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Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is an alternative treatment for depression, but the neural correlates of the treatment are currently inconclusive, which might be a limit of conventional analytical methods. The present study aimed to investigate the neurophysiological evidence and potential biomarkers for rTMS and intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) treatment. A total of 61 treatment-resistant depression patients were randomly assigned to receive prolonged iTBS (piTBS; N = 19), 10 Hz rTMS (N = 20), or sham stimulation (N = 22). Each participant went through a treatment phase with resting state electroencephalography (EEG) recordings before and after the treatment phase. The aftereffects of stimulation showed that theta-alpha amplitude modulation frequency (f

Electrophysiological working memory (WM) research has shown that distinct brain areas communicate through macroscopic oscillatory activities across multiple frequency bands. Such cross-frequency interactions generate nonlinear amplitude modulations (AM) in the observed signal. Traditionally, the AM of a signal is expressed as coupling strength between the signal and a pre-specified modulator at a lower frequency. Therefore, the idea of AM and coupling cannot be separately studied. This EEG study shows that the AM of parieto-occipital alpha/beta power and the coupling between frontal theta phase and parieto-occipital alpha/beta AM provide different information on WM processing. Thirty-three participants completed a color recall task with simultaneous EEG recording. The results showed that individual differences in WM precision are associated with frontal theta power enhancement and parieto-occipital alpha/beta power suppression. Furthermore, the AM of parieto-occipital alpha/beta power predicted WM precision after presenting a target-defining probe array. The phase-amplitude coupling (PAC) between frontal theta phase and parieto-occipital alpha/beta AM increased with WM load during the processing of incoming stimuli, but they did not predict the subsequent recall performance. These results indicate that the frontoparietal PAC reflects the executive control for selecting relevant WM representations, but whether the memorized information can be retrieved depends on the subsequent amplitude variation of parieto-occipital alpha/beta power. In conclusion, individuals with higher working memory precision are associated with enhanced frontal theta power and parieto-occipital alpha/beta power suppression.

Soccer is the only major sport with voluntary unprotected head-to-ball contact. It is crucial to determine if head impact through long-term soccer training is manifested in brain structure and connectivity, and whether such alterations are due to sustained training per se. Using diffusion tensor imaging, we documented a comprehensive view of soccer players’ brains in a sample of twenty-five right-handed male elite soccer players aged from 18 to 22 years and twenty-five non-athletic controls aged 19–24 years. Importantly, none had recalled a history of concussion. We performed a whole-brain tract-based spatial statistical analysis, and a tract-specific probabilistic tractography method to measure the differences of white matter properties between groups. Whole-brain integrity analysis showed stronger microstructural integrity within the corpus callosum tract in soccer players compared to controls. Further, tract-specific probabilistic tractography revealed that the anterior part of corpus callosum may be the brain structure most relevant to training experience, which may put into perspective prior evidence showing corpus callosum alteration in retired or concussed athletes practicing contact sports. Intriguingly, experience-related alterations showed left hemispheric lateralization of potential early signs of concussion-like effects. In sum, we concluded that the observed gains and losses may be due to a consequence of engagement in protracted soccer training that incurs prognostic hallmarks associated with minor injury-induced neural inflammation.

Violence has been linked to the co-occurrence of cognitive dysfunction and altered activations in several brain regions. Empirical evidence demonstrated the benefits of acute exercise on motor inhibition and error detection and their neuronal processing. However, whether such effects also hold for the population with violent behaviors remains unknown. This study examined the effects of acute aerobic exercise on inhibitory control and error monitoring among violent offenders. Fifteen male violent offenders were counterbalanced into experimental protocols, which comprised a 30-min moderately aerobic exercise [60% heart rate (HR) reserve] and a 30-min reading control session. After each session, participants performed an emotional stop signal task while event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded simultaneously. Results showed insignificant changes in ERPs components [i.e., N2, P3, error-related negativity (ERN), and error-positivity (Pe) amplitudes] and the behavioral performance in go condition, stop accuracy, and post-error adjustments by exercise. However, the current study demonstrated that the acute exercise facilitated stop signal reaction time (SSRT) when compared to the control session regardless of emotional conditions. This is the first research to exhibit the improvements in inhibitory performance by acute exercise for violent offenders. Most importantly, this effect was independent of affective settings, expanding the existing knowledge of the influences of acute exercise on cognition. Our findings implicate the perspective of acute exercise for clinical and correctional practices.

