The auditory P2 is influenced by pitch changes but not pitch strength and consists of two separate subcomponents

Abstract The P2 component of the auditory evoked potential has previously been shown to depend on the acoustic stimulus properties and prior exposure to the materials. Here, we show that it is also affected by acoustic changes, as P2 amplitudes were strongly enhanced in response to voice pitch changes with a stepwise pattern compared to dynamic pitch changes typical for natural speech, and also reflected the magnitude of these pitch changes. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that neither the P2 nor any other component are affected by the harmonicity of the materials. Despite no prior exposure and a weaker pitch, artificially created inharmonic versions of the materials elicited similar activity throughout auditory cortex. This suggests that so-called harmonic template neurons observed in animal studies are either absent or do not exist in sufficient number in human auditory cortex to detect their activity extracranially. Crucially, morphology as well as scalp maps and source reconstructions of the EEG data showed that the P2 appears to consist of two separate subcomponents. While the “P2a” was localised to auditory cortex, the subsequent “P2b” included generators spread across auditory cortex and association areas. The two subcomponents thus likely reflect processing at different stages of the auditory pathway.