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Introduction: Consumer behavior on the Internet is influenced by factors that can affect consumers' perceptions and attention to products. Understanding these processes at the neurobiological level can help to understand consumers' implicit responses to marketing stimuli. The objective of this study is to use electroencephalography (EEG) to investigate the differential effects of selected online purchase decision factors that are becoming increasingly important in online shopping. Methods: Using event-related potentials (ERPs) and simultaneous eye-tracking measurements, we identified differences in the perception of utilitarian and hedonic products when the products are exposed together with visual elements of the factors review, discount, and quantity discount. The ERP analysis focused on the P200 and late positive potential components (LPP). Results: By allowing free-viewing of stimuli during measurement, early automatic and later more complex attentional affective responses could be observed. The results suggest that the review and discount factors are processed faster than the product itself. However, the eye-tracking data indicate that the brain processes the factor without looking at it directly, i.e., from a peripheral view. Discussion: The study also demonstrates the possibilities of using new objective methods based on neurobiology and how they can be applied, especially in areas where the use of neuroscience is still rare, yet so much needed to objectify consumers' knowledge of their need satisfaction behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social attention, an important mechanism that orients people to social cues, is critical for the development of higher-ordered features of social cognition. Both endogenous (i.e. automatic and undirected) and exogenous (i.e. purposeful and directed) social attention is important for processing social features, yet there is limited work systematically addressing how different experimental manipulations modulate social attention. This study examined how endogenous and exogenous manipulations of a classic face inversion task influence ERP activity in adults (n = 71) and adolescent youth (n = 65). Results from Study 1 indicated a lack of task differences for P1 and N170 but a larger inversion effect for P3 when a social perceptual decision was required. Study 2 demonstrated developmental differences in the youth, such that youth and adults had opposite inversion effects for N170 and youth had no effect for the P3. These findings indicate that face perception neural markers are sensitive to exogenous decisions, with development still active in adolescence. This is important to consider when designing future studies, as task-based decisions may alter the neural responses to faces differentially by age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In music ensemble performance, perception–action coupling enables the processing of auditory feedback from oneself and other players. However, improvised actions may affect this coupling differently from predetermined actions. This study used two‐person EEG to examine how pianists responded to altered pitch feedback to their own or their partner's actions while they alternated scores or improvised melodies. Feedback‐related negativity (FRN) response for self‐action was greater in scored than improvised conditions, indicating the enhanced action encoding by playing the score. However, subsequent P3a and P3b responses for self‐action were not different across score and improvisation. Further, the P3b response was greater when the two pianists exchanged similar types of melodies (i.e., both improvised or both scores) compared with different types of melodies, suggesting that later cognitive processes may be associated with the task relevance or level of jointness. The presence of the FRN and P3 complex in self‐generated improvised action points to the dynamic nature of performance monitoring even without preconceived action plans. In contrast, the FRN and P3 complex in partner‐generated improvised actions were subdued compared to the baseline, likely due to the unpredictable nature of the improvised actions of others. Finally, we found a tendency that higher trait empathy was associated with smaller self‐action FRN, possibly implying musicians' prioritization of joint goals. Overall, our results suggest that improvisation in a musical turn‐taking task may be distinct from score‐playing for the earlier processes of performance monitoring, whereas later processes might involve updating a joint representation of the musical context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hypnotherapy has a potential role in modulating attention bias to treat social anxiety disorder (SAD). This study aimed to verify whether hypnotherapy can reduce social anxiety by changing attentional bias. The primary objective of our study is to explore the influence of hypnosis on various aspects of attention processes, specifically focusing on how it affects attention bias and social anxiety. Methods: This study included 69 participants with SAD who were assigned to three groups based on their scores on the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS). The experimental group (n = 23) received a hypnosis treatment once a week, for a total of six sessions, while the control group (n = 23) and the baseline group (n = 23) did not receive any treatment. To evaluate whether hypnosis could alleviate SAD and attention bias towards threatening stimuli, we employed questionnaires and an odd-one-out task accompanied by electroencephalography (EEG) recordings. Results: Under the attention sensitivity conditions, the experimental group exhibited a reduced N170 and LPP at the posttest stage, and a similar N170 and LPP reduction under the attention disengagement conditions. Notably, the symptom improvements were positively correlated with the reduction in N170 and LPP amplitude across conditions. Conclusion: Hypnosis treatment modulates the early face processing and late emotional evaluation of threat-related stimuli in SAD patients. These findings suggest that N170 and LPP are important biomarkers for the treatment of SAD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emotion is processed incrementally during sentence comprehension in a first language (L1) due to unification operations. Since processing multiple types of information is cognitively more demanding in a second language (L2), we investigated implied emotion processing in L1 and L2 using event-related brain potentials. We presented native Spanish speakers with sentences whose context rendered neutral words either negative-congruent, neutral-congruent or neutral-incongruent in Spanish (L1) and English (L2). Results showed differences in early emotion processing across languages: a larger N100 for neutral than negative sentences in L1 and a more positive P300 for negative than neutral sentences in L2. Effects in the N400 and LPP time windows were not language dependent. An N400 semantic incongruity effect was present in both languages. A gradual LPP effect was larger for negative than incongruent sentences in both languages, with neutral sentences in between. Results indicate early time-window differences in implied emotion processing across languages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Depression is a mental disease involved in emotional and cognitive impairments. Neuroimaging studies have found abnormalities in the structure and functional network of brain for major depressive disorder (MDD).However, neural mechanism of the dynamic connectivity for emotional attention of MDD is currently insufficient. In this study, event-related potentials (ERP) and time-varying network were analyzed to investigate attention bias and corresponding neural mechanisms induced by emotional facial stimuli. In the ERP results, N100 components in MDD had shorter latencies and smaller amplitudes than those in healthy controls (HC) for sad and fear faces. The P200 amplitudes induced by sad faces in MDD were significantly higher than those induced by happy and fear faces in MDD, and those induced by sad faces in HC. It was indicated that MDD patients had attention bias towards sad faces. For the time-varying network analysis, adaptive directed transfer function was explored to construct dynamic network connectivity. MDD patients had stronger information outflow from the right frontal region and weaker information outflow from parieto-occipital regions for sad faces. In addition, the network properties of sad faces were significantly correlated with PHQ-9 scores for MDD group. These findings may provide further explanation for understanding the MDD's neural mechanism of attention bias during facial emotional tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Research on Mismatch Negativity (MMN) in monolingual and bilingual speakers has shown significant differences in L1 versus L2 phonemic perception. In this study, we examined whether the MMN response is sensitive to the differences between L1, L2 and L3/Ln. Methods: We compared bioelectrical brain activity in response to changes in pairs of vowels produced in three different languages. Specifically, multilingual participants listened to selected vowel contrasts in their L1 Polish, L2 English and L3/Ln Norwegian presented within the passive-oddball paradigm. Results: Results revealed that the MMN was modulated by language: we observed significant differences between L2 English and L3/Ln Norwegian as well as between L1 Polish and L3/Ln Norwegian. For L3/Ln Norwegian, the MMN response had a lower