Auditory temporal grouping in newborn infants

Gabor Stefanics, Gabor Haden, Minna Huotilainen, Laszlo Balazs, Istvan Sziller, Anna Beke, Vineta Fellman, Istvan Winkler

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Adults normally perceive auditory scenes in terms of sound patterns emitted by concurrently active sources. Thus pattern formation is an important process of auditory object perception. The aim of the present study was to determine whether neonates group sounds by repeating pitch patterns. Standard ("S"; p = 80%) and deviant tones ("D", p = 20%) differing only in pitch were delivered either in a randomized order (random condition) or in a repeating SSSSD pattern (grouped condition). Both event-related brain potentials and gamma-band activity differed between the S and D tones in the random condition but not in the grouped condition. These results suggest that in the grouped condition, the S and D tones were processed as part of the same higher order regularity by the neonate auditory system. Also, for the first time, we observed oscillatory gamma-band activity in neonates, which was sensitive to infrequent pitch changes.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)697-702
JournalPsychophysiology
Volume44
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2007

Subject classification (UKÄ)

  • Pediatrics

Free keywords

  • Neonate
  • negativity (MMN)
  • mismatch
  • auditory event-related potential
  • gamma synchronization
  • perceptual development

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Auditory temporal grouping in newborn infants'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this