Visual mismatch negativity: An electrophysiological index of temporal-context-based prediction in vision

Abstract

Since the discovery of auditory mismatch negativity (auditory MMN), an event-related brain potential (ERP) component, by Näätänen, Gaillard, & Mäntysalo (1978), there has been a long-lasting debate regarding the existence of its counterparts in other sensory modalities. Recently, several empirical studies confirmed the existence of mismatch negativity in the visual domain (visual MMN) and suggested its association with prediction of visual sensory events. The present paper reviews basic characteristics of visual MMN and prediction-related findings reported from visual MMN studies. Also, possible relationships to other prediction studies and possible roles of visual MMN in the future prediction studies will be discussed.