Search

According to the attentional dwelling hypothesis, task-irrelevant abrupt-onset cues capture attention in a stimulus-driven way by eliciting spatial shifts and further dwelling at cue position until target onset. Consequently, search can be facilitated for targets at cued locations relative to uncued locations. Critically, effects of stimulus-driven capture can go undetected in mean reaction times and error rates when search is too easy. In contrast, according to the priority accumulation framework (PAF), cueing effects for task-irrelevant cues differ from cueing effects by task-relevant cues. Most critically, cueing effects by irrelevant cues do not necessarily index spatial shifts and more dwelling but rather retrieval of cueing information. We used both behavioral measures (i.e., cueing effects and distractor compatibility effects) and event-related potentials on direct visual orienting activity elicited by the cue (Experiment 2) as well as consequences on target processing (Experiment 1) to investigate whether task-irrelevant abrupt onsets elicited attention shifts and led to further dwelling. We found behavioral support for attentional effects of task-irrelevant cues, surprisingly, however, only when search displays remained on-screen until response. We found no support for the attentional dwelling hypothesis or for PAF in the size of cueing effects as a function of search difficulty. Critically, lateralized ERPs revealed that salience of abrupt onsets per se is not sufficient to elicit spatial shifts during color search. Finally, neurophysiological evidence demonstrates that choices toward the implementation of experimental protocols can dramatically alter behavioral results on attentional effects of salient, but task-irrelevant abrupt onsets and conclusions drawn from them.

Objective: There are few studies on long-latency auditory evoked potential (P300) in people with hearing loss who use a cochlear implant. Central auditory system evaluation with behavioral and electrophysiological tests is believed to help understand the neuroplasticity mechanisms involved in auditory functioning after cochlear implant surgery. This study investigated the electrophysiological processing of cortical level acoustic signals in a group of 21 adult individuals with postlingual bilateral severe-to-profound hearing loss who were submitted to cochlear implant surgery. Methods: Data were collected in three phases: pre-cochlear implant surgery, at cochlear implant activation, and 6 months after surgery. P300 measures were also registered during all phases. Tone-burst and speech stimuli were used to elicit P300 and were presented in free field. Results: Mean P3 component latency with tone-burst and speech stimuli were 352.9 and 321.9 ms in the pre-cochlear implant phase, 364.9 and 368.7 ms in the activation phase, 336.2 and 343.6 ms 6 months after the surgery. The P3 component mean latency values using tone-burst at activation were significantly different from those 6 months after cochlear implant. They were also significantly different using speech, between pre-cochlear implant and activation phases. Lower P3 component latency occurred 6 months after cochlear implant activation with tone-burst and pre-cochlear implant with speech stimulus. There was a weak correlation between mean P3 component latency with speech stimulus and time of hearing loss. There was no difference in amplitude between phases or in the comparison with the other variables. Conclusion: There were changes in P3 component latency during the period assessed, for both speech and pure-tone stimuli, with increased latency in the activation phase and similar lower results in the two other phases, Pre-CI and 6 months after CI use. Mean amplitude measures did not vary in the three phases.

Averaging amplitudes over consecutive time samples (i.e., time window) is widely used to calculate the peak amplitude of event-related potentials (ERPs). Cluster analysis of the spatio-temporal ERP data is a promising tool to determine the time window of an ERP of interest. However, determining an appropriate number of clusters to optimally represent ERPs is still challenging. Here, we develop a new method to estimate the optimal number of clusters utilizing consensus clustering. Various polarity dependent clustering methods, namely, k-means, hierarchical clustering, fuzzy c-means, self-organizing map, spectral clustering, and Gaussian mixture model, are used to configure consensus clustering after assessing them individually. When a range of clusters is applied many times, the optimal number of clusters should correspond to the expectation, which is the average of the obtained mean inner-similarities of estimated time windows across all conditions and groups converge in the satisfactory thresholds. In order to assess our method, the proposed method has been applied to simulated data and prospective memory experiment ERP data aimed to qualify N2 and P3, and N300 and prospective positivity components, respectively. The results of determining the optimal number of clusters meet at six cluster maps for both ERP data. In addition, our results revealed that the proposed method could be reliably applied to ERP data to determine the appropriate time window for the ERP of interest when the measurement interval is not accurately defined.

Abstract. Automatic deviance detection has been widely explored in terms of mismatch responses (mismatch negativity or mismatch response) and P3a components of event-related potentials (ERPs) under a predictive coding framework; however, the somatosensory mismatch response has been investigated less often regarding the different types of changes than its auditory counterpart. It is not known whether the deviance detection responses from different modalities correlate, reflecting a general prediction error mechanism of the central nervous system. Furthermore, interoceptive functions have been associated with predictive coding theory, but whether interoceptive accuracy correlates with deviance detection brain responses has rarely been investigated. Here, we measured ERPs to changes in somatosensory stimuli’s location and intensity and in sound intensity in healthy adults ( n = 34). Interoceptive accuracy was measured with a heartbeat discrimination task, where participants indicated whether their heartbeats were simultaneous or non-simultaneous with sound stimuli. We found a mismatch response and a P3a response to somatosensory location and auditory intensity changes, but for somatosensory intensity changes, only a P3a response was found. Unexpectedly, there were neither correlations between the somatosensory location deviance and intensity deviance brain responses nor between auditory and somatosensory brain responses. In addition, the brain responses did not correlate with interoceptive accuracy. The results suggest that although deviance detection in the auditory and somatosensory modalities are likely based on similar neural mechanisms at a cellular level, their ERP indexes do not indicate a linear association in sensitivity for deviance detection between the modalities. Furthermore, although sensory deviance detection and interoceptive detection are both associated with predictive coding functions, under these experimental settings, functional relationships were not observed. These results should be taken into account in the future development of theories related to human sensory functions and in extensions of the predictive coding theory in particular.

