Effects of information processing demands on slow negative shift latencies and N100 amplitude in selective and divided attention

The influence of information processing demands on auditory event-related potentials (ERPs) in selective and divided attention was examined by varying the stimulation rate and target difficulty in a two-channel discrimination task. Subjects were required to detect targets in either one or both ears (channels) in a series of tones presented randomly to both ears. The amplitude of the N100 component (latency 80-140 msec) of the ERP to all stimuli in an attended channel was greater if attention was focused on that channel that if it was directed to the opposite channel. N100 amplitude was also reduced in divided attention compared to focused attention. In general, these effects were obtained only if the stimulation rate was high and/or targets were difficult to detect. However, these effects of attention modulated an underlying slow negative shift (SNS) rather than N100 directly. The onset and peak latencies of the SNS were strongly dependent on the processing demands of the task. The results show that the temporal relationship of the SNS to the N100 component is the principal factor responsible for variations in the effects of attention on the ERP with changes in information processing demands. The relationship between these ERP components and resource allocation theories of attention is discussed.

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