Category effects: Is top-down control alone sufficient to elicit the mismatch negativity (MMN) component?

► Top-down control alone is not sufficient for generating MMN component. ► Intent-based auditory discrimination is not enough to establish a standard without a stimulus-driven basis for it. ► Stimulus-driven factors must contribute to standard formation for MMN elicitation. ► The automatic change detection process is dependent upon the stimulus statistics of the auditory scene.