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Polygraph examination, statement validity analysis and P300-based concealed information test are major three examination tools, which are use to determine a person’s truthfulness and credibility in criminal procedure. Although polygraph examination is most common in criminal procedure, but it has little admissibility of evidence due to the weakness of scientific basis. In 1990s to support the weakness of scientific basis about polygraph, Farwell and Donchin proposed the P300-based concealed information test technique. The P300-based concealed information test has two strong points. First, the P300-based concealed information test is easy to conduct with polygraph. Second, the P300-based concealed information test has plentiful scientific basis. Nevertheless, the utilization of P300-based concealed information test is infrequent, because of the quantity of probe stimulus. The probe stimulus contains closed information that is relevant to the crime or other investigated situation. In tradition P300-based concealed information test protocol, three or more probe stimuli are necessarily needed. But it is hard to acquire three or more probe stimuli, because most of the crime relevant information is opened in investigative situation. In addition, P300-based concealed information test uses oddball paradigm, and oddball paradigm makes imbalance between the number of probe and irrelevant stimulus. Thus, there is a possibility that the unbalanced number of probe and irrelevant stimulus caused systematic underestimation of P300 amplitude of irrelevant stimuli. To overcome the these two limitation of P300-based concealed information test, one-probe P300-based concealed information test protocol is explored with various machine learning algorithms. According to this study, parameters of the modified one-probe protocol are as follows. In the condition of female and male face stimuli, the duration of stimuli are encouraged 400ms, the repetition of stimuli are encouraged 60 times, the analysis method of P300 amplitude is encouraged peak to peak method, the cut-off of guilty condition is encouraged 90% and the cut-off of innocent condition is encouraged 30%. In the condition of two-syllable word stimulus, the duration of stimulus is encouraged 300ms, the repetition of stimulus is encouraged 60 times, the analysis method of P300 amplitude is encouraged peak to peak method, the cut-off of guilty condition is encouraged 90% and the cut-off of innocent condition is encouraged 30%. It was also conformed that the logistic regression (LR), linear discriminant analysis (LDA), K Neighbors (KNN) algorithms were probable methods for analysis of P300 amplitude. The one-probe P300-based concealed information test with machine learning protocol is helpful to increase utilization of P300-based concealed information test, and supports to determine a person ’s truthfulness and credibility with the polygraph examination in criminal procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction The number of stimuli is important to determine the quality of auditory evoked potential records. However, there is no consensus on that number in studies, especially in the sample studied. Objectives To investigate the influence of the number of rare stimuli on forming N2 and P3 components, with different types of acoustic stimuli. Methods Cross-sectional, descriptive, comparative study, approved by the ethics committee of the institution. The sample comprised 20 normal hearing adults of both sexes, aged 18 to 29 years old, with normal scores in the mental state examination and auditory processing skills. The event-related auditory evoked potentials were performed with nonverbal (1 kHz versus 2 kHz) and verbal stimuli (/BA/ versus /DA/). The number of rare stimuli varied randomly in the recordings, with 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 presentations. Results P3 latency was significantly higher for nonverbal stimuli with 50 rare stimuli. N2 latency did not show any difference between the type and number of stimuli. The absolute P3 and N2-P3 amplitudes showed significant differences for both types of stimuli, with higher amplitude for 10 rare stimuli, in contrast with the other ones. The linear tendency test indicated significance only for the amplitude – as the number of rare stimuli increased, the amplitude tended to decrease. Conclusion The components were identifiable in the different numbers of rare stimuli and types of stimuli. The P3 and N2-P3 latency and amplitude increased with fewer verbal and nonverbal stimuli. Recording protocols must consider the number of rare stimuli. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction The number of stimuli is important to determine the quality of auditory evoked potential records. However, there is no consensus on that number in studies, especially in the sample studied.