La técnica de potenciales evocados consiste en el registro de la actividad eléctrica cerebral generada tras la presentación de un estímulo. Gracias a su elevada resolución temporal, del orden de milisegundos, esta técnica es útil para analizar con precisión el curso temporal del procesamiento del lenguaje. La investigación con potenciales evocados ha logrado identificar algunos patrones de actividad cerebral asociados a distintos niveles del procesamiento y representación del lenguaje. Entre los más estudiados se encuentran el potencial de disparidad (MMN), asociado a la fonología, y los componentes N400 y P600, asociados a la semántica y sintaxis, respectivamente. The event-related potential technique records the electrical brain activity generated by the presentation of a stimulus. Because of its high temporal resolution, in the order of milliseconds, this technique is useful for an accurate analysis of the time course oflanguage processing. Research with event-related potentials has revealed patterns of brain activity associated with different levels of language processing and representation. Among the most studied, we find the mismatch negativity (MMN), associated withphonology, and the N400 and P600 components, associated with semantics and syntax, respectively.

We propose that a recently discovered event-related potential (ERP) component—the pre-activation negativity (PrAN)—indexes the predictive strength of phonological cues, including segments, word tones, and sentence-level tones. Specifically, we argue that PrAN is a reflection of the brain’s anticipation of upcoming speech (segments, morphemes, words, and syntactic structures). Findings from a long series of neurolinguistic studies indicate that the effect can be divided into two time windows with different possible brain sources. Between 136–200 ms from stimulus onset, it indexes activity mainly in the primary and secondary auditory cortices, reflecting disinhibition of neurons sensitive to the expected acoustic signal, as indicated by the brain regions’ response to predictive certainty rather than sound salience. After ~200 ms, PrAN is related to activity in Broca’s area, possibly reflecting inhibition of irrelevant segments, morphemes, words, and syntactic structures

This thesis aimed to investigate cognitive and neural underpinnings of cognitive control in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), focusing on suppression of thoughts and actions, cognitive flexibility, and habitual behaviour. Four experiments addressed hypotheses that, in comparison with appropriate control groups: (i) Patients with OCD are impaired in their ability to control actions as measured by the Stop-Signal/Go No-Go task; (ii) They also present deficits in attentional set-shifting in an extra-dimensional set-shifting task; (iii) OCD is marked by difficulties in the ability to control thoughts, as demonstrated by a Retrieval-Induced Forgetting (RIF) paradigm; (iv) Deficits in inhibitory control correlate with electroencephalographic markers, especially error monitoring and action tendencies; (v) Habitual and ritualistic actions in OCD are driven by both motor deficits and intolerance of uncertainty; (vi) Learning and practising a finger tapping sequence on a smartphone application (app) can have clinical benefits as a 'habit-reversal' treatment; and (vii) Metacognitive functions such as memory confidence and vividness are impaired in OCD, prompting the need to repeat actions. The thesis is structured in seven chapters, with experiments presented in chapters 3, 4, 5 and 6. Chapter 3 reports inhibitory deficits in a large group of OCD patients, showing impairments in action cancellation in this sample. These results are discussed alongside neural EEG markers and self-report measures, highlighting roles of error monitoring and enhanced action tendencies in the maintenance of OCD symptoms. Chapter 4 presents the results of a clinical trial conducted in collaboration with the NHS Highly Specialised OCD Clinic in Hertfordshire, where patients were randomised to either Treatment as Usual (TAU), a combination of Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and Exposure-Response Prevention (ERP), or Habit-Reversal Treatment (HRT). The latter consisted of a mobile phone application, and participants were asked to practise sequences of finger tapping movements. Participants were assessed at 3 timepoints (Baseline, Midterm and Endpoint). Results showed that HRT was equivalent to TAU in reducing symptoms, and indeed superior at enhancing quality of life in OCD. These results are discussed alongside neural markers and cognitive deficits in inhibitory control and extra-dimensional set-shifting. Chapter 5 presents data on a second group of patients with OCD and a matched control group, aiming to further clarify neural and cognitive dynamics of inhibitory control, error monitoring, and motor learning in OCD. For that end, both patient and control group were further separated into app and no-app training, enabling assessment of how the mobile application affects healthy participants, and whether the changes in OCD symptomatology seen in Chapter 4 were related to app training or to the passage of time. Electroencephalographic and behavioural data were collected at two different timepoints, separated by a month, to parallel the previous study and allow for comparisons. Chapter 6 further investigates inhibitory control deficits in OCD in an online study with yet another group of patients and control participants. The comparison between ability to control actions, as measured by the Stop-Signal Task, and thoughts, as per the RIF paradigm, showed significant RIF effects on controls, but not on patients, suggesting impaired thought inhibition in OCD. These results are discussed alongside a metacognitive memory test, which reveals the role of memory confidence as a possible cause of repetitive actions in OCD. A final Discussion (Chapter 7) brings together the findings of this thesis and considers their implications for the neuropsychological basis of OCD and its future treatment., Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel - Brazil; The Angharad Dodds John Fellowship in Mental Health and Neuropsychiatry; The Grindley Fund

Accurate decisions about whether to trust someone are critical for adaptive social behavior. Previous research into trustworthiness decisions about face stimuli have focused on individuals. Here, decisions about groups of people are made cumulatively on the basis of sequences of faces. Participants chose to either increase or withdraw an initial investment in mock companies based on how trustworthy the company representatives (face stimuli) appeared. Companies were formed using participant trust ratings from the previous week, to create strong trustworthy, weak trustworthy, weak untrustworthy, and strong untrustworthy companies. Participants made faster, more accurate decisions for companies carrying stronger evidence (e.g., faces rated more extremely). Companies with more extreme ratings yielded faster decisions for untrustworthy than trustworthy companies, consistent with a negativity bias. Electrophysiological data revealed that amplitude of the P1 and P3 ERP components, linked to attentional processes, were largest for strong trustworthy faces. This suggests that evidence counter to bias draws special attention. In addition, the first face representing each company provoked larger amplitude P1, P3, and LPP than subsequent faces. This result suggests that when making social decisions about groups of people, the first person one meets receives the most attention.