Working memory capacity (WMC) can predict conflict control ability. Measures of both abilities are impaired by anxiety, which is often inversely linked with mindfulness. It has been shown that a combination of high mindfulness and low anxiety is associated with better conflict control and WMC. The current study explored the electrophysiology related to such behavioral differences. Two experimental groups, one with high mindfulness and low anxiety (HMLA) and one with low mindfulness and high anxiety (LMHA), performed a color Stroop task and a change detection task, both with simultaneous electroencephalogram (EEG) recording. An advanced EEG analytical approach, Hilbert–Huang transform (HHT) analysis, was employed. This is regarded as a robust method to analyze non-linear and non-stationary signals. Lower delta activity at posterior temporal and occipital regions was seen in the HMLA group for the Stroop conflict conditions and might be generally associated with higher accuracy in this group and indicative of higher attentiveness. Higher accuracy rates and WMC were seen in the HMLA group and might be specifically associated with the higher alpha activity observed in prefrontal cortex, fronto-central and centro-parietal regions in this group. Future studies should explore how mindfulness and anxiety can independently affect these cognitive functions and their associated neurophysiology.

A critical issue in executive control is how the nervous system exerts flexibility to inhibit a prepotent response and adapt to sudden changes in the environment. In this study, force measurement was used to capture “partial” unsuccessful trials that are highly relevant in extending the current understanding of motor inhibition processing. Moreover, a modified version of the stop-signal task was used to control and eliminate potential attentional capture effects from the motor inhibition index. The results illustrate that the non-canceled force and force rate increased as a function of stop-signal delay (SSD), offering new objective indices for gauging the dynamic inhibitory process. Motor response (time and force) was a function of delay in the presentation of novel/infrequent stimuli. A larger lateralized readiness potential (LRP) amplitude in go and novel stimuli indicated an influence of the novel stimuli on central motor processing. Moreover, an early N1 component reflects an index of motor inhibition in addition to the N2 component reported in previous studies. Source analysis revealed that the activation of N2 originated from inhibitory control associated areas: the right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG), pre-motor cortex, and primary motor cortex. Regarding partial responses, LRP and error-related negativity (ERNs) were associated with error correction processes, whereas the N2 component may indicate the functional overlap between inhibition and error correction. In sum, the present study has developed reliable and objective indices of motor inhibition by introducing force, force-rate and electrophysiological measures, further elucidating our understandings of dynamic motor inhibition and error correction.

The possibility that improved inhibitory control in older adults is associated with engagement in non-contact sporting activity, Tai Chi, was investigated. Three groups of participants were compared; a group who regularly took part in Tai Chi (TC), a regularly exercising (RE) group, and a sedentary group (SG). Concurrent electroencephalographic recordings were obtained while a stop-signal inhibitory control task, where speeded responses are needed for most trials, but these must occasionally be withheld when a 'stop signal' is displayed, was performed. The electrophysiological components P3, broadly related to decision making, and Pe, related to error monitoring, were analyzed. Both exercise groups performed better on the stop-signal task for the measure indicative of inhibitory control, as well as being generally better for other indices of performance. No significant effects were seen for post-error slowing. Electrophysiological differences were seen for the TC group, with a significantly larger P3 component related to the stop-signal and a larger Pe component when errors were made. This indicated that the TC group seemed to show better decision making and have better awareness of errors. Future work should investigate whether such effects are seen when this type of exercise is applied as an 'intervention' in non-exercising individuals.

While there has been a marked increase in investigation of benefits of sporting engagement and fitness beyond typical health benefits, particularly looking at beneficial effects on cognitive ability, there has been less investigation of whether cognitive training can benefit sporting-specific skills. Here, the effects of simple cognitive training on a sport-related skill were assessed, with the specific hypothesis that training on a visual tracking task would improve the ability of volleyball players to spike the ball on a volleyball court (the volleyball equivalent of a tennis smash). Following training with such a task, improvement in spiking performance was seen when the target was indicated before spike execution but not when it was indicated during execution. There was some retention of the spiking improvements 1 month after visual task training. No improvements were seen when a cognitive task with no motion was used for training such that the results suggest benefits of appropriate cognitive training on aspects of sporting skills. Future work could beneficially assess application to a more sporting environment, evaluate the suitability of different cognitive training, and see if effects are seen in individuals with higher sporting skill.

