P300 Sequence Effects, Probability, and Interstimulus Interval

Probability and interstimulus interval effects on P3(00) event-related potential (ERP) stimulus sequences were examined in 2 experiments. ERPs were elicited with an auditory-discrimination paradigm in which subjects were instructed to detect target stimuli from a series of target (T) and standard (S) tones that were varied by randomly presenting 1 of 4 sequence patterns (SS, TS, TT, ST). Experiment 1 manipulated target stimulus probability as either 0.33 or 0.67; Experiment 2 kept target probability at 0.33 and manipulated the interstimulus interval (ISI) as either 2 or 6 s. Increases in target stimulus probability produced smaller P300 amplitudes that were additive with stimulus sequence type. ISI did not reliably affect P300 amplitude, although ISI interacted with stimulus sequence. P300 latency from the stimulus sequences was influenced weakly by the probability and ISI factors, with few consistent sequence effects obtained for the N1, P2, and N2 potentials. The results suggest that even relatively short sequences can affect P300 amplitude in the same way as longer sequences: as the number of standard stimuli preceding the target increased, P300 amplitude increased. The theoretical implications of the findings are discussed in the context of applied testing situations.

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