We recorded cortical activity in response to the onset, offset, and frequency change of a pure tone using magnetencephalograms (MEGs) to clarify the physiological significance of N1m relating to the detection of changes. Four interstimulus intervals (ISIs) (0.5, 1.5, 3, and 6 s) were used for each of the three auditory events. Results showed that (i) all three auditory events elicited N1m with a similar topography and similar temporal profile, (ii) the source of N1m was located in the superior temporal gyrus (STG) for all events under all ISI conditions, (iii) the amplitude of the STG activity as a function of the duration of the steady state preceding the change was similar among the three events, and (iv) there was a significant positive correlation in amplitude between on-N1m and off-N1m and between on-N1m and change-N1m. These results suggested that N1m for the three events has a similar physiological significance relating to the detection of changes.
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