amplitude when compared with L2 English and L1 Polish. Discussion: Such findings suggest that foreign language status (i.e., L2 vs. L3/Ln) modulates early auditory processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The brain-computer interface (BCI) systems based on rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) have been widely utilized for the detection of target and non-target images. Collaborative brain-computer interface (cBCI) effectively fuses electroencephalogram (EEG) data from multiple users to overcome the limitations of low single-user performance in single-trial event-related potential (ERP) detection in RSVP-based BCI systems. In a multi-user cBCI system, a superior group mode may lead to better collaborative performance and lower system cost. However, the key factors that enhance the collaboration capabilities of multiple users and how to further use these factors to optimize group mode remain unclear. Approach: This study proposed a group-member selection strategy to optimize the group mode and improve the system performance for RSVP-based cBCI. In contrast to the conventional grouping of collaborators at random, the group- member selection strategy enabled pairing each user with a better collaborator and allowed tasks to be done with fewer collaborators. Initially, we introduced the maximum individual capability and maximum collaborative capability (MIMC) to select optimal pairs, improving the system classification performance. The sequential forward floating selection (SFFS) combined with MIMC then selected a sub-group, aiming to reduce the hardware and labor expenses in the cBCI system. Moreover, the hierarchical discriminant component analysis (HDCA) was used as a classifier for within-session conditions, and the Euclidean space data alignment (EA) was used to overcome the problem of inter-trial variability for cross-session analysis. Main results: In this paper, we verified the effectiveness of the proposed group-member selection strategy on a public RSVP-based cBCI dataset. For the two-user matching task, the proposed MIMC had a significantly higher AUC and TPR and lower FPR than the common random grouping mode and the potential group-member selection method. Moreover, the SFFS with MIMC enabled a trade-off between maintaining performance and reducing the number of system users. Significance: The results showed that our proposed MIMC effectively optimized the group mode, enhanced the classification performance in the two-user matching task, and could reduce the redundant information by selecting the sub-group in the RSVP-based multi-user cBCI systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IntroductionConsumer behavior on the Internet is influenced by factors that can affect consumers’ perceptions and attention to products. Understanding these processes at the neurobiological level can help to understand consumers’ implicit responses to marketing stimuli. The objective of this study is to use electroencephalography (EEG) to investigate the differential effects of selected online purchase decision factors that are becoming increasingly important in online shopping.MethodsUsing event-related potentials (ERPs) and simultaneous eye-tracking measurements, we identified differences in the perception of utilitarian and hedonic products when the products are exposed together with visual elements of the factors review, discount, and quantity discount. The ERP analysis focused on the P200 and late positive potential components (LPP).ResultsBy allowing free-viewing of stimuli during measurement, early automatic and later more complex attentional affective responses could be observed. The results suggest that the review and discount factors are processed faster than the product itself. However, the eye-tracking data indicate that the brain processes the factor without looking at it directly, i.e., from a peripheral view.DiscussionThe study also demonstrates the possibilities of using new objective methods based on neurobiology and how they can be applied, especially in areas where the use of neuroscience is still rare, yet so much needed to objectify consumers’ knowledge of their need satisfaction behavior.

COPE cards are a critical element of the SEE FAR CBT protocol, designed for the treatment of PTSD and anxiety disorders. Utilizing associative artistic paintbrush drawings, COPE cards facilitate the therapeutic process by aiding in the re-narration of traumatic narratives. Despite promising subjective evidence from the field, an objective examination of the cards' behavioral and neurophysiological effects is necessary. The primary goal was to assess the efficacy of COPE cards in eliciting distinct emotional/arousal states through objective neurophysiological measures, focusing on brain Event-Related Potentials (ERPs). The study engaged 92 undergraduate participants from the general population, evaluating their behavioral responses and neural activity in reaction to cards categorized by negative, ambivalent, and positive emotional valences. Analysis demonstrated distinct differences in subjective ratings among the various conditions. Emotional conditions diverged in terms of response times (RTs) and RT variability; ambivalent cards resulted in the slowest RTs and highest RT variability, whereas positively valenced cards led to the fastest RTs and the least RT variability. Electrophysiological brain responses to different cards varied significantly, with negative images producing markedly greater mean amplitudes of the P1, P2, and P3 ERP components than ambivalent and positive ones, providing direct evidence of differential neural processing of cards with varying emotional content. These findings contribute to the ongoing validation of COPE cards, reinforcing their potential value for modulating emotional experiences and internal psychophysiological/neural states not only in therapeutic settings but also as a novel tool for investigating emotions and emotional arousal within the wider field of psychology research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• ERP was employed to explore how a-tDCS over the parietal cortex influences the task-switching processes. • a-tDCS affected predictable and unpredictable task switching through target-N2 and P2, respectively. • There was a causal relationship between the right parietal cortex and exogenous adjustment processes. • a-tDCS may lead to the manifestation of gender differences. Task switching refers to a set of cognitive processes involved in shifting attention from one task to another. In recent years, researchers have applied transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to investigate the causal relationship between the parietal cortex and task switching. However, results from available studies are highly inconsistent. This may be due to the unclear understanding of the underlying mechanisms. Therefore, the current study utilized event-related potential (ERP) analysis to investigate the modulatory effects of tDCS on task-switching processes. Twenty-four subjects were recruited to perform both predictable and unpredictable parity/magnitude tasks under anodal (RA) and sham conditions. The results showed no significant changes in behavioral performance. However, marked tDCS-induced ERP changes were observed. Specifically, for the predictable task switching, compared with the sham condition, the target-N2 component occurred significantly earlier for switch trials than repeat trials under the RA condition in males, while no difference was found in females. For unpredictable task switching, under the sham condition, the P2 peak was significantly larger for switch trials compared with repeat trials, whereas this difference was not observed under the RA condition. These results indicated the causal relationship between the right parietal cortex and exogenous adjustment processes involved in task switching. Moreover, anodal tDCS over the right parietal cortex may lead to the manifestation of gender differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of the neural substrates that serve conscious vision is one of the unsolved questions of cognitive neuroscience. So far, consciousness literature has endeavoured to disentangle which brain areas and in what order are involved in giving rise to visual awareness, but the problem of consciousness still remains unsolved. Availing of two different but complementary sources of data (i.e., Fast Optical Imaging and EEG), we sought to unravel the neural dynamics responsible for the emergence of a conscious visual experience. Our results revealed that conscious vision is characterized by a significant increase of activation in extra-striate visual areas, specifically in the Lateral Occipital Complex (LOC), and that, more interestingly, such activity occurred in the temporal window of the ERP component commonly thought to represent the electrophysiological signature of visual awareness, i.e., the Visual Awareness Negativity (VAN). Furthermore, Granger causality analysis, performed to further investigate the flow of activity occurring in the investigated areas, unveiled that neural processes relating to conscious perception mainly originated in LOC and subsequently spread towards visual and motor areas. In general, the results of the present study seem to advocate for an early contribution of LOC in conscious vision, thus suggesting that it could represent a reliable neural correlate of visual awareness. Conversely, striate visual areas, showing awareness-related activity only in later stages of stimulus processing, could be part of the cascade of neural events following awareness emergence.

