Dynamic causal modeling of the response to frequency deviants

Abstract

This article describes the use of dynamic causal modeling to test hypotheses about the genesis of evoked responses. Specifically, we consider the mismatch negativity (MMN), a well-characterized response to deviant sounds and one of the most widely studied evoked responses. There have been several mechanistic accounts of how the MMN might arise. It has been suggested that the MMN results from a comparison between sensory input and a memory trace of previous input, although others have argued that local adaptation, due to stimulus repetition, is sufficient to explain the MMN. Thus the precise mechanisms underlying the generation of the MMN remain unclear. This study tests some biologically pla..