Human and monkey P3-like responses in a mixed modality paradigm: effects of context and context-dependent noradrenergic influences
Abstract
Previous studies in non-human primates have reported that noradrenergic agents, such as the alpha 2 agonist clonidine, affect auditory but not visual P3 responses. One explanation for these effects may be that distinct modalities are differentially susceptible to noradrenergic influences--a modality-dependent effect. Another possibility is that noradrenergic effects are modality-independent but context-dependent. Two separate experiments, in humans and monkeys, examined the role of stimulus modality, context and noradrenergic activity in an attempt to elucidate the nature of the relationship between P3 and the action of this catecholamine neurotransmitter. In Experiment 1, human subjects were exposed to two versions of a mixed modality oddball paradigm. In one version, the context or background activity was auditory, while in the other it was visual. In both versions of the paradigm, the same auditory and visual rare targets occurred. The results indicated that N2 and P3 to visual targets were more sensitive to changes in context than those to auditory targets. In both cases, N2 and P3 amplitudes to targets were enhanced when the eliciting event and context differed. A modality-specific N2b, on the other hand, was enhanced when...Continue Reading
References
Auditory and visual P300s in temporal lobectomy patients: evidence for modality-dependent generators
Endogenous potentials generated in the human hippocampal formation and amygdala by infrequent events
Citations
Related Concepts
Related Feeds
Auditory Perception
Auditory perception is the ability to receive and interpret information attained by the ears. Here is the latest research on factors and underlying mechanisms that influence auditory perception.