.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Woldorff, MG; Hackley, SA; Hillyard, SA
Published in: Psychophysiology
January 1991

The mismatch negativity (MMN) is an event-related brain potential elicited by infrequent, physically deviant sounds in a sequence of repetitive auditory stimuli. Two dichotic listening experiments that were designed to optimize the selective focusing of attention provided a strong test of Näätänen's proposal that the MMN is unaffected by attention and reflects the operation of a strongly automatic mismatch detection system. In Experiment 1, tones were presented at intervals of 120-320 ms, and the deviant tones (intensity decrements) in both the attended and unattended ears elicited negative waves consistent in waveshape, latency, and distribution with previously described MMNs. In contrast to previous reports, however, the MMN elicited by the unattended-channel deviant was markedly reduced (peak amplitude of less than 1 microV) relative to the corresponding negative wave elicited by the attended-channel deviants (3-4 microV), as well as relative to previously reported MMNs (3-6 microV) elicited by comparable deviations in stimulus intensity. In Experiment 2, which employed interstimulus intervals of 65-205 ms, the unattended-channel MMN elicited by the deviant fainter tones was barely discernible, whereas the corresponding attended-channel negativity was again about 3-4 microV. These findings call into question the assertion that the auditory mismatch detection process and the associated MMN wave are wholly independent of attentional influence. Rather, these data provide evidence that the processing of stimuli in unattended channels can be attenuated or gated at an early sensory level under conditions of highly focused auditory selective attention.

Duke Scholars

Altmetric Attention Stats
Dimensions Citation Stats

Published In

Psychophysiology

DOI

ISSN

0048-5772

Publication Date

January 1991

Volume

28

Issue

1

Start / End Page

30 / 42

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Humans
  • Female
  • Experimental Psychology
  • Evoked Potentials, Auditory
  • Electroencephalography
  • Attention
  • Adult
  • Adolescent
  • Acoustic Stimulation
  • 52 Psychology
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Woldorff, M. G., Hackley, S. A., & Hillyard, S. A. (1991). The effects of channel-selective attention on the mismatch negativity wave elicited by deviant tones. Psychophysiology, 28(1), 30–42. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8986.1991.tb03384.x
Woldorff, M. G., S. A. Hackley, and S. A. Hillyard. “The effects of channel-selective attention on the mismatch negativity wave elicited by deviant tones.Psychophysiology 28, no. 1 (January 1991): 30–42. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8986.1991.tb03384.x.
Woldorff MG, Hackley SA, Hillyard SA. The effects of channel-selective attention on the mismatch negativity wave elicited by deviant tones. Psychophysiology. 1991 Jan;28(1):30–42.
Woldorff, M. G., et al. “The effects of channel-selective attention on the mismatch negativity wave elicited by deviant tones.Psychophysiology, vol. 28, no. 1, Jan. 1991, pp. 30–42. Pubmed, doi:10.1111/j.1469-8986.1991.tb03384.x.
Woldorff MG, Hackley SA, Hillyard SA. The effects of channel-selective attention on the mismatch negativity wave elicited by deviant tones. Psychophysiology. 1991 Jan;28(1):30–42.
Journal cover image

Published In

Psychophysiology

DOI

ISSN

0048-5772

Publication Date

January 1991

Volume

28

Issue

1

Start / End Page

30 / 42

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Humans
  • Female
  • Experimental Psychology
  • Evoked Potentials, Auditory
  • Electroencephalography
  • Attention
  • Adult
  • Adolescent
  • Acoustic Stimulation
  • 52 Psychology