While there has been a marked increase in investigation of benefits of sporting engagement and fitness beyond typical health benefits, particularly looking at beneficial effects on cognitive ability, there has been less investigation of whether cognitive training can benefit sporting-specific skills. Here, the effects of simple cognitive training on a sport-related skill were assessed, with the specific hypothesis that training on a visual tracking task would improve the ability of volleyball players to spike the ball on a volleyball court (the volleyball equivalent of a tennis smash). Following training with such a task, improvement in spiking performance was seen when the target was indicated before spike execution but not when it was indicated during execution. There was some retention of the spiking improvements 1 month after visual task training. No improvements were seen when a cognitive task with no motion was used for training such that the results suggest benefits of appropriate cognitive training on aspects of sporting skills. Future work could beneficially assess application to a more sporting environment, evaluate the suitability of different cognitive training, and see if effects are seen in individuals with higher sporting skill.

Inhibitory control can be divided into motor and cognitive inhibition. The current research is the first study exploring the impact of brief mindfulness training on motor inhibition, measured by a stop signal task in participants without any meditation experience. Motor inhibition performance was compared before and immediately after three different conditions; a brief mindfulness induction, a resting state and an active control session in which participants listened to their favorite music. Post-test learning effect on go-reaction times was seen for the resting and mindfulness conditions, but was absent in the music session, possibly due to emotional arousal might have led slower responses. Brief mindfulness training did not significantly alter inhibitory control, although marginal improvement in stop signal reaction time following the mindfulness induction was observed. Motor inhibition appears unresponsive to either short-term or long-term mindfulness practice. Future mindfulness studies should explore a broad spectrum of cognitive functions and populations.

The possibility that improved inhibitory control in older adults is associated with engagement in non-contact sporting activity, Tai Chi, was investigated. Three groups of participants were compared; a group who regularly took part in Tai Chi (TC), a regularly exercising (RE) group, and a sedentary group (SG). Concurrent electroencephalographic recordings were obtained while a stop-signal inhibitory control task, where speeded responses are needed for most trials, but these must occasionally be withheld when a 'stop signal' is displayed, was performed. The electrophysiological components P3, broadly related to decision making, and Pe, related to error monitoring, were analyzed. Both exercise groups performed better on the stop-signal task for the measure indicative of inhibitory control, as well as being generally better for other indices of performance. No significant effects were seen for post-error slowing. Electrophysiological differences were seen for the TC group, with a significantly larger P3 component related to the stop-signal and a larger Pe component when errors were made. This indicated that the TC group seemed to show better decision making and have better awareness of errors. Future work should investigate whether such effects are seen when this type of exercise is applied as an 'intervention' in non-exercising individuals.

To properly behave and correct mistakes, individuals must inhibit inappropriate actions and detect errors for future behavioral adjustment. Increasing evidence has demonstrated that athletes are superior in cognitive functions and this benefit varied dependent on the types of sport that individuals involved in, but less is known on whether athletes have a different error-related behavioral pattern. The purpose of this study was to compare the behavioral performance of inhibition and error monitoring between individuals who participated in an open-skill sport (n = 12), a closed-skill sport (n = 12), and a sedentary lifestyle (n = 16). A combined flanker/stop signal task was presented and the derived stop signal reaction time (SSRT), post-correct accuracy and reaction time (RT), as well as post-error accuracy and RT were compared across groups. Our findings indicated there was no difference in SSRT between groups. Surprisingly, significant post-error slowing (PES) was observed only in controls but not in sport groups, the controls also exhibited significantly longer post-error RT compared with the open-skill group. However, there was no difference in the post-error accuracy between groups, indicating a higher efficiency in the post-error processing among open- and closed-skill groups by requiring comparatively less time for behavioral adjustments. The present study is the first to disclose the discrepancies in PES between different types of athletes and controls. The findings suggest that sport training along with higher amounts of physical activity is associated with a more efficient behavioral pattern for error processing especially when the sport requires open skills in nature.

Few studies have investigated the effects of anxiety on contingent attentional capture. The present study examined contingent attentional capture in trait anxiety by applying a rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) paradigm during electroencephalographic recording. Overall, the behavioral and electrophysiological results showed a larger capture effect when a distractor was the same color as the target compared to when the distractor was not of the target color. Moreover, high-anxiety individuals showed a larger N2pc in the target colored distractor condition and nontarget colored distractor condition compared to the distractor-absent condition. In addition, the reaction time was slower when distractors were presented in the left visual field compared to when they were in the right visual field. This pattern was not seen in low-anxiety individuals. The findings may indicate that high-anxiety individuals allocate attention to the target less efficiently and have reduced suppression of distractors compared to low-anxiety individuals who could suppress attention to the distractors more efficiently. Future work could valuably investigate the consequences of such differences in terms of benefits and disruption associated with attentional capture differences in a range of anxious populations in different risk monitoring situations.

