scholarly journals Involvement of Visual Mismatch Negativity in Access Processing to Visual Awareness

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuki Kurita ◽  
Tomokazu Urakawa ◽  
Osamu Araki
Keyword(s):  
Change Detection ◽  
Visual Stimulus ◽  
Binocular Rivalry ◽  
Visual Processing ◽  
Mismatch Negativity ◽  
Visual Awareness ◽  
Stimulus Onset ◽  
Oddball Paradigm ◽  
Visual Mismatch Negativity ◽  
Visual Change Detection

Psychophysiological studies with electroencephalography, focusing on the dynamical aspect of neural correlate of consciousness, reported that visual awareness negativity and P3 enhancement are observed at a latency, 200–300 ms after the visual stimulus onset, when the visual stimulus is consciously perceived. However, access processing to visual awareness (APVA) immediately before conscious perception still remains at the earlier stage of visual sensory processing, though there is little known regarding this subject. The present study hypothesized that visual mismatch negativity (vMMN), which reflects automatic change detection at a latency of 130–250 ms, might be involved in the APVA. In a previous study, vMMN was reported to be evoked by the deviant stimulus that is not consciously perceived in binocular rivalry. To clarify whether the visual change detection affects APVA, we conducted a modified experiment of oddball paradigm on binocular rivalry. The results showed a significant correlation between enhancement of vMMN amplitude and facilitation of perceptual alternation when the unconscious deviant was presented. This implies that vMMN is relevant to the APVA, which is a novel role of vMMN. In early visual processing, the attentional mechanism associated with vMMN is suggested to play an important role in unconscious neural processing at an earlier stage of visual awareness.

Deficits in Visual Processing During Hypoxia as Evidenced by Visual Mismatch Negativity

2021 ◽  
Vol 92 (5) ◽  
pp. 326-332
Author(s):  
Kara J. Blacker ◽  
Todd R. Seech ◽  
Matthew E. Funke ◽  
Micah J. Kinney
Keyword(s):  
Visual Processing ◽  
Mismatch Negativity ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Tracking Task ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Low Oxygen ◽  
Visual Mismatch Negativity ◽  
Related Potentials

INTRODUCTION: Hypoxia is an ever-present threat in tactical aviation and gained recent attention due to its putative role in physiological episodes. Previous work has demonstrated that hypoxia negatively impacts a variety of sensory, cognitive, and motor systems. In particular, the visual system is one of the earliest systems affected by hypoxia. While the majority of previous studies have relied on self-report and behavioral testing, the use of event-related potentials as a novel tool to monitor responses to low oxygen in humans has recently been investigated. Specifically, ERP components that are evoked passively in response to unattended changes in background sensory stimulation have been explored.METHOD: Subjects (N 28) completed a continuous visuomotor tracking task while EEG was recorded. During the tracking task, a series of standard color checkerboard patterns were presented in the periphery while occasionally a deviant color checkerboard was presented. The visual mismatch negativity (MMN) component was assessed in response to the deviant compared to the standard stimuli. Subjects completed two sessions in counterbalanced order that only differed by the oxygen concentration breathed (10.6% vs. 20.4%).RESULTS: Results demonstrated a significant reduction in the amplitude of the visual MMN under hypoxic compared to normoxic conditions, showing a 50% reduction in amplitude during hypoxia. Our results suggest that during low-oxygen exposure the ability to detect environmental changes and process sensory information is impaired.DISCUSSION: The visual MMN may represent an early and reliable predictor of sensory and cognitive deficits during hypoxia exposure, which may be of great use to the aviation community.Blacker KJ, Seech TR, Funke ME, Kinney MJ. Deficits in visual processing during hypoxia as evidenced by visual mismatch negativity. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2021; 92(5):326332.

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