The attention of drivers is a serious issue and one of the critical factors of road safety. The question is whether the electrical activity of the human brain can be correctly measured/collected and utilized to monitor and interpret the driver's attention during simulated driving. This article summarizes four experiments that have been designed, performed, and evaluated in the neuroinformatics laboratory at the University of West Bohemia. Simulated driving under various conditions in a car simulator was organized, and electrophysiology, mainly electroencephalography, data were collected from participants/drivers. The results include experience with the design of such experiments and the suitability of methods based on the collection and interpretation of electroencephalography data for driver attention detection.

The attention of drivers is a serious issue and one of the critical factors of road safety. The question is whether the electrical activity of the human brain can be correctly measured/collected and utilized to monitor and interpret the driver's attention during simulated driving. This article summarizes four experiments that have been designed, performed, and evaluated in the neuroinformatics laboratory at the University of West Bohemia. Simulated driving under various conditions in a car simulator was organized, and electrophysiology, mainly electroencephalography, data were collected from participants/drivers. The results include experience with the design of such experiments and the suitability of methods based on the collection and interpretation of electroencephalography data for driver attention detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Fosgonimeton (ATH-1017) is being developed as a first-in-class regenerative therapy for people with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and dementia; potentially improving dementia symptoms and altering disease progression by reversing synaptic disconnection and neuronal loss.Objective: This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase I trial (NCT03298672) evaluated the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of fosgonimeton.Methods: Fosgonimeton was administered once daily via subcutaneous injection to 88 subjects. The single ascending dose study enrolled healthy young male subjects (n = 48; age, 33.4±6.3 years; dose, 2, 6, 20, 40, 60, or 90 mg); the multiple ascending dose study enrolled healthy elderly subjects (n = 29; age, 63.8±4.0 years; dose, 20, 40, 60, or 80 mg; 9-day duration); and the fixed-dose study enrolled AD subjects (n = 11; age, 69.2±7.1 years; dose, 40 mg; 9-day duration). Quantitative electroencephalogram (qEEG) and event-related potential (ERP) P300 measured neurophysiological signals following fosgonimeton treatment, supporting brain penetration and target engagement.Results: Fosgonimeton and placebo were shown to be safe and well-tolerated across all doses. Pharmacokinetic results for fosgonimeton were dose-proportional, with no sex effect or accumulation over 9 days. The main effect of fosgonimeton on qEEG was acute and sustained gamma power induction. In AD subjects, there was a significant effect toward ERP P300 latency normalization compared with placebo (p = 0.027; n = 7 at 40 mg fosgonimeton versus n = 4 placebo).Conclusion: These results support the continued development of fosgonimeton as a novel therapeutic for people with AD and dementia. The fast-onset normalization of ERP P300 latency in AD subjects suggests enhancement of synaptic function and potential procognitive effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Go/NoGo task performance improved after a single-session of neurofeedback aimed at downregulating the alpha-rhythm. • The amplitudes of both N1 and P3 event-related potentials were enhanced post-neurofeedback. • Improvement of executive function correlated with enhanced P3 amplitude in adult ADHD patients. Event-related potentials (ERPs) are reported to be altered in relation to cognitive processing deficits in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, this evidence is mostly limited to cross-sectional data. The current study utilized neurofeedback (NFB) as a neuromodulatory tool to examine the ERP correlates of attentional and inhibitory processes in adult ADHD using a single-session, within-subject design. We recorded high-density EEG in 25 adult ADHD patients and 22 neurotypical controls during a Go/NoGo task, before and after a 30-minute NFB session designed to down-regulate the alpha (8–12 Hz) rhythm. At baseline, ADHD patients demonstrated impaired Go/NoGo performance compared to controls, while Go-P3 amplitude inversely correlated with ADHD-associated symptomatology in childhood. Post NFB, task performance improved in both groups, significantly enhancing stimulus detectability (d-prime) and reducing reaction time variability, while increasing N1 and P3 ERP component amplitudes. Specifically for ADHD patients, the pre-to-post enhancement in Go-P3 amplitude correlated with measures of improved executive function, i.e., enhanced d-prime, reduced omission errors and reduced reaction time variability. A single-session of alpha down-regulation NFB was able to reverse the abnormal neurocognitive signatures of adult ADHD during a Go/NoGo task. The study demonstrates for the first time the beneficial neurobehavioral effect of a single NFB session in adult ADHD, and reinforces the notion that ERPs could serve as useful diagnostic/prognostic markers of executive dysfunction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The