P300-DELTA RESPONSES ARE ONLY AN EXAMPLE OF THE FUNCTIONAL
INTERPRETATION OF EVENT-RELATED BRAIN RHYTHMS
Commentary on Klimesch and Verleger on Memory-Brain

Abstract

Klimesch (1995a, 1995b) and Verleger (1995) agree that the main power of the event-related potential (ERP) P300 is in the delta range. Klimesch, however, adds that the theta range is also of importance for the P300 response. This commentary summarizes results of ERP analysis in the frequency domain confirming the major importance of the delta response for the P300 wave. A role of the theta response for the P300 wave, however, is also demonstrable. Furthermore, our experimental data show that other frequency ranges also contribute to the P300 response. To our mind, this controversy is just an example of the recent trend towards a functional interpretation of event-related (or induced) brain rhythms.

Keywords

References

• Basar, E. (1972) A study of the time and frequency characteristics of the potentials evoked in the acoustical cortex. Kybernetik 10: 61-64.
• Basar, E. (1980) EEG-Brain Dynamics. Relation Between EEG and Brain Evoked Potentials. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
• Basar, E., Basar-Eroglu, C., Demiralp, T. & Schurmann, M. (1993) The compound P300-40 Hz response of the human brain. Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology 87: 14P.
• Basar, E., Hari, R., Lopes da Silva, F. H., Schurmann, M. (1996) Brain alpha activity - new aspects and functional correlates. International Journal of Psychophysiology, special issue (in press).
• Basar, E. & Schurmann, M. (1996) Alpha rhythms in the brain - functional correlates. News in Physiological Sciences (in press).
• Basar, E. & Stampfer, H. G. (1985) Important associations among EEG dynamics, event-related potentials, short-term-memory and learning. International Journal of Neuroscience 26: 161-180.
• Basar-Eroglu, C. & Basar, E. (1991) A compound P300-40 Hz response of the cat hippocampus. International Journal of Neuroscience, 60: 227-237.
• Basar-Eroglu, C., Basar, E., Demiralp, T. & Schurmann, M. (1992) P300-response: possible psychophysiological correlates in delta and theta frequency channels. International Journal of Psychophysiology 13: 161-179.
• Basar-Eroglu, C., Struber, D., Schurmann, M., Stadler, M. & Basar, E. (1996) Gamma band responses in the brain: A short review of functional correlates. International Journal of Psychophysiology (in press).
• Demiralp, T. & Basar, E. (1992) Theta rhythmicities following expected visual and auditory targets. International Journal of Psychophysiology 13: 147-160.
• Duncan-Johnson, C. C. & Donchin, E. (1979) The time constant in P300 recording. Psychophysiology 16: 53-55.
• Eckhorn, R., Bauer, R., Jordan, W., Brosch, M.,. Kruse, W., Munk, M. & Reitboeck, H. J. (1988) Coherent oscillations: a mechanism of feature linking in the visual cortex? Biological Cybernetics 60: 121-130.
• Galambos, R. (1992) A comparison of certain gamma band (40-Hz) brain rhythms in cat and man. In: Basar E, Bullock TH, eds. Induced Rhythms in the Brain. Birkhauser, Boston, pp. 201-216.
• Gray C. M., Konig, P., Engel, A. K. & Singer, W. (1989) Oscillatory responses in the cat visual cortex exhibit intercolumnar synchronization which reflects global stimulus properties. Nature 338: 334-337.
• Intriligator, J. & Polich, J. (1994) On the relationship between background EEG and the P300 event-related potential. Biological Psychology 37: 207-218.
• Intriligator, J. & Polich, J. (1995) On the relationship between EEG and ERP variability. International Journal of Psychophysiology 20: 59-74.
• Klimesch, W. (1995a) Memory processes described as brain oscillations in the EEG-alpha and theta bands. PSYCOLOQUY 6(6) memory-brain.1.klimesch.
• Klimesch, W. (1995b) The P300 wave and band power in the alpha and theta range. PSYCOLOQUY 6(44) memory-brain.5.klimesch.
• Klimesch, W., Schimke, H., Pienert, C. & Pfurtscheller, G. (1996) ERPs for remembered words: an analysis in the frequency domain. Manuscript in preparation.
• Polich, J. (1996) On the relationship between EEG and P300: individual differences, aging, and ultradian rhythms. In: Basar E, Hari R, Lopes da Silva FH, Schurmann M, eds. Brain alpha activity - new aspects and functional correlates. International Journal of Psychophysiology, special issue (in press).
• Ruchkin, D. S. (1988) Measurement of event-related potentials: signal extraction. In: Picton TW, ed. Human event-related potentials. (EEG Handbook, revised series, vol. 3). Amsterdam: Elsevier, pp. 7-43.
• Schurmann, M., Basar-Eroglu, C., Kolev, V. & Basar, E. (1995) A new metric for analyzing single-trial event-related potentials. Application to human visual P300 delta response. Neuroscience Letters 197: 167--170.
• Stampfer, H. G., Basar, E. (1985) Does frequency analysis lead to better understanding of human event-related potentials? International Journal of Neuroscience 26: 181-196.
• Verleger, R. (1995) Memory-related EEG potentials: slow negativities, priming positivity, recognition positivity, and Dm. PSYCOLOQUY 6(27) memory-brain.3.verleger.