Abstract
We investigated whether both the contingent negative variation (CNV), an event-related potential index of preparatory brain activity, and event-related oscillatory EEG activity differentiated Go and NoGo trials in a delayed response task. CNV and spectral power (4–100 Hz) were calculated from EEG activity in the preparatory interval in 16 healthy adult participants. As previously reported, CNV amplitudes were higher in Go compared to NoGo trials. In addition, event-related spectral power of the Go condition was reduced in the theta to low gamma range compared to the NoGo condition, confirming that preparing to respond is associated with modulation of event-related spectral activity as well as the CNV. Altogether, the impact of the experimental manipulation on both slow event-related potentials and oscillatory EEG activity may reflect coordinated dynamic changes in the excitability of distributed neural networks involved in preparation.
Highlights
Preparatory brain activity is a critical precursor for successful execution of goal-directed behavior
contingent negative variation (CNV) in Go compared to NoGo trials and the scalp topographies support a differential scalp distribution for the two conditions
We examined whether the CNV, an event-related potential (ERP) index of preparatory brain activity, as well as event-related alpha power, showed differential activity in trials calling for preparation to respond to an upcoming stimulus compared to trials not requiring response preparation
Summary
Preparatory brain activity is a critical precursor for successful execution of goal-directed behavior. Preparation increases cognitive and behavioral efficiency due to pre-activation of the sensory and motor cortices needed to execute an appropriate response at the correct time. This pre-activation is proposed to be controlled by top-down signals from prefrontal cortical areas [1,2]. The late CNV is considered to be an index of anticipatory attention for the upcoming stimulus and motor preparation needed to respond [9,10]. In line with this the late CNV is thought to be a combination of at least two slow waves, a movement preceding negativity (MPN) and a stimulus preceding negativity (SPN) [11]
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