The goal of temporal difference (TD) reinforcement learning is to maximize outcomes and improve future decision-making. It does so by utilizing a prediction error (PE), which quantifies the difference between the expected and the obtained outcome. In gambling tasks, however, decision-making cannot be improved because of the lack of learnability. On the basis of the idea that TD utilizes two independent bits of information from the PE (valence and surprise), we asked which of these aspects is affected when a task is not learnable. We contrasted behavioral data and ERPs in a learning variant and a gambling variant of a simple two-armed bandit task, in which outcome sequences were matched across tasks. Participants were explicitly informed that feedback could be used to improve performance in the learning task but not in the gambling task, and we predicted a corresponding modulation of the aspects of the PE. We used a model-based analysis of ERP data to extract the neural footprints of the valence and surprise information in the two tasks. Our results revealed that task learnability modulates reinforcement learning via the suppression of surprise processing but leaves the processing of valence unaffected. On the basis of our model and the data, we propose that task learnability can selectively suppress TD learning as well as alter behavioral adaptation based on a flexible cost–benefit arbitration.

IntroductionEpisodic memory (EM) exhibits an age-related decline, with overall increased impairment after the age of 65. The application of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to ameliorate cognitive decline in ageing has been extensively investigated, but its efficacy has been reported with mixed results. In this study, we aimed to assess whether age contributes to interindividual variability in tDCS efficacy.MethodsThirty-eight healthy adults between 50 and 81 years old received anodal tDCS over the left prefrontal cortex during images encoding and then performed an EM recognition task while event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded.ResultsOur results showed an opposite pattern of effect between middle-aged (50–64 years) and older (65–81 years) adults. Specifically, performance in the recognition task after tDCS was enhanced in older adults and was worsened in middle-aged adults. Moreover, ERPs acquired during the recognition task showed that two EM components related to familiarity and post-retrieval monitoring, i.e., Early Frontal and Late Frontal Old-New effects, respectively, were significantly reduced in middle-aged adults after anodal tDCS.DiscussionThese results support an age-dependent effect of prefrontal tDCS on EM processes and its underlying electrophysiological substrate, with opposing modulatory trajectories along the aging lifespan.

We investigate repetition suppression (RS) for German words and faces using an adaptor-level-design with varying durations. We aim to investigate: (1) whether RS exists for German words, (2) how intensely RS arises with respect to the S1 presentation duration and (3) how fast RS recovers with respect to the duration of the ISI. RS refers to decreased neural responses following stimulus repetition (Grill-Spector et al., 2006). RS has been demonstrated for faces by examining the ERP component N170. This component is characterized by a peak latency of 160-170 ms after presentation of a stimulus, an occipito-temporal topography and a larger amplitude after the presentation of faces compared to other objects. However, the N170 was also observed for words, letters or character strings. Although there are some findings for RS to letters and Chinese characters, RS has not been shown for German words yet. Inconsistent findings in RS research could be based on the use of different experimental designs. Whereas in some studies researchers used block designs with repeated stimuli, in other studies adapter-level-designs with many sets of stimuli were used. In adaptor-level-designs a first stimulus (S1) is presented, followed by an interstimulus interval (ISI), a second stimulus (S2) and an intertrial interval (ITI). The two stimuli are either of the same category (e.g. word – word) or of a different category (e.g. word – face). We use such an adaptor-level-design with different durations for S1-presentation and ISI as done by Feuerriegel et al. (2015) with face and word stimuli.

Given that the choices made during recording, preprocessing and analysis of event-related potentials (ERP) data can affect study outcomes, it is critical that they are transparently reported to allow for reproducibility and replicability. Yet, systematic reviews of reporting practices in the field have shown that journal articles do not meet this goal and that guidelines for writing them better have not resulted in a sufficient improvement to reporting transparency.ARTEM-IS aims to address this issue by building dynamic, interactive web applications that support documenting information required by existing publication guidelines in the form of a standardised metadata template. Completing an ARTEM-IS form results in a human-reader-friendly PDF and a machine-readable JSON summary of methodological information, which allows for a level of reporting precision higher than what is typically found in journal articles. These can be used as supplements to a publication, as a memory aid when writing a paper, or as records that allow easier metadata extraction in comparison to verbal descriptions in papers.Here, we present the ARTEM-IS for ERP, which supports describing a typical ERP study, including most of its core methodological aspects (study description, experimental design, hardware, data acquisition, pre-processing, measurement, visualisation, additional comments). We discuss the current contents of the form, web application functionalities, current limitations, and potential directions for future developments. In addition, the process of building the form contents and the web application through a collaborative grassroots initiative is described. Finally, we argue that a wider adoption of ARTEM-IS can bring benefits to different stakeholders: researchers themselves or their collaborators, especially on large-scale projects, reviewers, readers of a paper, and the scientific community at large.

Intelligence has been defined as the mental capacity to understand complex ideas, to engage in various forms of reasoning, to learn from previous experience, and to adapt to new situations and obstacles by taking thought (Gottfredson, 1997; Neisser et al., 1996). Humans differ in this ability as assessed by validated standardized measures, and individual differences therein have been associated with important life outcomes like academic achievement (Deary et al., 2007), socio-economic status (Strenze, 2007), or health and longevity (e.g., Batty & Deary, 2004). Electroencephalography (EEG) is a non-invasive neuroscientific method to measure electric potentials on the scalp surface generated (in part) by neural activity produced in the brain (K Nidal & Malik, 2014). In contrast to other methods like fMRI, it has high temporal resolution and allows to assess brain activity changes in the range of milliseconds. EEG can be used to capture spontaneous neural activity as well as event-related brain potentials (ERPs) induced by a specific stimulus or behavior. As such, it provides an excellent means for relating individual differences in intelligence to momentary aspects of neurophysiological activity. Among EEG variables, the P300 ERP has frequently been examined in relation to intelligence, but quantitative assessments of this literature are lacking. This study aims to address this gap by providing a systematic review and quantitative meta-analysis of studies investigating associations between individual differences in intelligence and different features of the P300.