brain-computer interface is considered one of the main tools for implementing and designing smart medical software. The analysis of brain signal data, called EEG, is one of the main tasks of smart medical diagnostic systems. While EEG signals have many components, one of the most important brain activities pursued is the P300 component. Detection of this component can help detect abnormalities and visualize the movement of organs of the body. In this research, a new method for processing EEG signals is proposed with the aim of detecting the P300 component. Major features were extracted from the BCI Competition IV EEG data set in a number of steps, i.e. normalization with the purpose of noise reduction using a median filter, feature extraction using a recurrent neural network, and classification using Twin Support Vector Machine. Then, a series of evaluation criteria were used to validate the proposed approach and compare it with similar methods. The results showed that the proposed approach has high accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Research on audiovisual post-attentive integration has been carried out using a variety of experimental paradigms and experimental groups but not yet studied in dyslexia. We investigated post-attentive integration and topographic voltage distribution in children with dyslexia by analysing the P300 event-related potential (ERP) component. Methods: We used a 128-child ERP net for the ERP experiment. Two types of stimuli were presented as either congruent or incongruent stimuli. Congruent stimuli included a matching auditory sound with an animal image, whereas incongruent stimuli included unmatched animal sounds. A total of 24 age-matched children were recruited in the control (n = 12) and dyslexia (n = 12) groups. Children pressed button '1' or '2' when presented with congruent or incongruent stimuli, respectively. The P300 amplitudes and latencies with topographic voltage distribution were analysed for both groups. Results: The dyslexia group evoked significantly higher P300 amplitudes at the T4 area than the control group. No significant differences were found in cases of P300 latency. Moreover, the dyslexia group demonstrated a higher intensity of P300 voltage distribution in the right parietal and left occipital areas than the control group. Conclusion: Post-attentive integration for children with dyslexia is higher and that this integration process implicated the parietal and occipital areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neuroticism is a medical condition associated with negative affect and is considered to predispose one to mental disorders. This study examined the effects of arousal-evoking stimuli of various strengths on the severity of neuroticism. Materials and Methods: In the Event Related Potential (ERP)/electroencephalograph (EEG) recording session that was held at the Clinical Neuroscience Laboratory at a local hospital, Electroencephalogram was recorded in 58 participants (N=29 for moderate neuroticism and 29 for mild neuroticism) after they were screened for the severity of the neurotic trait. Universal emotional pictures were chosen randomly from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) and were used as visual stimuli in the experiment. Visual stimuli were divided into three categories (high, moderate, low) based on the IAPS normative mean values of arousal. Results: The significant interaction effect of P300 latency between neuroticism and arousal strength was found in the mid-frontal region. Meanwhile, independent of neuroticism, the main effects of arousal strength of the P300 (amplitude and latency) and N200 (latency) were observed in the mid-central region. Conclusion: There is a significant interaction between the severity of neuroticism and the emotional arousal strength, thus, points to the implication of the emotion process in the brain rewards system especially among individuals with neuroticism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To study the time course of the electrocortical activity evoked by gains and losses in the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), the brain sources of this electrical activity, and its association with behavioral parameters of task performance in order to achieve a better knowledge of decision-making processes.Method: Event-related potentials (ERPs) were obtained from a 64-channel EEG in 25 participants when performing the IGT. Brain source localization analyses of the ERP components were also assessed.Results: ERP amplitudes were sensitive to gains and losses. An early fronto-central negativity was elicited when feedback was provided for both gains and losses, and correlated with the number of gains at FCz and with the number of both gains and losses at Cz. The P200 component had larger amplitudes to losses and correlated positively with the number of losses. Feedback related negativity (FRN) was higher at frontal, temporal and occipital electrodes in trials with monetary losses. In addition, trials with monetary losses elicited larger P300 magnitudes than trials with monetary gains at all electrode localizations.Conclusions: All ERP components (except P300) were related to participants’ performance in the IGT. Amplitudes of P200 and P300 were associated with the conscious recognition of the error during the decision-making. Performance data and source analysis underline the importance of the medial prefrontal cortex when processing feedback about monetary losses in the IGT.

