Auditory sensory memory as indicated by mismatch negativity in chronic alcoholism.
Clin Neurophysiol
; 112(5): 728-31, 2001 May.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-11336886
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
A pre-conscious auditory sensory (echoic) memory of about 10 s duration can be studied with the event-related brain potential mismatch negativity (MMN). Previous work indicates that this memory is preserved in abstinent chronic alcoholics for a duration of up to 2 s. The authors' aim was to determine the integrity of auditory sensory memory as indexed by MMN in chronic alcoholism, when this memory has to be functionally active for a longer period of time.METHODS:
The presence of MMN for stimuli that differ in duration was tested at memory probe intervals (MPIs) of 0.4 and 5.0 s in 17 abstinent chronic alcoholic patients and in 17 healthy age-matched control subjects.RESULTS:
MMN was similar in alcoholics and controls when the MPI was 0.4 s, whereas MMN could not be observed in the patients when the MPI was increased to 5.0 s.CONCLUSIONS:
These results provide evidence of an impairment of auditory sensory memory in abstinent chronic alcoholics, whereas the automatic stimulus-change detector mechanism, involved in MMN generation, is preserved.
Search on Google
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Auditory Perception
/
Brain
/
Alcoholism
/
Memory
Limits:
Adult
/
Humans
/
Male
Language:
En
Journal:
Clin Neurophysiol
Journal subject:
NEUROLOGIA
/
PSICOFISIOLOGIA
Year:
2001
Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Spain