We investigate repetition suppression (RS) for German words and faces using an adaptor-level-design with varying durations. We aim to investigate: (1) whether RS exists for German words, (2) how intensely RS arises with respect to the S1 presentation duration and (3) how fast RS recovers with respect to the duration of the ISI. RS refers to decreased neural responses following stimulus repetition (Grill-Spector et al., 2006). RS has been demonstrated for faces by examining the ERP component N170. This component is characterized by a peak latency of 160-170 ms after presentation of a stimulus, an occipito-temporal topography and a larger amplitude after the presentation of faces compared to other objects. However, the N170 was also observed for words, letters or character strings. Although there are some findings for RS to letters and Chinese characters, RS has not been shown for German words yet. Inconsistent findings in RS research could be based on the use of different experimental designs. Whereas in some studies researchers used block designs with repeated stimuli, in other studies adapter-level-designs with many sets of stimuli were used. In adaptor-level-designs a first stimulus (S1) is presented, followed by an interstimulus interval (ISI), a second stimulus (S2) and an intertrial interval (ITI). The two stimuli are either of the same category (e.g. word – word) or of a different category (e.g. word – face). We use such an adaptor-level-design with different durations for S1-presentation and ISI as done by Feuerriegel et al. (2015) with face and word stimuli.

We intend to combine electroencephalography (EEG) and eye tracking in an experiment to investigate recognition memory representations of objects in scenes which are either (a) searched for or (b) intentionally memorized. This is motivated by the surprising finding that search targets tend to be memorized better than intentionally memorized objects (search superiority effect). We intend to answer the question whether this effect is purely quantitative (stronger memory) or whether we can also find indicators of different cognitive processes related to the recognition of search targets and intentionally memorized objects (stronger and different memory). The two processes we hypothesize to be related differentially to search and memorization are recollection (knowing precisely that something has been encountered, typically with detailed information on the context; hard threshold signal of yes vs. no) and familiarity (vaguely knowing something has been encountered before without details about the encoding context; continuous strength signal) as described by dual-process models of recognition memory. We aim to analyze event-related potentials (ERPs), receiver operating characteristics (ROCs), and remember–know-judgements to investigate this potential link.

Research suggests that continued drug use affects neural networks associated with attention- and reward-related processes, such that increased attentional bias is granted to drug-related vs. non-drug-related cues. However, cannabis literature on this topic is scarce compared to other substances, particularly longitudinal research using Event-Related Potentials (ERP). We aim to assess disruptions in neurophysiological correlates of attention and reward processing that may underlie cannabis (ab)use, as well as explore the role of ERP components as biomarkers for future cannabis use. Current (n = 53) and abstinent (n = 53) cannabis users, as well as non-users (n = 53), aged 18-35 years, will complete a Cannabis-Cue Reactivity task and the Monetary Incentive Delay task during electroencephalographic data collection. Mean amplitudes of the P3, Late Positive Potential, and Reward Positivity components will be extracted. Participants will also complete a 3-months follow-up survey regarding their cannabis use. We expect that electrophysiological responses of current cannabis users will differ from those of non-users. Specifically, cannabis users will exhibit higher attentional bias to cannabis-related cues, which will positively correlate with self-reported frequency of use, dependence, and craving, Conclusions will be drawn after completion of the study, but if ERP are shown to be reliable biomarkers for predicting future cannabis use or relapse, they can become valuable tools for clinicians.

Supplementary materials for manuscript.

Attentional models of time perception assume that the perceived duration of a stimulus depends on the extent to which attentional resources are allocated to its temporal information. Here, we studied the effects of auditory distraction on time perception, using a combined attentional-distraction duration-discrimination paradigm. Participants were confronted with a random sequence of long and short tone stimuli, most of which having a uniform (standard) pitch and only a few a different (deviant) pitch. As observed in previous studies, pitch-deviant tones impaired the discrimination of tone duration and triggered a sequence of event-related potentials (ERPs) reflecting a cycle of deviance detection, involuntary attentional distraction, and reorientation (MMN, P3a, RON). Contrasting ERPs of short and long tone durations revealed that long tones elicited a more pronounced fronto-central contingent negative variation (CNV) in the time interval after the expected offset of the short tone as well as a more prominent centro-parietal late positive complex (LPC). Relative to standard-pitch tones, deviant-pitch tones especially impaired the correct discrimination of long tones, which was associated with a reduction of the CNV and LPC. These results are interpreted within the theoretical framework of resource-based models of time perception, in which involuntary distraction due to a deviant event led to a withdrawal of attentional resources from the processing of time information.