Objective : To study the time course of the electrocortical activity evoked by gains and losses in the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), the brain sources of this electrical activity, and its association with behavioral parameters of task performance in order to achieve a better knowledge of decision-making processes. Method : Event-related potentials (ERPs) were obtained from a 64-channel EEG in 25 participants when performing the IGT. Brain source localization analyses of the ERP components were also assessed. Results : ERP amplitudes were sensitive to gains and losses. An early fronto-central negativity was elicited when feedback was provided for both gains and losses, and correlated with the number of gains at FCz and with the number of both gains and losses at Cz. The P200 component had larger amplitudes to losses and correlated positively with the number of losses. Feedback related negativity (FRN) was higher at frontal, temporal and occipital electrodes in trials with monetary losses. In addition, trials with monetary losses elicited larger P300 magnitudes than trials with monetary gains at all electrode localizations. Conclusions : All ERP components (except P300) were related to participants' performance in the IGT. Amplitudes of P200 and P300 were associated with the conscious recognition of the error during the decision-making. Performance data and source analysis underline the importance of the medial prefrontal cortex when processing feedback about monetary losses in the IGT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to examine how two levels of cognitive reserve, as evidenced by reading syntactic skill, modify performance and neural activity in a two-load-level (high vs. low) working memory (WM) task. Two groups of participants with different reading skills, high and low, were obtained from clustering analysis. We collected the P300 event-related potential component during the performance of the WM Sternberg task. The high reading performance (HRP) group showed a higher percentage of correct answers than the low reading performance (LRP) group in the negative probes of the WM task, which were probe stimuli not included in the memory set presented immediately before. Both groups showed P300 amplitude modulations, that is, larger WM-related P300 amplitudes for low than for high WM loads. Following the behavioral results, the HRP group displayed smaller WM-related amplitude modulations than the LRP group in the negative probes. The findings together suggest that higher levels of reading skill are associated with improved neural efficiency, which reflects in a better working memory performance.

Synchronous averaging over time locked single-trial of event-related potential (ERP) is known as the simplest scheme to extract P300 component. This method assumes the P300 features are invariant through the time while they are affected by factors like brain fatigue and habitation. In this study, a new scheme is proposed termed as time-varying time-lag blind source separation (TT-BSS) which is upon the second order statistics of signal to separate P300 waveform from the background electroencephalogram (EEG) while it captures the time variation of P300 component. The time-lag parameter for all channels is determined by maximizing the correlation (similarity) between two successive trials. As the time-lag parameter is varying by time (trial to trial), an average is taken over the time-lag covariance matrices of all two consecutive trials. TT-BSS finally estimates a transform (separating matrix) by joint diagnolization of the covariance matrix of trials and the averaged covariance matrix of the time varying time-lag. To assess the proposed scheme, synthetic and real EEGs containing P300 are used. The EEG signals were collected from twenty schizophrenic and twenty age-matched normal subjects via 20 channels through the resting state and in presence of the oddball audio stimulus. Empirical achievements over the simulated and real EEGs imply on the superiority of TT-BSS in dynamic estimation of P300 characteristics compared to state-of-the-art counterparts such as constant time-lag BSS, constrained BSS and synchronous averaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent advances in brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) have developed a new arena for designing systems to help disabled persons to communicate with the surrounding environment. P300 speller is one of the most famous BCI systems choosing the characters from a virtual keyboard through the analysis of EEG signals. P300 detection is an important processing step of these systems. The accuracy of P300 detection highly depends on the feature extraction method. In this study, the maximum signal to noise ratio (Max-SNR) has been used for feature extraction, which rarely applied in this area. This study presents a novel feature extraction technique, named spatio-temporal Max-SNR (ST.Max-SNR). Unlike the standard Max-SNR which only uses spatial patterns of a signal, the proposed method, separately consider the spatial and temporal patterns