The comparative study of three different models of creative thinking in unified event-related (ERP) paradigm is presented. The subjects (18–35 years old) performed the following tasks: PROVERBS (a divergent creative task to overcome stereotypes of long-term memory), REMOTE ASSOCIATIONS (a convergent creative task activating remote semantic fields), ALTERNATIVE USES TASK (a divergent creative task with the initiation of the associative search process). In the creative tasks, subjects required to create an original ending to a proverb (Pr), find a word that could be matched with three presented words from different semantic fields (RAT), invent original ways of using common objects (AUT). In the control tasks subjects were required to recall a well-known ending to a proverb (PrM), and to list/name objects from a given category (CAT). The ERP amplitudes were analyzed when comparing the tasks with each other. Greater negativity was observed for the a component with around 300 ms latency (~N300) in frontal regions (280–346 ms after stimuli onset) in the Pr task, which probably reflects inhibition of the patterns of long-term memory. In the Pr and RAT tasks, semantic retrieval and integration of new information versus retrieval of known information from memory (PrM) was characterized by lower amplitude values of late components at the 698–786 ms interval. The greater amplitude of late ERP components in parietal regions (524–624 ms) during divergent thinking (AUT) may correspond to the greater emergence of images in this task compared to more abstract RAT and Pr tasks. Thus, even in the early stages of information processing in verbal creative tasks performance, the specificity of different models of creative thinking appears in the same temporal paradigm and similar visual stimuli presentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the effects of social interaction conditions on brain correlates of verbal creativity. A model of cooperation is considered in the study in which participants were to work together without conversation and create as many answers as possible in creative and noncreative tasks. Subjects (4 males, 26 female) performed two types of tasks individually and cooperatively in pairs (male-male, female-female): creative task—to create as many as possible unusual use of an everyday object, and noncreative task—to list items from the proposed categories. Event-related potentials (ERPs) in each of the tasks were compared between the cooperative and individual performance conditions. The cooperative conditions demonstrated decrease in the amplitude of the P200 component at a time interval of 148–272 ms from the onset of stimulus presentation for both creative and noncreative tasks performance, reflecting reduced attention allocation to the stimulus in the social interaction condition. When performing a creative task, a larger amplitude of the late positive component was observed in the 662–1240 ms interval in the posterior temporal and occipital areas, which may reflect activation of the temporoparietal junction involved in the processes of understanding the other. The number of answers (productivity) was significantly lower in cooperative conditions compared to individual task performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Research on Mismatch Negativity (MMN) in monolingual and bilingual speakers has shown significant differences in L1 versus L2 phonemic perception. In this study, we examined whether the MMN response is sensitive to the differences between L1, L2 and L3/Ln. Methods: We compared bioelectrical brain activity in response to changes in pairs of vowels produced in three different languages. Specifically, multilingual participants listened to selected vowel contrasts in their L1 Polish, L2 English and L3/Ln Norwegian presented within the passive-oddball paradigm. Results: Results revealed that the MMN was modulated by language: we observed significant differences between L2 English and L3/Ln Norwegian as well as between L1 Polish and L3/Ln Norwegian. For L3/Ln Norwegian, the MMN response had a lower amplitude when compared with L2 English and L1 Polish. Discussion: Such findings suggest that foreign language status (i.e., L2 vs. L3/Ln) modulates early auditory processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emotion-related late positive potential (LPP) of the event-related potential (ERP) has been the topic of many studies over the previous two decades, but the function of this component (the cognitive process that it reflects) is very much an open question. In this paper, I build on frameworks that suggest a close relationship between the LPP and the P300 component of the ERP to argue that the classic context updating account of the P300 may provide insights into the function of the LPP. I then review broader connections between the LPP and memory, and I connect the LPP to research and theory in the area of emotional memory. I argue that while a relationship between the LPP and attention has been widely noted in the literature, connections to memory have been overlooked and that a memory-related process should be considered as one candidate for the function of the LPP. • The late positive potential (LPP) has been the topic of many studies, but the function of this component is an open question. • I argue that the classic context updating account of the P300 may provide insights into the function of the LPP. • I review connections between the LPP and emotional memory and propose memory updating as a function of the LPP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep reinforcement learning (RL) is used as a strategy to teach robot agents how to autonomously learn complex tasks. While sparsity is a natural way to define a reward in realistic robot scenarios, it provides poor learning signals for the agent, thus making the design of good reward functions challenging. To overcome this challenge learning from human feedback through an implicit brain-computer interface (BCI) is used. We combined a BCI with deep RL for robot training in a 3-D physical realistic simulation environment. In a first study, we compared the feasibility of different electroencephalography (EEG) systems (wet- vs. dry-based electrodes) and its application for automatic classification of perceived errors during a robot task with different machine learning models. In a second study, we compared the performance of the BCI-based deep RL training to feedback explicitly given by participants. Our findings from the first study indicate the use of a high-quality dry-based EEG-system can provide a robust and fast method for automatically assessing robot behavior using a sophisticated convolutional neural network machine learning model. The results of our second study prove that the implicit BCI-based deep RL version in combination with the dry EEG-system can significantly accelerate the learning process in a realistic 3-D robot simulation environment. Performance of the BCI-based trained deep RL model was even comparable to that achieved by the approach with explicit human feedback. Our findings emphasize the usage of BCI-based deep RL methods as a valid alternative in those human-robot applications where no access to cognitive demanding explicit human feedback is available.

The seemingly effortless ability of our auditory system to rapidly detect new events in a dynamic environment is crucial for survival. Whether the underlying brain processes are innate is unknown. To answer this question, electroencephalography was recorded while regularly patterned (REG) versus random (RAND) tone sequences were presented to sleeping neonates. Regular relative to random sequences elicited differential neural responses after only a single repetition of the pattern indicating the existence of an innate capacity of the auditory system to detect auditory sequential regularities. We show that the newborn auditory system accumulates evidence only somewhat longer than the minimum amount determined by the ideal Bayesian observer model (the prediction from a variable-order Markov chain model) before detecting a repeating pattern. Thus, newborns can quickly form representations for regular features of the sound input, preparing the way for learning the contingencies of the environment.