Natural sensory signals have nonlinear structures dynamically composed of the carrier frequencies and the variation of the amplitude (i.e., envelope). How the human brain processes the envelope information is still poorly understood, largely due to the conventional analysis failing to quantify it directly. Here, we used a recently developed method, Holo-Hilbert spectral analysis, and steady-state visually evoked potential collected using electroencephalography (EEG) recordings to investigate how the human visual system processes the envelope of amplitude-modulated signals, in this case with a 14 Hz carrier and a 2 Hz envelope. The EEG results demonstrated that in addition to the fundamental stimulus frequencies, 4 Hz amplitude modulation residing in 14 Hz carrier and a broad range of carrier frequencies covering from 8 to 32 Hz modulated by 2 Hz amplitude modulation are also found in the two-dimensional frequency spectrum, which have not yet been recognized before. The envelope of the stimulus is also found to dominantly modulate the response to the incoming signal. The findings thus reveal that the electrophysiological response to amplitude-modulated stimuli is more complex than could be revealed by, for example, Fourier analysis. This highlights the dynamics of neural processes in the visual system.

Procedure The three experimental conditions were administered as follows. Resting state.In this control condition, participants were instructed to sit on a mat in a comfortable posture for 20 minutes and do nothing. Preferred music listening.In this condition, participants were instructed to bring their cell phones carrying their favorite music. They listened to their preferred music for 20 minutes while sitting on a mat in a comfortable posture. The range of music included some without lyrics and some with lyrics. The latter were most frequently in Chinese but sometimes in Korean, Japanese or English. Mindfulness induction.The participants followed instructions on breath-focused attentional training according to a study by Duann et al (1999) with some elements from Kabat-Zinn et al (1985). They sat quietly on a mat and kept their eyes closed. They were told to focus on their breathing without making any effort to breathe and were instructed to observe as they inhaled and as they exhaled without any deliberate indulgence moment by moment. If they found themselves caught up in distractions due to some thoughts, feelings, or sensations, they were instructed to not be harsh on themselves and gently and kindly bring their attention back to their breathing.

Mindfulness and anxiety are often linked as inversely related traits and there have been several theoretical and mediational models proposed suggesting such a relationship between these two traits. The current review report offers an account of self-report measures, behavioral, electrophysiological, hemodynamic, and biological studies, which provide converging evidence for an inverse relationship between mindfulness and anxiety. To our knowledge, there are no comprehensive accounts of empirical evidence that investigate this relationship. After reviewing several empirical studies, we propose a schematic model, where a stressor can trigger the activation of amygdala which activates the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) pathway. This hyperactive HPA axis leads to a cascade of psychological, behavioral, electrophysiological, immunological, endocrine, and genetic reactions in the body, primarily mediated by a sympathetic pathway. Conversely, mindfulness protects from deleterious effects of these triggered reactions by downregulating the HPA axis activity via a parasympathetic pathway. Finally, we propose a model suggesting a comprehensive scheme through which mindfulness and anxiety may interact through emotion regulation. It is recommended that future mindfulness intervention studies should examine a broad spectrum of measurement indices where possible, keeping logistic feasibility in mind and look at mindfulness in conjunction with anxiety rather than independently.

Objectives The present study aimed to investigate the difference in fundamental cognitive processing and neural oscillations between badminton players and sedentary controls. Design A cross-sectional design was adopted to address this issue. Methods We compared time-frequency electroencephalographic (EEG) activity from collegiate female badminton players (n = 12, aged 20.58 ± 2.75 years) and age-and gender-matched sedentary non-athletic controls (n = 13, aged 19.08 ± 2.10 years) when they performed a task that involves visuo-spatial attention and working memory. Results We observed that players responded faster than controls on the task without suffering any increase in error responses. Correspondingly, the players, relative to controls, exhibited higher task-related modulations in beta power in the attention condition as well as in theta and beta power in the working memory condition. Notably, the behavior-EEG correlations revealed that better attention performance is associated with lower beta power, while greater working memory is related to higher theta power. Conclusions Our results shed light on the mechanisms of athletic superiority in fundamental cognitive functioning: the higher theta synchronization points to a greater engagement of attention, whereas the higher beta desynchronization supports the contribution of processing speed (or motor-related processing) to better performance in athletes. This study extends current understanding by suggesting that enhanced neurocognitive function seen in athletes may transfer to fundamental tasks, giving insight into the generalizability of sport experience to neurocognitive functioning.