of the signal to enhance the accuracy of feature extraction. Due to the similarity of the common spatial pattern (CSP) and the Max-SNR algorithms, the performance of this technique and its extension, common Spatio-temporal pattern (CSTP), has been compared with the proposed method. Then, the LDA and SWLDA classifiers are used for classification of the features. Our experimental results show that the Max-SNR based spatio-temporal features lead to an average classification accuracy of 94.4 percent suggesting the best performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previous studies have revealed that self-related tasks (items) receive more attention than non-self-related, and that they elicit event-related potential (ERP) components with larger amplitudes. Since personality has been reported as one of the biological correlates influencing these components, as well as our behavioural differences, it is important to examine how it affects our self-consciousness in relation to tasks of varied relevance and the neurological basis. Methods: A total of 33 male and female undergraduate Malaysian medical students of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) participated in the study. The participants were divided into two groups, Ambivert (n = 18) and Extravert (n = 15) groups, using the USM personality inventory questionnaire. In the ERP experiment, squares containing standard stimuli of any word other than self and non-self-related nouns (e.g., Bola, Gigi, Anak, etc.; in English: Ball, Teeth, Kids, etc., respectively), those containing self-related pronouns (JSaya, Kami or Kita; in English: I, Us or We, respectively), and non-self-related pronouns (Dia, Anda or Mereka; in English: He/She, You or They, respectively), were shown 58%, 21% and 21% of the time, respectively, in a three-stimulus visual oddball paradigm. All words were presented in Bahasa Melayu. The participants were instructed to press 1 for self and 2 for non-self, and ignore standard stimuli. Results: Comparison of both N200 and P300 amplitudes for self-related and non-self-related pronouns in the Extravert group revealed significant differences at seven electrode sites, with self-related having larger amplitude at anterior electrodes and less at posterior. This was not seen in the Ambivert group. Conclusion: The present study suggests that self-relevant pronouns are psychologically more important to extraverts than to ambiverts; hence, they have more self-awareness. This may be due to large amount of dopamine in the brains of extraverts, which is more concentrated in the frontal lobe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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An integrated neuropsychological study and recording of auditory cognitive evoked potentials (EPs) using the three-stimulus oddball paradigm was performed in groups of ten subjects who participated in the liquidation of the consequences of the Chernobyl accident aged 50.5 ± 4.0 years and ten healthy subjects aged 47.0 ± 6.0 years. The neuropsychological study showed impairment of higher mental functions, including aspontaneity, fatigability, a decrease in the auditory-verbal and visual memories, and higher motor function deficiency, in cleanup workers (usually referred to as liquidators). Analysis of the amplitude and time characteristics of the P300 component of the auditory cognitive EP showed a decrease in the amplitude of this component in all cortical areas of liquidators in both experimental situations and for all stimuli compared to healthy subjects of the same age. Analysis of the latent period (LP) of P300 in liquidators showed the most distinct increase in the situation of passive audition for all types of stimuli. Analysis of the patterns of reactive rearrangements in different experimental situations showed that the P300 LPs of healthy subjects were similar for all types of stimuli during passive audition and were higher for the significant stimulus in the situation of counting. Liquidators were characterized by an type of response, with the LPs of responses to most stimuli increased in both experimental situations. Analysis of regional changes in the P300 LP showed that the differences in the P300 LP between the groups were the largest in the frontal areas of the left hemisphere. In addition, liquidators exhibited “uneconomical, excessive” responses as compared to normal responses, which suggests a decrease in the attention and memory capacities and could contribute to the impairment of higher mental functions. The changes in the amplitude and time characteristics of the P300 component of auditory EPs suggest deceleration of perception, processing, and analysis of information combined with weakened inhibition. The changes found in liquidators are similar to those observed in elderly people, which supports the hypotheses on accelerated brain aging and on pathological aging caused by low-dose irradiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The post-lunch sleepiness is considered to be part of biological rhythm. Many people take nap as a countermeasure to