Differences between auditory evoked responses recorded during spatial and nonspatial working memory tasks

Results from several recent studies suggest that neuronal processing of sound content and its spatial location may be dissociated. The use of modem neuroimaging techniques has allowed for the determination that different brain structures may be specifically activated during working memory processing of pitch and location of sound. The time course of these task-related differences, however, remains uncertain. In the present study, we performed simultaneous whole-head electroencephalogram and magnetoencephalogram recordings, using a new behavioral paradigm, to investigate the dynamics of differences between "what" and "where" evoked responses in the auditory system as a function of memory load. In the location task the latency of the N1m was shorter and its generator was situated more inferiorly than in the pitch task. Working memory processing of the tonal frequency enhanced the amplitude of the N2 component, as well as the negative-going deflection at a latency around 400 ms. A memory-load-dependent task-related difference was found in the positive slow wave which was higher during the location than pitch task at the low load. Late slow waves were affected by memory load but not type of task. These results suggest that separate neuronal networks are involved in the attribute-specific analysis of auditory stimuli and their encoding into working memory, whereas the maintenance of auditory information is accomplished by a common, nonspecific neuronal network. (C) 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.