The development of the length of the temporal window of integration for rapidly presented auditory information as indexed by MMN

Objective

The length of the temporal window integrating successive  auditory stimuli  into unitary percepts has been estimated to be less than 200 ms in adults. The aim of the study was to investigate the  development  of the integrating window in children to determine whether it is similar to young adults.

Methods

A modified auditory  oddball paradigm  was presented at a rapid (150–400 ms) onset-to-onset pace during recording of  electroencephalogram  in two groups of children (aged 5–8 and 9–11 years) and one group of adults. Latencies and amplitudes of the P1, N1, and the  mismatch negativity  (MMN) components of event-related  brain potentials (ERPs) were measured.

Results

The length of the temporal window of integration (TWI) was shorter in adults (<200 ms) than older children (<300 ms in 9–11-year-olds) and younger children (<350 ms in the 5–8-year-olds). In addition, age-related changes were found in the latency and amplitude of the ERP components.

Conclusions

The results demonstrate a general maturational development of the  auditory evoked potentials  and also a specific maturational process for temporal encoding of information in  auditory cortex .

Significance

Rapid  stimulus  presentation rates can be successfully used in school-aged children to study neural mechanisms of auditory processes.