# Concurrent Assessment of Sequential Auditory Event‐Related Potentials Using an Optimized Paired‐Stimulus Local–Global Paradigm

## TL;DR

A new method was developed to study how the brain processes sounds and shifts attention, with potential uses in diagnosing perceptual and attentional issues.

## Contribution

A novel paired-stimulus local–global paradigm was validated for concurrent assessment of sequential auditory ERPs.

## Key findings

- The paradigm reliably elicited pre-attentive components (P1-N1-P2 and MMN) with 100% individual-level sensitivity.
- Active and passive conditions showed significant differences in specific time windows, dissociating voluntary from involuntary attention.
- Discrimination between conditions depended on the number of epochs sampled, not the number of sensors.

## Abstract

Comprehensive assessment of auditory processing is crucial for understanding perceptual and attentional functions, as well as detecting related deficits in clinical populations. Auditory event‐related potentials (ERPs) track key stages through time‐locked components that emerge from early sensory processing (P1–N1–P2 complex) and automatic deviance detection (mismatch negativity, MMN) to involuntary attention orienting (P3a) and voluntary attention engagement (P3b). However, current approaches predominantly focus on isolated ERP components demonstrated through group‐level statistical difference, whereas paradigms capable of capturing sequential components with high individual sensitivity remain scarce. Here, we optimized the local–global paradigm with paired‐stimulus design, strategically capturing pre‐attentive to voluntary processing by contrasting responses to within‐pair violations (local effect) versus across‐pair violations (global effect). We evaluated this paradigm in 30 healthy participants under active (target counting) and passive (visual distraction) conditions. Results demonstrated that both conditions reliably elicited complete pre‐attentive components (P1‐N1‐P2 and MMN) as confirmed by cluster‐based permutation tests, achieving 30/30 individual‐level sensitivity validated through intrasubject classification analysis. Furthermore, comparison between active and passive conditions revealed significant differences specifically in the 272–392 ms and 272–400 ms window (p < 0.05) under two levels of global deviants. This contrast successfully dissociated voluntary from involuntary attention with 86.67% and 93.33% individual sensitivity, respectively. Moreover, the active‐passive discrimination depended primarily on the number of epochs sampled (p < 0.001) rather than the number of sensors used (p > 0.05). These findings validate our paired‐stimulus local–global paradigm as a reliable approach for assessing sequential auditory ERPs, offering significant advantages with potential applications in clinical evaluation of perceptual and attentional impairments.

A novel paired‐stimulus local–global paradigm was validated for concurrent assessment of auditory processing from early sensory processing (P1–N1–P2) and automatic deviance detection (MMN) to involuntary attention (P3a) and voluntary attention (P3b). Task manipulation effectively dissociates involuntary from voluntary attention. Robust individual‐level sensitivity underscores the paradigm's utility for efficient single‐session evaluations.