this afternoon circadian nadir. The aim of the study is to investigate the effect of a short-term midday nap in different physical positions after a full night sleep on subjective and physiological measures. Thirty-six young healthy habitual nappers (18 men, 18 women) aged 18–23 participated in the study. They were randomly assigned to three experimental conditions: to nap in a seat (NS), to nap in a bed (NB) and no-nap (NN). Measures of subjective sleepiness, mood, fatigue, and P300 component were taken before and after a 20min nap. Results showed that sleepiness, fatigue, and mood for both NS and NB were improved after napping. Moreover, objective alertness was enhanced in NB relative to NS and NN, which showed the larger P300 amplitude after nap. The delta power during sleep stage 2 of NS was inferior to that of NB, which induced a lower alertness after the sitting nap. Consequently, the result demonstrated the function of delta wave during stage 2 on arousal level following the brief midday nap. In general, taking a nap in a seat is a way to subjective restoration but taking a nap in a bed benefits the habitual nappers subjectively and physiologically. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Some auditory event-related potential (ERP) abnormalities characterize both patients with schizophrenia and subjects with schizotypal personality disorder. It was therefore hypothesized that subjects from the community with schizotypal traits might also present ERP abnormalities. In this study, we compared auditory ERP latencies and amplitudes in 13 subjects with high (H-SPQ) and 12 subjects with low (L-SPQ) scores on the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ), selected from 198 Tunisian students. Auditory ERPs were recorded at Fz, Cz, and Pz, with a standard oddball paradigm. Smaller P300 amplitudes and delayed P300 latencies were found in H-SPQ compared with L-SPQ participants. Confirming previous reports, our results suggest that reduced P300 amplitudes and delayed P300 latencies may be considered as vulnerability markers of the schizophrenia spectrum in nonclinical subjects from the community. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Human actions can be classified as being either more stimulus-based or more intention-based. According to the ideomotor framework of action control, intention-based actions primarily refer to anticipated action effects (in other words response-stimulus [R-S] bindings), whereas stimulus-based actions are commonly assumed to be more strongly determined by stimulus-response [S-R] bindings. We explored differences in the functional signatures of both modes of action control in a temporal bisection task. Participants either performed a choice response by pressing one out of two keys in response to a preceding stimulus (stimulus-based action), or pressed one out of two keys to produce the next stimulus (intention-based action). In line with the ideomotor framework, we found intention-based actions to be shifted in time towards their anticipated effects (the next stimulus), whereas stimulus-based actions were shifted towards their preceding stimulus. Event-related potentials (ERPs) in the EEG revealed marked differences in action preparation for the two tasks. The data as a whole provide converging evidence for functional differences in the selection of motor actions as a function of their triggering conditions, and support the notion of two different modes of action selection, one being exogenous or mainly stimulus-driven, the other being endogenous or mainly intention-driven. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To investigate whether there are some differences in Event-Related Potentials (ERP) between melancholic patients and healthy controls. To establish whether there is a relationship between abnormalities of ERP and severity of depression and psychomotor retardation. Method: Melancholic depressed patients (N=50) and normal comparison subjects (N=31) were assessed for latencies and interlatencies of N100, N200, N400, latency and amplitude of P300. The ERPs were studied with an ‘oddball paradigm’ in the auditory modality. Severity of depression was measured by the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) and psychomotor retardation with the Depressive Retardation Rating Scale (DRRS). Results: The melancholic group showed a significantly higher latency in N100 (P<0.001), N200 (P<0.001) and P300 (P<0.001) and a significantly lower P300 amplitude (P<0.001) than healthy controls. No other differences were found either in the latencies of the N400 or in their interlatencies. HDRS and DRRS do not have any significant correlations with amplitude or latency measures. Limitations: The subjects of this study are inpatients, with a severe subcategory of depression and high average age. It is difficult to generalize these findings. Conclusions: The principal finding of this study is the increase in three of the four latencies measured (N100, N200 and P300) and in the decreased P300 amplitude in melancholic patients compared to normal controls. There is no association between these abnormalities and clinical variables. