The primary objective of this study is to enhance our understanding of how processes that underlie auditory attentional function are disrupted early in the natural history of Alzheimer’s disease. We use a number of ERP components as markers of different aspects of cognitive processes. In particular, we use the mismatch negativity (MMN) to assess the generation of pre-attentive neural traces of constancy, perceptual grouping, and sensory memory of auditory events. We use P3a to assess involuntary orientation of attention to auditory events, and P3b, N100 and processing negativity (PN) to assess neural processes underpinning auditory selective attention. We supplement the electrophysiological data with neuropsychological testing and the clinical profiles of Alzheimer's patients in order to characterize electrophysiological changes associated with Alzheimer's disease from those associated with normal aging. We work with three subject groups; young controls, elderly controls, and Alzheimer's patients.
Responsible Investigators: David Friedman