Background The COVID-19 pandemic is a major life stressor posing serious threats not only to physical but also to mental health. To better understand mechanisms of vulnerability and identify individuals at risk for psychopathological symptoms in response to stressors is critical for prevention and intervention. The error-related negativity (ERN) has been discussed as a neural risk marker for psychopathology, and this study examined its predictive validity for perceived risk, stress, and psychopathological symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods A total of 113 individuals who had participated as healthy control participants in previous electroencephalography studies (2014–2019) completed a follow-up online survey during the first COVID-19 wave in Germany. Associations of pre-pandemic ERN and correct-response negativity (CRN) with perceived risk regarding COVID-19 infection, stress, and internalizing symptoms during the pandemic were examined using mediation models. Results Pre-pandemic ERN and CRN were associated with increased perceived risk regarding a COVID-19 infection. Via this perceived risk, the ERN and CRN were associated with increased stress during the pandemic. Furthermore, risk perception and stress mediated indirect effects of ERN and CRN on internalizing psychopathology, including anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms, while controlling for the effects of pre-pandemic symptom levels. Conclusions In summary, heightened pre-pandemic performance monitoring showed indirect associations with increases in psychopathological symptoms during the first COVID-19 wave via effects on perceived COVID-19 risk and stress. These results further strengthen the notion of performance monitoring event-related potentials as transdiagnostic neural risk markers and highlight the relevance of stress as a catalyst for symptom development.

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is related to cognitive development. Consumers' brain health could benefit from changes in the omega 6:3 ratio. This study aimed to examine how the Plukenetia volubilis-based omega-3,6,9 enriched egg supplementation affects electrical brain activity during the attention/inhibition (Go/NoGo) test. Healthy subjects (n = 20) were chosen at random to eat 2 boiled Plukenetia volubilis-based omega-3,6,9 enriched eggs for 12 weeks. The ePrime v.3.0 application recorded behavioral performance during the Go/NoGo test during the electroencephalographic recording. The finding of this study was that twelve weeks of boiled Plukenetia volubilis-based omega-3,6,9 enriched egg consumption significantly decreased the reaction time responses compared to the baseline. The topographical distribution revealed that the mean amplitude of N1 produced a slightly larger amplitude in the 12th week compared to the baseline. The P3 component, following N1, was also larger in the 12th week compared to the baseline. After 12 weeks of consuming the Plukenetia volubilis-based omega-3,6,9 enriched eggs, the central nervous system activities during a Go/NoGo test were believed to be enhanced.

Background: Objectively measuring auditory functions has been proposed as an avenue in differentiating normal age-related cognitive dysfunction from Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and its prodromal states. Previous research has suggested auditory event-related potentials (AERPs) to be non-invasive, cost-effective, and efficient biomarkers for the diagnosis of AD. Objective: The objective of this paper is to review the published literature on AERPs measures in older adults diagnosed with AD and those at higher risk of developing AD, i.e., mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and subjective cognitive decline. Methods: The search was performed on six major electronic databases (Ovid MEDLINE, OVID EMBASE, PsycINFO, PubMed, Scopus, and CINAHL Plus). Articles identified prior to 7 May 2019 were considered for this review. A random effects meta-analysis and analysis of between study heterogeneity was conducted using the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software. Results: The search identified 1,076 articles; 74 articles met the full inclusion criteria and were included in the systematic review, and 47 articles were included into the analyses. Pooled analysis suggests that AD participants can be differentiated from controls due to significant delays in ABR, N100, P200, N200, and P300 latencies. P300 amplitude was significantly smaller in AD participants compared to controls. P300 latencies differed significantly between MCI participants and controls based on the pooled analysis. Conclusion: The findings of this review indicate that some AERPs may be valuable biomarkers of AD. In conjunction with currently available clinical and neuropsychological assessments, AERPs can aid in screening and diagnosis of prodromal AD.

Procrastination is a voluntary delay in completing an important task while being aware that this behavior may lead to negative outcomes. It has been shown that an increased tendency to procrastinate is associated with deficits in some aspects of cognitive control. However, none of the previous studies investigated these dysfunctions through the lenses of the Dual Mechanisms Framework, which differentiates proactive and reactive modes of control. The present study was designed to fill this gap, using behavioral and neurophysiological assessment during the completion of the AX-Continuous Performance Task (AX-CPT) by high (HP) and low (LP) procrastinating students (N = 139). Behavioral results indicated that HP (vs. LP) were characterized by increased attentional fluctuations (higher reaction time variability) and reduction in some indices of proactive cognitive control (lower d’-context and A-cue bias, but similar PBIs). Furthermore, the neurophysiological data showed that HP, compared with LP, allocated less attentional resources (lower P3b) to cues that help to predict the correct responses to upcoming probes. They also responded with reduced preparatory activity (smaller CNV) after cues presentation. The two groups did not differ in neural responses linked to conflict detection and inhibition (similar N2 and P3a). Obtained findings indicate that HP might present deficits in some cognitive functions that are essential for effective proactive control engagement, along with preserved levels of reactive cognitive control. In the present paper, we discuss the potential neural and cognitive mechanisms responsible for the observed effects. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.3758/s13415-021-00945-2.

The first 40 years of research on the neurobiology of sign languages (1960–2000) established that the same key left hemisphere brain regions support both signed and spoken languages, based primarily on evidence from signers with brain injury and at the end of the 20th century, based on evidence from emerging functional neuroimaging technologies (positron emission tomography and fMRI). Building on this earlier work, this review focuses on what we have learned about the neurobiology of sign languages in the last 15–20 years, what controversies remain unresolved, and directions for future research. Production and comprehension processes are addressed separately in order to capture whether and how output and input differences between sign and speech impact the neural substrates supporting language. In addition, the review includes aspects of language that are unique to sign languages, such as pervasive lexical iconicity, fingerspelling, linguistic facial expressions, and depictive classifier constructions. Summary sketches of the neural networks supporting sign language production and comprehension are provided with the hope that these will inspire future research as we begin to develop a more complete neurobiological model of sign language processing.

