Longitudinal auditory learning facilitates auditory cognition as revealed by microstate analysis

- Cognitive processes as reflected in P3b-related microstates modulated after auditory learning.
- Repeated stimulus exposure across four weeks initiates memory updating of complex stimuli as fast as for easy stimuli before learning.
- Syllables processed more distinctively after learning as reflected by mean global field power.
- Microstate analysis reveals more detailed spatiotemporal neural plasticity within and between measurement time points than traditional AEP analysis.

The current study investigates cognitive processes as reflected in late auditory-evoked potentials as a function of longitudinal auditory learning. A normal hearing adult sample (n = 15) performed an active oddball task at three consecutive time points (TPs) arranged at two week intervals, and during which EEG was recorded. The stimuli comprised of syllables consisting of a natural fricative (/sh/,/s/,/f/) embedded between two /a/ sounds, as well as morphed transitions of the two syllables that served as deviants. Perceptual and cognitive modulations as reflected in the onset and the mean global field power (GFP) of N2b- and P3b-related microstates across four weeks were investigated. We found that the onset of P3b-like microstates, but not N2b-like microstates decreased across TPs, more strongly for difficult deviants leading to similar onsets for difficult and easy stimuli after repeated exposure. The mean GFP of all N2b-like and P3b-like microstates increased more in spectrally strong deviants compared to weak deviants, leading to a distinctive activation for each stimulus after learning. Our results indicate that longitudinal training of auditory-related cognitive mechanisms such as stimulus categorization, attention and memory updating processes are an indispensable part of successful auditory learning. This suggests that future studies should focus on the potential benefits of cognitive processes in auditory training.