TY - JOUR T1 - Spectral dynamics of electroencephalographic activity during auditory information processing. JF - Hearing research Y1 - 2003 A1 - Anthony T. Cacace A1 - Dennis J. McFarland KW - Electroencephalography KW - event-related brain dynamics KW - event-related desynchronization KW - event-related synchronization KW - psychophysics KW - spectral analysis KW - time domain analysis AB - Dynamics of electroencephalographic (EEG) activity during auditory information processing were evaluated in response to changes in stimulus complexity, stimulus discriminability and attention using the oddball paradigm. In comparison to pre-stimulus baseline conditions, auditory stimulation synchronized EEG activity in delta, theta and alpha frequency bands. Event-related synchronization (ERS) effects were greatest at approximately 3 Hz (theta frequency band), and their magnitude depended on stimulus and task demands. Event-related desynchronization (ERD) of EEG activity was observed in the beta frequency band. This effect was greatest at approximately 21 Hz but occurred only for easily discriminable stimuli in attention-related target conditions. Because active discrimination tasks also required a button-press response with the right hand, ERDs involved more complex responses that may be related to a combination of perceptual, motor and cognitive processes. These results demonstrate that oddball and attention-related EEG responses to auditory stimulation could be characterized in the frequency domain. The specific design and analysis features described herein may prove useful since they provide a simple index of the brain's response to stimulation while at the same time provide powerful information not contained in typical time domain analysis. VL - 176 UR - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12583879 ER -