Repeating graphics are common research objects in modern design education. However, we do not exactly know the attentional processes underlying graphic artifacts consisting of repeating rhythms. In this experiment, the event-related potential, a neuroscientific measure, was used to study the neural correlates of repeating graphics within graded orderliness. We simulated the competitive identification process of people recognizing artifacts with graded repeating rhythms from a scattered natural environment with the oddball paradigm. In the earlier attentional processing related to the P2 component around the Fz electrode within the 150−250 ms range, a middle-grade repeating rhythm (Target 1) did not show a difference from a high-grade repeating rhythm (Target 2). However, in the later cognitive processes related to the P3b component around the Pz electrode within the 300−450 ms range, Target 1 had longer peak latency than Target 2, based on similar waveforms. Thus, we may suppose that the arrangement of the repeating graphics did not influence the earlier attentional processing but affected the later cognitive part, such as the categorization task in the oddball paradigm. Furthermore, as evidenced by the standard deviation wave across the trials, we suggest that the growing standard deviation value might represent the gradual loss of attentional focus to the task after the stimulus onset and that the zero-growth level may represent similar brain activity between trials.

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) system is a link to generate a communication between disable people and physical devices. Thus, steady state visually evoked potential (SSVEP) is analysed to improve performance efficiency of BCIs system using multi-class classification process. Thus, an adaptive filtering-based component analysis (AFCA) method is adopted to examine SSVEP from multiple-channel electroencephalography (EEG) signals for BCIs system efficiency enhancement. Further, flickering at varied frequencies is used in a visual stimulation process to examine user intentions and brain responses. A detailed solution for optimization problem and efficient feature extraction is also presented. Here, a large SSVEP dataset is utilized which contains 256 channel EEG data. Experimental results are evaluated in terms of classification accuracy and information transfer rate to measure efficiency of proposed SSVEP extraction method against varied traditional SSVEP-based BCIs. The average information transfer rate (ITR) results are 308.23 bits per minute and classification accuracy is 93.48% using proposed AFCA method. Thus, proposed AFCA method shows decent performance in comparison with state-of-art-SSVEP extraction methods.

Electroencephalography (EEG) measures neural activation due to various cognitive processes. EEG and event-related potentials (ERPs) are widely used in studies investigating psychopathology and neural substrates of psychiatric diseases in children and adolescents. The present study aimed to review recent ERP studies in child and adolescent psychiatry. ERPs are non-invasive methods for studying synaptic functions in the brain. ERP might be a candidate biomarker in child-adolescent psychiatry, considering its ability to reflect cognitive and behavioral functions in humans. For the EEG study of psychiatric diseases in children and adolescents, several ERP components have been used, such as mismatch negativity, P300, error-related negativity (ERN), and reward positivity (RewP). Regarding executive functions and inhibition in patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), P300 latency, and ERN were significantly different in patients with ADHD compared to those in the healthy population. ERN showed meaningful changes in patients with anxiety disorders, such as generalized anxiety disorder, separation anxiety disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Patients with depression showed significantly attenuated RewP compared to the healthy population, which was related to the symptoms of anhedonia.

A recent systematic review of the N400 literature (Author(s), in prep.) has shown large variability in the way event-related potential (ERP) data are recorded, processed, and analyzed. The present study will explore how this variability can affect outcomes using a sample experiment. A set of data processing pipelines defined based on findings from the systematic review will be applied to the sample dataset. The explored parameters will include variations in digital filter high-pass and low-pass cut-offs, artifact correction vs. rejection, baseline correction time window, type of amplitude measure, measurement window, reference site(s), and measurement site(s). Conclusions from different analysis procedures performed on the same data set will be compared to see which steps make a difference in study outcomes or lead to statistically different N400 effects, and which steps have less impact on study conclusions. Furthermore, Monte Carlo simulations will be performed to determine how each of the parameters influences statistical power to detect experimental effects. Given that N400 is not only a commonly studied component, but also relatively large and robust, the results of this study will be directly relevant to a large group of researchers using this component in their research, and finding any effects of the processing pipeline would warrant even more care with smaller, more sensitive components.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of alcohol-administration studies examining the impact of alcohol consumption on event-related potentials.

Categorisation of visual stimuli is an intrinsic aspect of human perception. Whether the cortical mechanisms underlying categorisation operate in an all-or-none or graded fashion remains unclear. In this study, we addressed this issue in the context of the face-specific N170. Specifically, we investigated whether N170 amplitudes grade with the amount of face information available in an image, or a full response is generated whenever a face is perceived. We employed linear mixed-effects modelling to inspect the dependency of N170 amplitudes on stimulus properties and duration, and their relationships to participants’ subjective perception. Consistent with previous studies, we found a stronger N170 evoked by faces presented for longer durations regardless of subjective confidence in perceptual categorisation. However, further analysis with equivalence tests revealed that this duration effect was eliminated when only faces perceived with high confidence were considered. Therefore, previous evidence supporting the graded hypothesis is more likely to be an artefact of mixing heterogeneous “all” and “none” trial types in signal averaging. These results support the hypothesis that the N170 is generated in an all-or-none manner, and, by extension, suggest that categorisation of faces may follow a similar pattern.

The human auditory system often relies on relative pitch information to extract and identify auditory objects; such as when the same melody is played in different keys. The current study investigated the mental chronometry underlying the active discrimination of unfamiliar melodic six-tone patterns by measuring behavioural performance and event-related potentials (ERPs). In a roving standard paradigm, such patterns were either repeated identically within a stimulus train, carrying absolute frequency information about the pattern, or shifted in pitch (transposed) between repetitions, so only relative pitch information was available to extract the pattern identity. Results showed that participants were able to use relative pitch to detect when a new melodic pattern occurred. Though in the absence of absolute pitch sensitivity significantly decreased and behavioural reaction time to pattern changes increased. Mismatch-Negativity (MMN), an ERP indicator of auditory deviance detection, was elicited at approximately 206 ms after stimulus onset at frontocentral electrodes, even when only relative pitch was available to inform pattern discrimination. A P3a was elicited in both conditions, comparable in amplitude and latency. Increased latencies but no differences in amplitudes of N2b, and P3b suggest that processing at higher levels is affected when, in the absence of absolute pitch cues, relative pitch has to be extracted to inform pattern discrimination. Interestingly, the response delay of approximately 70 ms on the behavioural level, already fully manifests at the level of N2b. This is in accordance with recent findings on implicit auditory learning processes and suggests that in the absence of absolute pitch cues a slowing of target selection rather than a slowing of the auditory pattern change detection process causes the deterioration in behavioural performance.

