Event-related Brain Potentials Data Research Articles

Beyond the FN: A spatio-temporal analysis of the neural correlates of feedback processing in a virtual Blackjack game

Studies using event-related brain potentials (ERPs) to examine feedback processing in gambling tasks have focused almost exclusively on components elicited between 200 and 500ms after feedback over the frontal-central region of the scalp (i.e., P2, feedback negativity (FN), and P3a). In contrast, studies examining the functional neuroanatomy of feedback processing reveal activation in a distributed network that includes the anterior and posterior cingulate, the lateral and medial orbitofrontal cortex, the occipital cortex, and the basal ganglia. In the current study, we used ERPs in combination with spatial principal components-massive univariate analysis and distributed source analysis to examine the time course, topography, and neural generators of ERPs elicited in a virtual Blackjack game from 0 to 2000ms after feedback was delivered. The ERP data revealed the P2–FN–P3a complex, as well as, broadly distributed transient and slow wave activity that was sensitive to the magnitude and valence of an outcome. The ERPs reflected activation in the anterior and posterior cingulate, in addition to the occipital, temporal and medial frontal cortices. These data demonstrate that ERPs can provide valuable insight into the timing of neural recruitment within a distributed cortical network during the first two seconds of feedback processing.

The Ernst triadic model: A good start?

Studies using event-related brain potentials (ERPs) to examine feedback processing in gambling tasks have focused almost exclusively on components elicited between 200 and 500 ms after feedback over the frontal-central region of the scalp (i.e., P2, feedback negativity (FN), and P3a). In contrast, studies examining the functional neuroanatomy of feedback processing reveal activation in a distributed network that includes the anterior and posterior cingulate, the lateral and medial orbitofrontal cortex, the occipital cortex, and the basal ganglia. In the current study, we used ERPs in combination with spatial principal components-massive univariate analysis and distributed source analysis to examine the time course, topography, and neural generators of ERPs elicited in a virtual Blackjack game from 0 to 2000 ms after feedback was delivered. The ERP data revealed the P2–FN–P3a complex, as well as, broadly distributed transient and slow wave activity that was sensitive to the magnitude and valence of an outcome. The ERPs reflected activation in the anterior and posterior cingulate, in addition to the occipital, temporal and medial frontal cortices. These data demonstrate that ERPs can provide valuable insight into the timing of neural recruitment within a distributed cortical network during the first two seconds of feedback processing.

Natural speech comprehension in bipolar disorders: An event-related brain potential study among manic patients

BackgroundThought and language disturbances are crucial clinical features in Bipolar Disorders (BD), and constitute a fundamental basis for social cognition. In BD, clinical manifestations such as disorganization and formal thought disorders may play a role in communication disturbances. However, only few studies have explored language disturbances in BD at a neurophysiological level. Two main Event-Related brain Potentials (ERPs) have been used in language comprehension research: the N400 component, elicited by incongruous word with the preceding semantic context, and the Late Positive Component (LPC), associated with non-specifically semantic and more general cognitive processes. Previous studies provided contradictory results regarding N400 in mood disorders, showing either preserved N400 in depression or dysthymia, or altered N400 in BD during semantic priming paradigm. The aim of our study was to explore N400 and LPC among patients with BD in natural speech conditions. MethodsERPs from 19 bipolar type I patients with manic or hypomanic symptomatology and 19 healthy controls were recorded. Participants were asked to listen to congruous and incongruous complete sentences and to judge the match between the final word and the sentence context. Behavioral results and ERPs data were analyzed. ResultsAt the behavioral level, patients with BD show worst performances than healthy participants. At the electrophysiological level, our results show preserved N400 component in BD. LPC elicited under natural speech conditions shows preserved amplitude but delayed latency in difference waves. LimitationsSmall size of samples, absence of schizophrenic group and medication status. ConclusionsIn contrast with the only previous N400 study in BD that uses written semantic priming, our results show a preserved N400 component in ecological and natural speech conditions among patients with BD. Possible implications in terms of clinical specificity are discussed.

Age-related changes in neural recruitment for cognitive control

The dual mechanisms of control (DMC; Braver, Gray, & Burgess, 2007) framework postulates a distinction between proactive and reactive modes of cognitive control. Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were used to examine age differences in the neural correlates of proactive and reactive control for task-switching. Whereas proactive control is associated with brain activity for anticipatory task preparation, reactive control is accompanied by reduced preparatory activity, but increased activation during task execution. Switching between tasks was based on feedback-based transition cueing which places particularly high demands on mechanisms for cognitive control. Older adults maintained good performance accuracy at the expense of slower response times. No age-related increase in behavioral switching costs was observed. The cue-locked ERP (P3a) data revealed an age-related decrease in neural activity related to the processing of switch cues. In the target-locked ERPs, there was an increased frontal focus of the P3b in older adults. These ERP data indicate an age-related neural under-recruitment for proactive cognitive control and an age-related neural over-recruitment for reactive cognitive control. They are consistent with the idea that older adults may not fully implement task settings before target onset, after which they need to catch up on the omitted preparatory task settings.