IntroductionResearch on Mismatch Negativity (MMN) in monolingual and bilingual speakers has shown significant differences in L1 versus L2 phonemic perception. In this study, we examined whether the MMN response is sensitive to the differences between L1, L2 and L3/Ln.MethodsWe compared bioelectrical brain activity in response to changes in pairs of vowels produced in three different languages. Specifically, multilingual participants listened to selected vowel contrasts in their L1 Polish, L2 English and L3/Ln Norwegian presented within the passive-oddball paradigm.ResultsResults revealed that the MMN was modulated by language: we observed significant differences between L2 English and L3/Ln Norwegian as well as between L1 Polish and L3/Ln Norwegian. For L3/Ln Norwegian, the MMN response had a lower amplitude when compared with L2 English and L1 Polish.DiscussionSuch findings suggest that foreign language status (i.e., L2 vs. L3/Ln) modulates early auditory processing.

Opioid use disorder (OUD)-associated overdose deaths have reached epidemic proportions worldwide over the past two decades, with death rates for men reported at twice the rate for women. Using a controlled, cross-sectional, age-matched (18–56 y) design to better understand the cognitive neuroscience of OUD, we evaluated the electroencephalographic (EEG) responses of male and female participants with OUD vs. age- and gender-matched non-OUD controls during a simple visual object recognition Go/No-Go task. Overall, women had significantly slower reaction times (RTs) than men. In addition, EEG N200 and P300 event-related potential (ERP) amplitudes for non-OUD controls were significantly larger for men, while their latencies were significantly shorter than for women. However, while N200 and P300 amplitudes were not significantly affected by OUD for either men or women in this task, latencies were also affected differentially in men vs. women with OUD. Accordingly, for both N200 and P300, male OUD participants exhibited longer latencies while female OUD participants exhibited shorter ones than in non-OUD controls. Additionally, robust oscillations were found in all participants during a feedback message associated with performance in the task. Although alpha and beta power during the feedback message were significantly greater for men than women overall, both alpha and beta oscillations exhibited significantly lower power in all participants with OUD. Taken together, these findings suggest important gender by OUD differences in cognitive processing and reflection of performance in this simple visual task. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transcranial magnetic stimulation is a widely used brain intervention technique in clinical settings. In recent years, the role of the cerebellum in learning and memory has become one of the hotspots in the field of cognitive neuroscience. In this study, we recruited 36 healthy college or graduate students as subjects and divided them into groups, with 10 to 14 subjects in each group. We performed 5 Hz and 20 Hz repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation and sham stimulation on the Crus II subregion of the cerebellum in different groups, then let them complete the 2-back working memory task before and after the stimulation. We simultaneously recorded the electroencephalogram in the experiment and analyzed the data. We found that after repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation of the cerebellum at 5 Hz and 20 Hz, the N170 and P300 event-related potential components in the prefrontal cortex showed significant differences compared to those in the sham stimulation group. Using phase-locked values to construct brain networks and conduct further analysis, we discovered that stimulation frequencies of 5 Hz and 20 Hz had significant effects on the local and global efficiency of brain networks in comparison to the sham stimulation group. The results showed that repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation on cerebellar targets can effectively affect the subjects' working memory tasks. Repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation at 5 Hz and 20 Hz could enhance the excitatory responses of the frontal lobes. After stimulation at 5 Hz and 20 Hz, the efficiency of the brain network significantly improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psychopathy is a recognized risk factor for moral violations, but the mechanism of that increased risk is not well understood. Here, we used event-related potentials (ERPs) to investigate how psychopathic traits were related to the temporal dynamics of moral judgments when participants were asked to give moral acceptability ratings during the visual presentation of short statements with or without moral content. As expected, the ratings results showed that individuals with elevated psychopathic traits expressed increased acceptability of harm- and fairness-related moral violations. In contrast to that, ERP results were mixed. Regardless of subjects' levels of psychopathic traits, both types of moral violations (harm and fairness) evoked larger early potentials (P2) than did neutral statements. Likewise, all participants, regardless of psychopathic traits, displayed greater late positive components (LPC) for harm-related moral statements compared to neutral statements. However, in one early component (N2), only individuals with lower psychopathic traits displayed greater sensitivity to fairness- than to harm-related moral violations. These results contribute to our understanding of the relationship between psychopathic traits and the temporal dynamics of moral judgments, suggesting that (1) all participants, independent of their levels of psychopathic traits, have the same capacity to recognize moral information and process harmful experiences as indicated by early and late ERP components, respectively, and (2) the increased acceptability of harm- or fairness-related moral violations associated with higher psychopathic traits cannot be reliably captured by the ERP measure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The time needed to find a visual target amongst distractors (search task) can increase as a function of the distractors’ number (set-size) in the search-array (inefficient search). While the allocation of attention in search tasks has been extensively investigated and debated in the visual domain, little is known about these mechanisms in touch. Initial behavioral evidence shows inefficient search behavior when participants have to distinguish between target and distractors defined by their vibro-tactile frequencies. In the present study, to investigate the allocation of attention to items of the search-array we measured the N140cc during a tactile task in which the set-size was manipulated. The N140cc is a lateralized component of event-related brain potentials recently described as a psychophysiological marker of attentional allocation in tactile search tasks. Participants localized the target, a singleton frequency, while ignoring one, three or five homogeneous distractors. Results showed that error rates linearly increased as a function of set-size, while response times were not affected. Reliable N140cc components were observed for all set-sizes. Crucially, the N140cc amplitude decreased as the number of distractors increased. We argue that the presence of additional distractors hindered the preattentive analysis of the search array resulting in increased uncertainty about the target location (inefficient preattentive stage). This, in turn, increased the variability of the deployment of attention to the target, resulting in reduced N140cc amplitudes. Consistent with existing behavioral evidence, these findings highlight systematic differences between the visual and the tactile attentional systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research investigating the effects of carbohydrate (CHO) mouth rinsing on neurocognitive functions is currently limited and has yielded inconsistent results. In this study, we employed the event-related potential (ERP) electroencephalography technique to investigate the effect of CHO mouth rinsing on electrophysiological correlates of visuospatial attention. Using a double-blind, non-nutritive sweetener (NNS)-controlled, within-subjects design, 53 young adults performed a standard cognitive task (modified Simon task) on two separate days in a fasted state (16 h). Intermittently, mouth rinsing was performed either with a CHO (glucose, 18%, 30 mL) or an NNS solution (aspartame, 0.05%, 30 mL). Results revealed that relative to NNS, electrophysiological correlates of both more bottom-up controlled visuospatial attention (N1pc-ERP component) were decreased in response to CHO rinsing. In contrast, compared to NNS, more top-down controlled visuospatial attention (N2pc-ERP component) was increased after CHO rinsing. Behavioral performance, however, was not affected by mouth rinsing. Our findings suggest that orosensory signals can impact