Common and Specific Loci of Stroop Effects in Vocal and Manual Tasks, Revealed by Event-Related Brain Potentials and Post-Hypnotic Suggestions Anoushiravan Zahedi, Rasha Abdel Rahman, Birgit Stürmer, Werner Sommer

Data and analysis code to accompany the paper "Two sides of the same coin? The interaction of predictive processing and similarity-based retrieval interference: An ERP study" by Pia Schoknecht, Dietmar Roehm, Matthias Schlesewsky and Ina Bornkessel-Schlesewsky.

The purpose of this project is to experimentally separate the influence of the first language from the effect of age of acquisition during second language learning. To this aim, the project will investigate the long-term effects of early language learning and language shift in international adoptees.

Psychonomics poster here only. Project: https://osf.io/97unm/

Datasets of this project are ERP-recordings which were made during the study aimed to discover the association between parameters of the event-related potentials and categorization of images of visual scenes with distinct second-order features, both emotionally-charged and neutral, in carriers of polymorphisms of the COMT, HTR2A, BDNF genes

In this study, we are exploring the retrieval and production of iconic and non-iconic signs by deaf ASL signers using Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) and behavioral reaction-time measures. We will compare the naming of pictures with iconic and non-iconic signs to the translation of English words that target the same iconic and non-iconic signs.

This project aims to answer this question: what effect size can we expect when we use event-related potentials to study suicidal thoughts and behaviors?

Datasets of this project are ERP-recordings which were made during the study aimed to discover the association between parameters of the event-related potentials and categorization of images of visual scenes, both emotionally-charged and neutral, in carriers of polymorphisms of the COMT, HTR2A, BDNF genes

This study examined whether error-related brain responses are sensitive to the degree of error inevitability, a factor which seriously affects the attribution of moral responsibility for an error. We were especially interested in error-related negativity (ERN), which is an electrophysiological marker of subjective evaluation of error significance and its motivational value. In addition, we focused on post-error slowing, which is a post-error behavioural adjustment. We hypothesized that the more avoidable the error, and consequently the greater its significance and motivational value, the larger the ERN amplitude, the shorter the ERN latency, and the greater the post-error slowing should be. To elicit errors whose inevitability varies, we used the stop-signal task. The inevitability of errors in this task depends on whether the stop signal is presented before or after a point beyond which the completion of the movement cannot be cancelled. Consistent with our hypotheses, we found that the higher motivational value of avoidable errors was indeed reflected in larger and earlier ERNs. Moreover, avoidable errors led to greater adjustments in subsequent behaviour aimed at preventing similar failures in the future. These findings show that early performance monitoring, as reflected by ERN, involves an evaluation of error inevitability. In a broader perspective, these results indicate that the elementary basis for distinguishing between culpable (avoidable) and non-culpable (unavoidable) errors may occur in the brain several dozen milliseconds after error commission.

The Phonological Mapping (or ‘Mismatch’) Negativity (PMN) is an ERP component that has been used throughout neurocognitive language science for the last 30 years. Although the PMN is thought to be distinct from the slightly earlier auditory Mismatch Negativity (MMN), and later N400, recent research has highlighted a substantial paucity of reliable evidence distinguishing the PMN from these two other brain responses. To determine whether methodological limitations of initial studies reporting a PMN response undermine the authenticity of the brainwave as a dependent variable, the current review intends to provide the first critical synthesis of research literature on the Phonological Mapping Negativity.

The reproducibility, replicability, and robustness of findings in psychological science have led to a perceived crisis. The purpose of this symposium is to identify barriers to the replicability of psychophysiological data and to provide recommendations for improving psychophysiology research practices. The symposium begins with Carbine reporting the sample sizes and statistical power that are common in studies of event-related brain potentials (ERPs) and highlighting the importance of a priori power calculations. Clayson then discusses how researchers are not reporting all the necessary data collection and processing steps outlined in the ERP methodology guidelines published in 2014, which is a barrier to replication studies. Sandre provides an example of the impact of various processing pipelines on error-related negativity (ERN) scores, psychometrics, and relationships with external correlates. One recommendation for improving replicability and robustness of research to is to conduct large multi-site studies. The symposium concludes with two presentations that cover the results and challenges of such studies. Bauer presents on a multi-site replication of the relationship between intolerance of uncertainty and threat generalization using skin conductance responses (SCR) and ERPs. Moser reports on a multi-site replication of the relationship between ERN and worry. Together, these presentations highlight challenges to the reproducibility, replicability, and robustness of psychophysiological findings and provide recommendations for best practices moving forward.

Purpose of the study is to 1) determine the sample sizes that are common in event-related potential (ERP) studies, 2) determine what effect sizes ERP studies are powered to observe, and 3) determine whether ERP studies follow established guidelines for reporting (see Keil et al., 2014, Psychophysiology)

Previous studies suggest a relationship between second-language learning and voice recognition processes, but the nature of such relation remains poorly understood. The present study investigates whether phoneme learning relates to voice recognition. A group of bilinguals that varied in their discrimination of a second-language phoneme contrast participated in this study. We assessed participants’ voice recognition skills in their native language at the behavioral and brain electrophysiological levels during a voice-avatar learning paradigm. Second-language phoneme discrimination positively correlated with behavioral and brain measures of voice recognition. At the electrophysiological level, correlations were present at two time windows and are interpreted within the dual-process model of recognition memory. The results are relevant to understanding the processes involved in language learning as they show a common variability for second-language phoneme and voice recognition processes. This research was supported by grants from the Spanish Government (PID2019-106924GA-I00 and PID2021-123416NB-I00 financed by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/FEDER, UE), the Catalan Government (SGR 2017-268 and ICREA [Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies] Academia 2019 award), and an Universitat Internacional de Catalunya PhD grant.

