Common neural mechanism for processing onset-to-onset intervals and silent gaps in sound sequences

Stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) and inter-stimulus interval (ISI) are important factors in the perceptual organization of sound sequences. The present study tested whether these two temporal parameters are independently processed in the auditory system. Independence was studied by testing the additivity of mismatch negativity (MMN). Four conditions differing in their temporal regularities were administered: (1) constant SOA and ISI, (2) constant SOA and variable ISI, (3) constant ISI and variable SOA, and (4) variable SOA and ISI. The MMN elicited by simultaneous deviance from the constant SOA and ISI (Condition 1) was compared with an additive model calculated from the MMNs elicited in the other conditions. The amplitude of the MMN in Condition 1 was significantly larger than that of the modeled MMN, suggesting that SOA and ISI are processed by interactive or common neural mechanisms.

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