neurocognitive processes of visuospatial attention in a fasted state. This may suggest a central mechanism underlying the ergogenic effects of carbohydrate mouth rinsing on endurance performance could involve modulations of attentional factors. Methodologically, our study underlines that understanding the effects of carbohydrate mouth rinsing at the central level may require combining neuroscientific methods and manipulations of nutritional states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Electroencephalography (EEG)‐based electrophysiological techniques have made progress in diagnosing and treating alcohol dependence in recent years. Aims: The article reviews the latest literature in this field. Materials and methods: Alcohol dependence, which is common and prone to relapsing, poses a serious threat to individuals, families, and society. At present, the objective detection methods for alcohol dependence in clinic are not enough. As electrophysiological techniques developed in psychiatry, some researches on EEG‐based monitoring methods are of great significance in the diagnosis and treatment of alcohol dependence. Discussion: As electrophysiological techniques developed in psychiatry, some researches on EEG‐based monitoring methods such as resting electroencephalography (REEG), event‐related potentials (ERP), event‐related oscillations (ERO), and polysomnography (PSG), was reported. Conclusion: In this paper, the status of electrophysiological researches on EEG in alcoholics are reviewed in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: A brain computer interface (BCI) allows users to control external devices using non-invasive brain recordings, such as electroencephalography (EEG). We developed and tested a novel electrotactile BCI prototype based on somatosensory event-related potentials (sERP) as control signals, paired with a tactile attention task as a control paradigm. Approach: A novel electrotactile BCI comprises commercial EEG device, an electrical stimulator and custom software for EEG recordings, electrical stimulation control, synchronization between devices, signal processing, feature extraction, selection, and classification. We tested a novel BCI control paradigm based on tactile attention on a sensation at a target stimulation location on the forearm. Tactile stimuli were electrical pulses delivered at two proximal locations on the user’s forearm for stimulating branches of radial and median nerves, with equal probability of the target and distractor stimuli occurrence, unlike in any other ERP-based BCI design. We proposed a compact electrical stimulation electrodes configuration for delivering electrotactile stimuli (target and distractor) using 2 stimulation channels and 3 stimulation electrodes. We tested the feasibility of a single EEG channel BCI control, to determine pseudo-online BCI performance, in ten healthy subjects. For optimizing the BCI performance we compared the results for two classifiers, sERP averaging approaches, and novel dedicated feature extraction/selection methods via cross-validation procedures. Main results: We achieved a single EEG channel BCI classification accuracy in the range of 75.1 to 88.1% for all subjects. We have established an optimal combination of: single trial averaging to obtain sERP, feature extraction/selection methods and classification approach. Significance: The obtained results demonstrate that a novel electrotactile BCI paradigm with equal probability of attended (target) and unattended (distractor) stimuli and proximal stimulation sites is feasible. This method may be used to drive restorative BCIs for sensory retraining in stroke or brain injury, or assistive BCIs for communication in severely disabled users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) has been shown to modulate decision-making; however, the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying this effect remain unclear. To further explore the neurophysiological processes of decision-making modulated by HD-tDCS, health participants underwent ten anodal (n = 16)/sham (n = 17) HD-tDCS sessions targeting the left DLPFC. Iowa gambling task was performed simultaneously with electroencephalography (EEG) before and after HD-tDCS. Iowa gambling task performance, the P300 amplitude, and the power of theta oscillation as an index of decision-making were compared. Behavioral changes were found that showed anodal HD-tDCS could improve the decision-making function, in which participants could make more advantageous choices. The electrophysiological results showed that the P300 amplitude significantly increased in CZ, CPZ electrode placement site and theta oscillation power significantly activated in FCZ, CZ electrode placement site after anodal HD-tDCS. Significant positive correlations were observed between the changes in the percent use of negative feedback and the changes in theta oscillation power before and after anodal HD-tDCS. This study showed that HD-tDCS is a promising technology in improving decision-making and theta oscillation induced by may be a predictor of improved decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The time needed to find a visual target amongst distractors (search task) can increase as a function of the distractors’ number (set-size) in the search-array (inefficient search). While the allocation of attention in search tasks has been extensively investigated and debated in the visual domain, little is known about these mechanisms in touch. Initial behavioral evidence shows inefficient search behavior when participants have to distinguish between target and distractors defined by their vibro-tactile frequencies. In the present study, to investigate the allocation of attention to items of the search-array we measured the N140cc during a tactile task in which the set-size was manipulated. The N140cc is a lateralized component of event-related brain potentials recently described as a psychophysiological marker of attentional allocation in tactile search tasks. Participants localized the target, a singleton frequency, while ignoring one, three or five homogeneous distractors. Results showed that error rates linearly increased as a function of set-size, while response times were not affected. Reliable N140cc components were observed for all set-sizes. Crucially, the N140cc amplitude decreased as the number of distractors increased. We argue that the presence of additional distractors hindered the preattentive analysis of the search array resulting in increased uncertainty about the target location (inefficient preattentive stage). This, in turn, increased the variability of the deployment of attention to the target, resulting in reduced N140cc amplitudes. Consistent with existing behavioral evidence, these findings highlight systematic differences between the visual and the tactile attentional systems.

The mismatch negativity (MMN) is considered the electrophysiological change-detection response of the brain, and therefore a valuable clinical tool for monitoring functional changes associated with return to consciousness after severe brain injury. Using an auditory multi-deviant oddball paradigm, we tracked auditory MMN responses in seventeen healthy controls over a 12-h period, and in three comatose patients assessed over 24 h at two time points. We investigated whether the MMN responses show fluctuations in detectability over time in full conscious awareness, or whether such fluctuations are rather a feature of coma. Three methods of analysis were utilized to determine whether the MMN and subsequent event-related potential (ERP) components could be identified: traditional visual analysis, permutation t-test, and Bayesian analysis. The results showed that the MMN responses elicited to the duration deviant-stimuli are elicited and reliably detected over the course of several hours in healthy controls, at both group and single-subject levels. Preliminary findings in three comatose patients provide further evidence that the MMN is often present in coma, varying within a single patient from easily detectable to undetectable at different times. This highlights the fact that regular and repeated assessments are extremely important when using MMN as a neurophysiological predictor of coma emergence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brain activity changes significantly under various conditions of social interaction. However, the impact of the context of social interactions on neurophysiological correlates of cognitive and creative activity per se has not been sufficiently addressed. Two polar types of interactions can be distinguished when solving tasks, cooperation or competition. This study was aimed to assess the impact of competitive conditions on the amplitudes of event-related potentials (ERPs) when solving creative and noncreative tasks. The subjects (26 males, 18 females) performed two types of tasks as individuals or dyads (male–male, female–female): a creative task to think up an unusual uses of simple everyday objects, and a noncreative task to enumerate objects from the presented categories. In each of the tasks, ERPs were compared during its competitive (dyadic) and individual performance. Competitive conditions led to a decrease in amplitudes of the components P1 and P2, as well as N400 and P600, during both creative and noncreative tasks, suggesting the difficulty of finding an answer. The percentage of answers found was also significantly lower under conditions of competitive versus individual task performance. Apparently, cognitive resources, when performing a task under social interaction conditions, are directed toward the assessment of partner's responses and answers, as manifested in a decreased amplitude both of the earlier attention-related ERP components (P1, P2) and the later components related to semantic processing (N400, P600). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature on narcissism suggests two contradictory ways how highly narcissistic individuals deal with their failures: They might avoid consciously recognising their failures to protect their ego or they might vigilantly turn towards their failures to process cues that are important for maintaining their grandiosity. We tried to dissolve these contradictory positions by studying event-related potential components of error processing and their variations with narcissism. With a speeded go/no-go task, we examined how the error-related negativity (Ne; reflecting an early, automatic processing stage) and the error positivity (Pe; associated with conscious error detection) vary with Admiration and Rivalry, two narcissism dimensions, under egothreatening conditions. Using multilevel models, we showed that participants with high Rivalry displayed higher Ne amplitudes suggesting a heightened trait of defensive reactivity. We did not find variations of either narcissism dimension with the Pe, which would have pointed to weaker error awareness. Thus, our results only supported the second position: a heightened vigilance to errors in narcissism at early, rather automatic processing stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We examined spatiotemporal neural sources underlying ERP correlates of conscious vision. • ICA decomposition and clustering allows unveiling neural sources hidden in ERP analysis. • Results show that consciousness-related activity accumulates dynamically in a network of areas. • The cortical generator of VAN is rooted in occipito-temporal brain regions. • The cortical generators of LP are widespread over frontal, parietal and occipito-temporal cortex. Research has revealed two major event-related potential (ERP) markers of visual awareness: the earlier Visual Awareness Negativity (VAN, around 150–250 ms after stimulus onset), and the following Late Positivity (LP, around 300–500 ms after stimulus onset). Understanding the neural sources that give rise to VAN and LP is important in order to understand what kind of neural processes underlie conscious visual perception. Although the ERPs afford high temporal resolution, their spatial resolution is limited because multiple separate neural sources sum up at the scalp level. In the present study, we sought to characterize the locations and time-courses of independent neural sources underlying the ERP correlates of visual awareness by means of Independent Component Analysis (ICA). ICA allows identifying and localizing the temporal dynamics of different neural sources that contribute to the ERP correlates of conscious perception. The present results show that the cortical sources of VAN are localized to posterior areas including occipital and temporal cortex, while LP reflects a combination of multiple sources distributed among frontal, parietal and occipito-temporal cortex. Our findings suggest that conscious vision correlates with dynamically changing neural sources, developing in part in "accumulative fashion": consciousness-related activity initially arises in few early sources and, subsequently, additional sources are engaged as a function of time. The results further suggest that even early latency neural sources that correlate with conscious perception may also associate with action-related processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ObjectiveA brain computer interface (BCI) allows users to control external devices using non-invasive brain recordings, such as electroencephalography (EEG). We developed and tested a novel electrotactile BCI prototype based on somatosensory event-related potentials (sERP) as control signals, paired with a tactile attention task as a control paradigm.ApproachA novel electrotactile BCI comprises commercial EEG device, an electrical stimulator and custom software for EEG recordings, electrical stimulation control, synchronization between devices, signal processing, feature extraction, selection, and classification. We tested a novel BCI control paradigm based on tactile attention on a sensation at a target stimulation location on the forearm. Tactile stimuli were electrical pulses delivered at two proximal locations on the user’s forearm for stimulating branches of radial and median nerves, with equal probability of the target and distractor stimuli occurrence, unlike in any other ERP-based BCI design. We proposed a compact electrical stimulation electrodes configuration for delivering electrotactile stimuli (target and distractor) using 2 stimulation channels and 3 stimulation electrodes. We tested the feasibility of a single EEG channel BCI control, to determine pseudo-online BCI performance, in ten healthy subjects. For optimizing the BCI performance we compared the results for two classifiers, sERP averaging approaches, and novel dedicated feature extraction/selection methods via cross-validation procedures.Main resultsWe achieved a single EEG channel BCI classification accuracy in the range of 75.1 to 88.1% for all subjects. We have established an optimal combination of: single trial averaging to obtain sERP, feature extraction/selection methods and classification approach.SignificanceThe obtained results demonstrate that a novel electrotactile BCI paradigm with equal probability of attended (target) and unattended (distractor) stimuli and proximal stimulation sites is feasible. This method may be used to drive restorative BCIs for sensory retraining in stroke or brain injury, or assistive BCIs for communication in severely disabled users.

The mismatch negativity (MMN) is considered the electrophysiological change-detection response of the brain, and therefore a valuable clinical tool for monitoring functional changes associated with return to consciousness after severe brain injury. Using an auditory multi-deviant oddball paradigm, we tracked auditory MMN responses in seventeen healthy controls over a 12-h period, and in three comatose patients assessed over 24 h at two time points. We investigated whether the MMN responses show fluctuations in detectability over time in full conscious awareness, or whether such fluctuations are rather a feature of coma. Three methods of analysis were utilized to determine whether the MMN and subsequent event-related potential (ERP) components could be identified: traditional visual analysis, permutation t-test, and Bayesian analysis. The results showed that the MMN responses elicited to the duration deviant-stimuli are elicited and reliably detected over the course of several hours in healthy controls, at both group and single-subject levels. Preliminary findings in three comatose patients provide further evidence that the MMN is often present in coma, varying within a single patient from easily detectable to undetectable at different times. This highlights the fact that regular and repeated assessments are extremely important when using MMN as a neurophysiological predictor of coma emergence.

The literature on narcissism suggests two contradictory ways how highly narcissistic individuals deal with their failures: They might avoid consciously recognising their failures to protect their ego or they might vigilantly turn towards their failures to process cues that are important for maintaining their grandiosity. We tried to dissolve these contradictory positions by studying event-related potential components of error processing and their variations with narcissism. With a speeded go/no-go task, we examined how the error-related negativity (Ne; reflecting an early, automatic processing stage) and the error positivity (Pe; associated with conscious error detection) vary with Admiration and Rivalry, two narcissism dimensions, under ego-threatening conditions. Using multilevel models, we showed that participants with high Rivalry displayed higher Ne amplitudes suggesting a heightened trait of defensive reactivity. We did not find variations of either narcissism dimension with the Pe, which would have pointed to weaker error awareness. Thus, our results only supported the second position: a heightened vigilance to errors in narcissism at early, rather automatic processing stages.

