The Effects of Alcohol and Temazepam upon Mismatch Negativity

TL;DRAbstract

Mismatch negativity is a component of the auditory event-related potential which is elicited by stimulus change following a series of homogenous stimuli. Mismatch negativity is the subject of some debate regarding whether physical stimulus features are processed and mismatch detection conducted equally well, whether in the presence or absence of attention. Alcohol and temazepam are both drugs which have been found to attenuate other attention dependent components of the ERP. This attenuation is attributed to a reduction of attentional resources. Thus by measuring the effect of attention upon mismatch negativity under the influence of alcohol and temazepam singly, this dilemma may be resolved. If temazepam and alcohol only affect attentional components of the ERP then attenuation would only be expected in ERPs taken in conditions of attention. Furthermore if MMN is attention dependent it would be expected that these drugs administered together may produce an interactive effect upon the

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