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Does primacy bias occur in mismatch negativity (MMN) to spatial deviants?

Kaitlin Fitzgerald1*, Alexander Provost1 and Juanita Todd1
  • 1 The University of Newcastle, Psychology, Australia

The auditory system is sensitive to the relative probabilities of sounds, using regularities in sound sequences to form predictions about future sounds. The mismatch negativity (MMN) is an evoked-potential component elicited in response to any unexpected change in the auditory environment and therefore reflects error in predictions. MMN amplitude is proportional to the “confidence” in an existing prediction, being largest to deviations of stable patterns which are most unexpected. However using a multi-timescale paradigm we have demonstrated that it is not solely determined by local probability statistics, with the initial context in which a sound is encountered having a lasting impact on the perception of that sound in future contexts – a “primacy bias”. In this paradigm two tones alternate in the role of standard (p=.875) and deviant (p=.125) every 2.4 minutes in the stable condition and 0.8 minutes in the unstable condition. Primacy bias is observed with the expected stability effect of MMN being larger for stable than unstable sequences only evident when tones are in the roles in which they were initially encountered. Whilst this effect has been reliably observed when tones deviate on pitch and duration, this study is the first to test primacy bias in spatial deviance. Using interaural level difference to localise sounds to the left and right of space we demonstrate that this primacy bias is evident through two characteristic bias patterns: (1) suppression of MMN amplitude to the initial standard as a later deviant in the first half of blocks after tones change roles, with growth into the second half; and (2) larger MMN in stable than unstable sequences in the first half of blocks for the initial deviant only. These results provide further support for primacy bias as an order-driven effect which generalises across deviance types, including spatial location.

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Keywords: Primacy bias, mismatch negativity (MMN), Prediction modelling, spatial processing, EEG/ERP

Conference: ASP2015 - 25th Annual Conference of the Australasian Society for Psychophysiology, Sydney, Australia, 2 Dec - 4 Dec, 2015.

Presentation Type: Poster Presentation

Topic: Psychophysiology

Citation: Fitzgerald K, Provost A and Todd J (2015). Does primacy bias occur in mismatch negativity (MMN) to spatial deviants?. Conference Abstract: ASP2015 - 25th Annual Conference of the Australasian Society for Psychophysiology. doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2015.219.00009

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Received: 25 Oct 2015; Published Online: 30 Nov 2015.

* Correspondence: Miss. Kaitlin Fitzgerald, The University of Newcastle, Psychology, Callaghan, NSW, 2308, Australia, kaitlin.fitzgerald@uon.edu.au