MISMATCH NEGATIVITY
Main Article Content
Keywords
Mismatch negativity, central auditory processing, auditory cortex, auditory memory, event-related brain potentials
Abstract
The mismatch negativity (MMN) is a specific component of the auditory event- related brain potentials. It is elicited by an infrequent, physically deviant sound (deviant- stimulus) occurring in a sequence of homogeneous repetitive sounds (standard-stimulus). MMN is probably generated in the primary auditory cortex and it has been successfully recorded in newborns. The MMN can be elicited even in the absence of attention and it can be used as an objective method to assess tone and phoneme discrimination. Some clinical applications of MMN are: evaluation of central auditory processing, patients with dyslexia or language specific disorders, autism, cochlear implant - users and even in prognosis of coma. In this article the main characteristics, origin and clinical applications of the MMN are reviewed.