Numerosity perception is a key ability for human and non-human species, probably mediated by dedicated brain mechanisms. Electrophysiological studies revealed the existence of both early and mid-latency components of the Electrophysiological (EEG) signal sensitive to numerosity changes. However, it is still unknown whether these components respond to physical or perceived variation in numerical attributes. We here tackled this point by recording electrophysiological signal while participants performed a numerosity adaptation task, a robust psychophysical method yielding changes in perceived numerosity judgments despite physical numerosity invariance. Behavioral measures confirmed that the test stimulus was consistently underestimated when presented after a high numerous adaptor while perceived as veridical when presented after a neutral adaptor. Congruently, EEG results revealed a potential at around 200 ms (P2p) which was reduced when the test stimulus was presented after the high numerous adaptor. This result was much prominent over the left posterior cluster of electrodes and correlated significantly with the amount of adaptation. No earlier modulations were retrievable when changes in numerosity were illusory while both early and mid-latency modulations occurred for physical changes. Taken together, our results reveal that mid-latency P2p mainly reflects perceived changes in numerical attributes, while earlier components are likely to be bounded to the physical characteristics of the stimuli. These results suggest that short-term plastic mechanisms induced by numerosity adaptation may involve a relatively late processing stage of the visual hierarchy likely engaging cortical areas beyond the primary visual cortex. Furthermore, these results also indicate mid-latency electrophysiological correlates as a signature of the internal representation of numerical information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visual selective attention can be achieved into bottom-up and top-down attention. Different selective attention tasks involve different attention control ways. The pop-out task requires more bottom-up attention, whereas the search task involves more top-down attention. P300, which is the positive potential generated by the brain in the latency of 300 ~ 600 ms after stimulus, reflects the processing of attention. There is no consensus on the P300 source. The aim of present study is to study the source of P300 elicited by different visual selective attention. We collected thirteen participants' P300 elicited by pop-out and search tasks with event-related potentials (ERP). We collected twenty-six participants' activation brain regions in pop-out and search tasks with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). And we analyzed the sources of P300 using the ERP and fMRI integration with high temporal resolution and high spatial resolution. ERP results indicated that the pop-out task induced larger P300 than the search task. P300 induced by the two tasks distributed at frontal and parietal lobes, with P300 induced by the pop-out task mainly at the parietal lobe and that induced by the search task mainly at the frontal lobe. Further ERP and fMRI integration analysis showed that neural difference sources of P300 were the right precentral gyrus, left superior frontal gyrus (medial orbital), left middle temporal gyrus, left rolandic operculum, right postcentral gyrus, and left angular gyrus. Our study suggests that the frontal and parietal lobes contribute to the P300 component of visual selective attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Substance use disorders (SUDs) constitute a growing global health crisis, yet many limitations and challenges exist in SUD treatment research, including the lack of objective brain-based markers for tracking treatment outcomes. Electroencephalography (EEG) is a neurophysiological technique for measuring brain activity, and although much is known about EEG activity in acute and chronic substance use, knowledge regarding EEG in relation to abstinence and treatment outcomes is sparse. We performed a scoping review of longitudinal and pre-post treatment EEG studies that explored putative changes in brain function associated with abstinence and/or treatment in individuals with SUD. Following PRISMA guidelines, we identified studies published between January 2000 and March 2022 from online databases. Search keywords included EEG, addictive substances (e.g., alcohol, cocaine, methamphetamine), and treatment related terms (e.g., abstinence, relapse). Selected studies used EEG at least at one time point as a predictor of abstinence or other treatment-related outcomes; or examined prevs. post-SUD intervention (brain stimulation, pharmacological, behavioral) EEG effects. Studies were also rated on the risk of bias and quality using validated instruments. Forty-four studies met the inclusion criteria. More consistent findings included lower oddball P3 and higher resting beta at baseline predicting negative outcomes, and abstinence-mediated longitudinal decrease in cue-elicited P3 amplitude and resting beta power. Other findings included abstinence or treatment-related changes in late positive potential (LPP) and N2 amplitudes, as well as in delta and theta power. Existing studies were heterogeneous and limited in terms of specific substances of interest, brief times for follow-ups, and inconsistent or sparse results. Encouragingly, in this limited but maturing literature, many studies demonstrated partial associations of EEG markers with abstinence, treatment outcomes, or pre-post treatment-effects. Studies were generally of good quality in terms of risk of bias. More EEG studies are warranted to better understand abstinence- or treatment-mediated neural changes or to predict SUD treatment outcomes. Future research can benefit from prospective large-sample cohorts and the use of standardized methods such as task batteries. EEG markers elucidating the temporal dynamics of changes in brain function related to abstinence and/or treatment may enable evidence-based planning for more effective and targeted treatments, potentially pre-empting relapse or minimizing negative lifespan effects of SUD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews the literature on the nature and properties of the negative deviation of the N2pc event-related potentials. As a rule, this lateralized component occurs 180–300 msec after the onset of visual stimulus presentation and is calculated as the difference between the cerebral responses recorded in the contralateral parietal-occipital electrodes of both hemispheres. N2pc is currently regarded as a reliable indicator of the involvement of the brain's cognitive resources in the process of identification of the location of a target. It was initially suggested that N2pc reflects the process suppressing the influences of irrelevant stimuli during perception, but other points of view on its functional role have subsequently arisen, as data on its relationship not only with the processes ensuring filtering out of distractors but also with processing of target stimuli themselves. In addition, the features of the occurrence of this component provide for studies of the mechanisms of the deployment of attention in humans and animals. N2pc has also found applications in the study of attention in people with various mental and physical disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hypnotherapy has a potential role in modulating attention bias to treat social anxiety disorder (SAD). This study aimed to verify whether hypnotherapy can reduce social anxiety by changing attentional bias. The primary objective of our study is to explore the influence of hypnosis on various aspects of attention processes, specifically focusing on how it affects attention bias and social anxiety., Methods: This study included 69 participants with SAD who were assigned to three groups based on their scores on the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS). The experimental group (n = 23) received a hypnosis treatment once a week, for a total of six sessions, while the control group (n = 23) and the baseline group (n = 23) did not receive any treatment. To evaluate whether hypnosis could alleviate SAD and attention bias towards threatening stimuli, we employed questionnaires and an odd-one-out task accompanied by electroencephalography (EEG) recordings., Results: Under the attention sensitivity conditions, the experimental group exhibited a reduced N170 and LPP at the posttest stage, and a similar N170 and LPP reduction under the attention disengagement conditions. Notably, the symptom improvements were positively correlated with the reduction in N170 and LPP amplitude across conditions., Conclusion: Hypnosis treatment modulates the early face processing and late emotional evaluation of threat-related stimuli in SAD patients. These findings suggest that N170 and LPP are important biomarkers for the treatment of SAD., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Zhang, Xue, Wen, Li, Fan, Ma, Wang, Zhang, Zhang, Hu, Wang and Li.)

