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Stimulus context determines P3a and P3b

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 July 2016

JUN'ICHI KATAYAMA
Affiliation:
Faculty of Education, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
JOHN POLICH
Affiliation:
Department of Neuropharmacology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
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Abstract

P300 differences for target (.10), nontarget (.10), and standard tones (.80) were assessed using a three-stimulus oddball paradigm in which participants responded only to the target (n = 12). Target/standard (easy or difficult) and nontarget/standard (large or small) pitch differences were manipulated orthogonally. In all conditions, target tones elicited a parietal P300, which was affected only by the target/standard discrimination ease. Nontarget in the easy/large and difficult/small conditions elicited a parietal but smaller P300 than the target but in the easy/small condition elicited similar ERPs to the standard. However, nontarget stimuli in the difficult/large condition elicited an anterior maximum and earlier P300 (P3a) component. The findings suggest that target P300s are not influenced by the nontarget stimulus configuration, whereas the nontarget P300 outcomes are determined directly by the stimulus context. The theoretical implications are discussed.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
1998 Society for Psychophysiological Research

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