Auditory processing leading to conscious perception: a unique window to central auditory processing opened by the mismatch negativity (MMN) and related responses

In this article, we will present a model of brain events leading to conscious perception in audition. Representing an updated version of Näätänen’s (1990) model of automatic and attentive central auditory processing, this model is mainly based on the mismatch negativity (MMN) and N1 indices of automatic processing, the processing negativity (PN) index of selective attention, and their magnetoencephalographic (MEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) equivalents. Special attention is paid to determining the neural processes which might underlie conscious perception and the borderline between automatic and attention-dependent processes in audition