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Trials on which highly discrepant, auditory `oddball' stimuli were presented were sorted into two bins on the basis of prestimulus alpha band RMS magnitude. The trial bins were then separately averaged to produce a `high alpha' auditory ERP (event-related potential) and a `low alpha' ERP for each subject. Study 1 found that larger amplitude P300s were obtained in the `high alpha' ERP. No effect of alpha was found on the N 100. Study 2 employed extra factors of stimulus intensity change (increases and decreases) and alpha measurement period (before and after the `oddball' stimulus). It was found that P300 amplitude enhancement was independent of both stimulus intensity and the amount of alpha poststimulus. The data are discussed in terms of cascaded inhibition from the mesencephalic reticutar formation to nucleus reticularis of the thalamus to a thalamo-cortical system responsible for the generation of both alpha and the P300. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this experiment was to study the brain potentials generated during spatial tasks related to the "schema corporel" (a mental map of sensory-motor relationships). Seven right-handed subjects performed a choice reaction-time task (Experiment 1), in which the spatial position of a visual stimulus (right or left of a fixation point) was varied independently of the spatial position of the response (right or left hand). The subjects also made self-paced extensions and flexions of the right and left index fingers (Experiment 2). Experiments 1 and 2 were performed with the hands both crossed and uncrossed. Spatio-temporal maps showed that the P300 component elicited by the choice RT situation in Experiment 1 was largest ipsilateral to the hand involved in the response, whether or not the hands were crossed. The later part of the pre-movement potentials during Experiment 2 and the motor potential were significantly larger contralateral to the moving hand under all conditions. Thus this pattern of lateralization can be attributed to the superimposition of a bilateral P300 wave on the asymmetrical motor potential. This suggests that distinct neuronal populations are involved in the generation of these two components. P300 latency and RT reflected the spatial conflict: both were longer when the stimulus and response were on opposite sides than when they were on the same side, even when the hands were crossed. However, the average P300 latency was not increased when the hands were crossed, whereas the average RT was substantially increased. Since the additional time required for programming the movement in the crossed hand situation had no effect on P300 generation, we infer that the P300 does not index this motor programming. However, P300 does reflect the stimulusresponse spatial matching, since its latency was delayed by spatial conflict.The purpose of this experiment was to study the brain potentials generated during spatial tasks related to the "schema corporel" (a mental map of sensory-motor relationships). Seven right-handed subjects performed a choice reaction-time task (Experiment 1), in which the spatial position of a visual stimulus (right or left of a fixation point) was varied independently of the spatial position of the response (right or left hand). The subjects also made self-paced extensions and flexions of the right and left index fingers (Experiment 2). Experiments 1 and 2 were performed with the hands both crossed and uncrossed. Spatio-temporal maps showed that the P300 component elicited by the choice RT situation in Experiment 1 was largest ipsilateral to the hand involved in the response, whether or not the hands were crossed. The later part of the pre-movement potentials during Experiment 2 and the motor potential were significantly larger contralateral to the moving hand under all conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to examine how two levels of cognitive reserve, as evidenced by reading syntactic skill, modify performance and neural activity in a two-load-level (high vs. low) working memory (WM) task. Two groups of participants with different reading skills, high and low, were obtained from clustering analysis. We collected the P300 event-related potential component during the performance of the WM Sternberg task. The high reading performance (HRP) group showed a higher percentage of correct answers than the low reading performance (LRP) group in the negative probes of the WM task, which were probe stimuli not included in the memory set presented immediately before. Both groups showed P300 amplitude modulations, that is, larger WM-related P300 amplitudes for low than for high WM loads. Following the behavioral results, the HRP group displayed smaller WM-related amplitude modulations than the LRP group in the negative probes. The findings together suggest that higher levels of reading skill are associated with improved neural efficiency, which reflects in a better working memory performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]