The Mismatch Negativity
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- Risto Näätänen
- Professor of Neurosciences, Department of Psychology, University of Tartu, Estonia
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- Teija Kujala
- Professor of Psychology, Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Finland
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- Gregory Light
- Professor of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, USA
Bibliographic Information
- Other Title
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- A Window to the Brain
Description
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>This book introduces the electrophysiological change-detection response of the brain called the mismatch negativity (MMN). MMN is elicited by any discriminable change in some repetitive aspect of ongoing auditory stimulation even in the absence of attention, causing an attentional shift to change, hence representing a response of vital significance to the organism. In addition, an analogous response is also elicited in the other sensory modalities and occurs in different species and in the different developmental stages from infancy to the old age. Importantly, MMN, reflecting the NMDA-receptor functioning, is affected in different cognitive brain disorders, providing an index of the severity of the disorder and effectiveness of remediating treatments.</jats:p>