The cognitive impairment of pituitary adenomas (PAs) has received increasing attention. Hyperprolactinemia and tumor mass effect are the potential causes. The aim of this study was to identify possible cognitive impairment and to further explore the correlation between these indices and prolactin (PRL) levels, based on the control of tumor size. Twenty-seven patients with prolactinomas (patient group) and twenty-six matched health control group (HC group) were enrolled in this study. All participants performed the flanker task while we continuously recorded electroencephalography data. On the behavioral performance level, patients showed a significantly slower reaction time (RT) in both flanker types. Concerning the event-related potentials level, patients elicited reduced P2 and enhanced N2 amplitudes compared with the HC group, suggesting an impairment of attentional processing (P2) and conflict monitoring (N2). Moreover, the patient group also induced lower P3 amplitudes relative to the HC group in both types, indicating that there were deficits in attentional resource allocation ability. We also found a significant correlation between the P3 amplitudes and incongruent condition RTs, as well as the subsequent PRL levels in the patient group. In conclusion, this is an innovative study that reveals the impaired cognition abilities in prolactinomas, and also proposes the possible cognitive toxicity of oversecreted PRL levels, which provides evidence for further research on the cognitive decline in PAs.

Previous reports suggest that East-Asians may show larger face-elicited N170 components in the ERP as compared to Caucasian participants. Since the N170 can be modulated by perceptual expertise, such group differences may be accounted for by differential experience, for example, with logographic versus alphabetic scripts (script system hypothesis) or by exposure to abundant novel faces during the immersion into a new social and/or ethnic environment (social immersion hypothesis). We conducted experiments in Hong Kong and Berlin, recording ERPs in a series of one-back tasks, using same- and other-ethnicity face stimuli in upright and inverted orientation and doodle stimuli. In Hong Kong we tested local Chinese residents and foreign guest students who could not read the logographic script; in Berlin we tested German residents who could not read the logographic script and foreign Chinese visitors. In both experiments, we found significantly larger N170 amplitudes to faces, regardless of ethnicity, in the foreign than in the local groups. Moreover, this effect did not depend on stimulus orientation, suggesting that the N170 group differences do not reflect differences in configural visual processing. A group of short-term German residents in Berlin did not differ in N170 amplitude from long-term residents. Together, these findings indicate that the extensive confrontation with novel other-ethnicity faces during immersion in a foreign culture may enhance the neural response to faces, reflecting the short-term plasticity of the underlying neural system.

Event-related potentials (ERPs) bring many strengths to the study of emotion regulation, including: direct measurement of neural activity, high temporal resolution, affordability and suitability to a wide range of participants. Research using ERPs to study emotion regulation began approximately two decades ago, but has grown exponentially over the last 10years. Here, we highlight progress in this body of work throughout the past decade, as well as emerging themes, novel approaches and paradigms that will likely shape the field in the coming years. While standardized picture sets are still the most commonly used stimuli in these studies, new types of stimuli (e.g., mental imagery, autobiographical memories) have become increasingly common throughout the past decade, with the potential for improved ecological validity. Cognitive reappraisal is still seen by many as the gold standard of emotion regulation, yet mixed findings suggest that its utility might be better understood by taking into account the type of stimuli and context to which it is applied. Moreover, other emotion regulation techniques, particularly for the upregulation of positive emotion (e.g., savoring), have been relatively unexamined in the ERP literature to-date, as have associations between controlled, lab-based measures of emotion generation and regulation in everyday life (e.g., as assessed using ambulatory techniques). In sum, the past decade has seen progress in a more granular understanding of emotion regulation, with ongoing and future work aimed at increasing understanding of the boundary conditions of emotion regulation; novel techniques and emotion regulation's application to everyday life.

An aberrant neural response to rewards has been linked to both depression and social anxiety. Most studies have focused on the neural response to monetary rewards, and few have tested different modalities of reward (e.g. social) that are more salient to particular forms of psychopathology. In addition, most studies contain critical confounds, including contrasting positive and negative feedback and failing to disentangle being correct from obtaining positive feedback. In the present study, 204 participants underwent electroencephalography during monetary and social feedback tasks that were matched in trial structure, timing and feedback stimuli. The reward positivity (RewP) was measured in response to correctly identifying stimuli that resulted in monetary win, monetary loss, social like or social dislike feedback. All monetary and social tasks elicited a RewP, which were positively correlated. Across all tasks, the RewP was negatively associated with depression and positively associated with social anxiety. The RewP to social dislike feedback, independent of monetary and social like feedback, was also associated with social anxiety. The present study suggests that a domain-general neural response to correct feedback demonstrates a differential association with depression and social anxiety, but a domain-specific neural response to social dislike feedback is uniquely associated with social anxiety.

International audience; Attentional automatic processes and cerebral activity may differ between individuals with different weight statuses in the presence of food stimuli (e.g. odors, pictures). In the present study, we used an implicit olfactory priming paradigm to test the influence of non-attentively perceived food odors on the cerebral activity underlying the processing of food pictures, in normal-weight, overweight, and obese adults. A pear odor and a pound cake odor were used as primes, respectively priming sweet low-energy-density foods and high-energy-density foods. Event-related potentials were recorded while the participants passively watched pictures of sweet low and high-energy-density foods, under the two priming conditions plus an odorless control condition. The amplitude and latency of several peaks were measured (P100, N100, P200, N400). As a major result, we found that weight status influences the cerebral activity underlying the processing of food cues outside of consciousness, as early as the first detectable P100 peak.