Background: Interpersonal violent behavior is often induced by extreme emotional states but the effects of emotional stimuli on this behavior remain poorly understood. Aim: We compared the effects of emotional stimuli on behavior in individuals with a history of impulsive or instrumental violence to test for either general problems in processing of emotional stimuli or problems in disengagement from this type of information. Methods: Behavioral and electrophysiological data were collected using emotional stimuli preceding a Posner Cuing Task. Results: Impulsive violent individuals showed more attentional resource allocation to angry faces whereas instrumental violent individuals attended less to sad faces. Electrophysiological measures showed there were differences in attentional allocation leading to differences when disengaging from invalid emotional cues, rather than a pattern indicating differences in early processing in extrastriate cortex. Conclusions: Different emotion–attention problems are seen i...

There are several ways in which cognitive and neurophysiological parameters have been consistently used to explain the variability in cognitive ability between people. However, little has been done to explore how such cognitive abilities are influenced by differences in personality traits. Dispositional mindfulness and anxiety are two inversely linked traits that have been independently attributed to a range of cognitive functions. The current study investigated these two traits in combination along with measures of the attentional network, cognitive inhibition, and visual working memory (VWM) capacity. A total of 392 prospective participants were screened to select two experimental groups each of 30 healthy young adults, with one having high mindfulness and low anxiety (HMLA) and the second having low mindfulness and high anxiety (LMHA). The groups performed an attentional network task, a color Stroop task, and a change detection test of VWM capacity. Results showed that the HMLA group was more accurate than the LMHA group on the Stroop and change detection tasks. Additionally, the HMLA group was more sensitive in detecting changes and had a higher WMC than the LMHA group. This research adds to the literature that has investigated mindfulness and anxiety independently with a comprehensive investigation of the effects of these two traits in conjunction on executive function.

Sport participation, fitness, and expertise have been associated with a range of cognitive benefits in a range of populations but both the factors that confer such benefits and the nature of the resulting changes are relatively unclear. Additionally, the interactions between time pressure and cognitive performance for these groups is little studied. Using a flanker task, which measures the ability to selectively process information, and with different time limits for responding, we investigated the differences in performance for participants in (1) an unpredictable, open-skill sport (volleyball), (2) an exercise group engaged in predictable, closed-skill sports (running, swimming), and (3) nonsporting controls. Analysis by means of a drift diffusion analysis of response times was used to characterize the nature of any differences. Volleyball players were more accurate than controls and the exercise group, particularly for shorter time limits for responding, as well as tending to respond more quickly. Drift diffusion model analysis suggested that better performance by the volleyball group was due to factors such as stimulus encoding or motor programming and execution rather than decision making. Trends in the pattern of data seen also suggest less noisy cognitive processing (rather than greater efficiency) and should be further investigated.

The field of motor expertise in athletes has recently been receiving increasing levels of investigation. However, there has been less investigation of how dynamic changes in behavior and in neural activity as a result of sporting participation might result in superiority for athletes in domain-general cognition. We used a flanker task to investigate conflict-related behavioral measures, such as mean reaction time (RT) and RT variability, in conjunction with electroencephalographic (EEG) measures, including N2d, theta activity power, and inter-trial phase coherence (ITPC). These measures were compared for 18 badminton players, an interceptive sport requiring the performance of skills in a fast-changing and unpredictable environment, and 18 athletic controls (14 track-and-field athletes and 4 dragon boat athletes), with high fitness levels but no requirement for skills such as responses to their opponents. Results showed that badminton players made faster and less variable responses on the flanker task than athletic controls, regardless of stimulus congruency levels. For EEG measures, both badminton players and athletic controls showed comparable modulations of conflicting on midfrontal N2 and theta power. However, such an effect on ITPC values was found only for the badminton players. The behavior-EEG correlation seen suggests that smaller changes in RT variability induced by conflicting process in badminton players may be attributable to greater stability in the neural processes in these individuals. Because these findings were independent from aerobic fitness levels, it seems such differences are likely due to training-induced adaptations, consistent with the idea of specific transfer from cognitive components involved in sport training to domain-general cognition.