Background and objectivesUltra-processed food products (UPF) have been associated with numerous non-communicable diseases. Despite this, the addictive nature of UPF, and the aggressive marketing strategies used to promote them, has created a strong emotional connection between UPF and consumers, and supports their increasing UPF global consumption. In view of the emotional link that consumers often have with UPF, modulating emotional reactions to UPF (by using strategies such as textual warnings) is important in changing consumers’ behavior. Since emotions are better understood by assessing individuals’ implicit reactions, we conducted an electroencephalographic study applying the event-related potential technique to investigate whether textual warnings were able to modulate the brain responses to UPF stimuli.Materials and methodsTwenty-six participants (19 women) viewed pictures of UPF preceded by a warning sentence about the health risks of consuming UPF or a control sentence while the electroencephalogram was recorded. In addition, the participants rated the picture in respect of pleasantness, arousal, and intention to consume. As emotions are associated with motivational circuits in the brain, we focused on a well-known event-related potential brain marker of the motivational relevance associated with emotional stimuli, namely late positive potential (LPP).ResultsThe late positive potential amplitude was larger for pictures depicting UPF under the warning condition compared to the control condition, a result that was accompanied by lower pleasantness ratings during the warning condition (compared to the control).ConclusionTextual warnings about the negative health consequences of consuming UPF changed the emotional responses toward UPF, possibly increasing the motivation to avoid UPF. These results shed new light on the impact of textual warnings on UPF-evoked emotions.

Numerosity perception is a key ability for human and non-human species, probably mediated by dedicated brain mechanisms. Electrophysiological studies revealed the existence of both early and mid-latency components of the Electrophysiological (EEG) signal sensitive to numerosity changes. However, it is still unknown whether these components respond to physical or perceived variation in numerical attributes. We here tackled this point by recording electrophysiological signal while participants performed a numerosity adaptation task, a robust psychophysical method yielding changes in perceived numerosity judgments despite physical numerosity invariance. Behavioral measures confirmed that the test stimulus was consistently underestimated when presented after a high numerous adaptor while perceived as veridical when presented after a neutral adaptor. Congruently, EEG results revealed a potential at around 200 ms (P2p) which was reduced when the test stimulus was presented after the high numerous adaptor. This result was much prominent over the left posterior cluster of electrodes and correlated significantly with the amount of adaptation. No earlier modulations were retrievable when changes in numerosity were illusory while both early and mid-latency modulations occurred for physical changes. Taken together, our results reveal that mid-latency P2p mainly reflects perceived changes in numerical attributes, while earlier components are likely to be bounded to the physical characteristics of the stimuli. These results suggest that short-term plastic mechanisms induced by numerosity adaptation may involve a relatively late processing stage of the visual hierarchy likely engaging cortical areas beyond the primary visual cortex. Furthermore, these results also indicate mid-latency electrophysiological correlates as a signature of the internal representation of numerical information.

Substance use disorders (SUDs) constitute a growing global health crisis, yet many limitations and challenges exist in SUD treatment research, including the lack of objective brain-based markers for tracking treatment outcomes. Electroencephalography (EEG) is a neurophysiological technique for measuring brain activity, and although much is known about EEG activity in acute and chronic substance use, knowledge regarding EEG in relation to abstinence and treatment outcomes is sparse. We performed a scoping review of longitudinal and pre-post treatment EEG studies that explored putative changes in brain function associated with abstinence and/or treatment in individuals with SUD. Following PRISMA guidelines, we identified studies published between January 2000 and March 2022 from online databases. Search keywords included EEG, addictive substances (e.g., alcohol, cocaine, methamphetamine), and treatment related terms (e.g., abstinence, relapse). Selected studies used EEG at least at one time point as a predictor of abstinence or other treatment-related outcomes; or examined pre- vs. post-SUD intervention (brain stimulation, pharmacological, behavioral) EEG effects. Studies were also rated on the risk of bias and quality using validated instruments. Forty-four studies met the inclusion criteria. More consistent findings included lower oddball P3 and higher resting beta at baseline predicting negative outcomes, and abstinence-mediated longitudinal decrease in cue-elicited P3 amplitude and resting beta power. Other findings included abstinence or treatment-related changes in late positive potential (LPP) and N2 amplitudes, as well as in delta and theta power. Existing studies were heterogeneous and limited in terms of specific substances of interest, brief times for follow-ups, and inconsistent or sparse results. Encouragingly, in this limited but maturing literature, many studies demonstrated partial associations of EEG markers with abstinence, treatment outcomes, or pre-post treatment-effects. Studies were generally of good quality in terms of risk of bias. More EEG studies are warranted to better understand abstinence- or treatment-mediated neural changes or to predict SUD treatment outcomes. Future research can benefit from prospective large-sample cohorts and the use of standardized methods such as task batteries. EEG markers elucidating the temporal dynamics of changes in brain function related to abstinence and/or treatment may enable evidence-based planning for more effective and targeted treatments, potentially pre-empting relapse or minimizing negative lifespan effects of SUD.

Chinese nouns lack inflection and cannot reflect the quantitative relationship between singular and plural numbers. However, neural processes of picture naming are different from those of words. We assume that Chinese single and plural picture naming is different, and they may involve quantitative processing. Therefore, Experiment 1 was designed by picking picture naming as the task and Chinese as the target language and compared the accuracy, reaction time, and event-related potentials (ERPs) between single and plural picture naming, where two types of pictures were mixed. Although the T-test showed no significant differences in behavioral data, there were differences in ERPs. ERP differences involved two effects: P1 of 160–180 ms and P2 of 220–260 ms in the parietal-occipital lobe. These differences are suggested to reflect the neural differences in quantitative processing. Therefore, Chinese singular and plural picture naming consists of word production and implicit quantitative processing simultaneously. To explore the relationship between the two processings, we added a semantic factor (inanimate vs. animate items) to the quantity factor of Experiment 1 and carried out Experiment 2, with the observation indexes unchanged. There were no significant differences in behavioral data among the four conditions. After variance analysis, ERPs results indicated an interaction between semantic and quantitative factors in the central area at 180–280 ms. In summary, we suggest that Chinese singular and plural picture naming includes two simultaneous neural processing tasks: word production and quantitative processing, which interact in the central area at 180–280 ms.

Opioid use disorder (OUD)-associated overdose deaths have reached epidemic proportions worldwide over the past two decades, with death rates for men reported at twice the rate for women. Using a controlled, cross-sectional, age-matched (18–56 y) design to better understand the cognitive neuroscience of OUD, we evaluated the electroencephalographic (EEG) responses of male and female participants with OUD vs. age- and gender-matched non-OUD controls during a simple visual object recognition Go/No-Go task. Overall, women had significantly slower reaction times (RTs) than men. In addition, EEG N200 and P300 event-related potential (ERP) amplitudes for non-OUD controls were significantly larger for men, while their latencies were significantly shorter than for women. However, while N200 and P300 amplitudes were not significantly affected by OUD for either men or women in this task, latencies were also affected differentially in men vs. women with OUD. Accordingly, for both N200 and P300, male OUD participants exhibited longer latencies while female OUD participants exhibited shorter ones than in non-OUD controls. Additionally, robust oscillations were found in all participants during a feedback message associated with performance in the task. Although alpha and beta power during the feedback message were significantly greater for men than women overall, both alpha and beta oscillations exhibited significantly lower power in all participants with OUD. Taken together, these findings suggest important gender by OUD differences in cognitive processing and reflection of performance in this simple visual task.