Subject/object processing asymmetries in Korean relative clauses: Evidence from ERP data.

Subject relative (SR) clauses have a reliable processing advantage in VO languages like English in which relative clauses (RCs) follow the head noun. The question is whether this is also routinely true of OV languages like Japanese and Korean, in which RCs precede the head noun. We conducted an event-related brain potential (ERP) study of Korean RCs to test whether the SR advantage manifests in brain responses as well, and to tease apart the typological factors that might contribute to them. Our results suggest that brain responses to RCs are remarkably similar in VO and OV languages, but that ordering of the RC and its head noun localizes the response to different sentence positions. Our results also suggest that marking the right edge of the RC in Chinese (Yang et al. 2010) and Korean and the absence of it in Japanese (Ueno & Garnsey 2008) affect the response to the following head noun. The consistent SR advantage found in ERP studies lends further support to a universal subject preference in the processing of relative clauses.

Modeling error detection in human brain: A preliminary unification of reinforcement learning and conflict monitoring theories

The error detection concept plays a critical role in theories of performance monitoring. In this study, we have proposed a model that somehow unifies two main theories of performance monitoring: reinforcement learning and conflict monitoring. The proposed model, which is a modified and extended version of computational model of reinforcement learning theory, is used to simulate behavioral and event-related brain potential data in a modified version of Eriksen flanker task. This model captures the idea of conflict monitoring theory. Therefore, it can generate a component of event-related brain potential (N200) that reinforcement learning theory is not capable of producing it.

ERP correlates of dual mechanisms of control in the counting Stroop task

Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were used to examine the neural correlates of proactive and reactive cognitive control within the context of the Dual Mechanisms of Control theory. Individuals performed the counting Stroop task and the proportion of congruent and incongruent trials was varied across blocks. The Stroop effect was smaller in the mostly incongruent block than in the mostly congruent block. The ERP data revealed a double dissociation between the medial frontal negativity (MFN) and the medial posterior negativity (MPN), where the amplitude of the MFN was greater in the mostly incongruent block and the amplitude of the MPN was greater in the mostly congruent block. The ERP data also revealed slow wave activity that distinguished the mostly incongruent and mostly congruent blocks. These findings support the idea that different regions of the cingulate and anterior frontal cortex underpin proactive and reactive control.

Event-related brain potentials that distinguish false memory for events that occurred only seconds in the past

BackgroundFalse memory often involves retrieving events from the distant past that did not actually happen. However, recent evidence obtained using the Deese/Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm for eliciting false memory experiences suggests that individuals can falsely believe that events occurred mere seconds in the past when they in fact did not. Subjects in these experiments endorsed unstudied critical lure words as having been studied, despite the fact that word lists were studied just moments before. We identified event-related brain potential (ERP) correlates of this experience, and included a repetition priming manipulation to better assess the functional significance of these ERPs.MethodsBehavioral and ERP data were collected from 21 Capital Normal University students using a short-term DRM task.ResultsTwo categories of effects were identified that distinguished true from false short-term memory: (1) early semantic priming effects from 300 to 500 ms and (2) later retrieval and retrieval-monitoring effects after 500 ms. The repetition priming manipulation had distinct influences on these effects, consistent with their differential associations with semantic priming versus episodic retrieval.ConclusionCharacterization of ERPs related to semantic priming and episodic retrieval provides important information regarding the mechanisms of short-term false memory. In contrast, most studies examining false memory in standard long-delay DRM paradigms identify ERP effects related only to retrieval monitoring. These findings highlight the neural processing involved in illusions of memory after very brief delays and highlight the role of semantic processing in short-term false memory.

Ereigniskorrelierte Potenziale (EKPs)

AbstractIn this article we give a short introduction to the online method of event-related (brain) potentials (ERPs) and their importance for our understanding of language structure and grammar. This methodology places high demands on (technical) requirements for laboratory equipment as well as on the skills of the investigator. However, the high costs are relatively balanced compared to the advantages of this experimental method. By using ERPs, it becomes possible to monitor the electrophysiological brain activity associated with speech processing in real time (millisecond by millisecond) and to draw conclusions on human language processing and the human parser.First, we present briefly how this method works and how ERPs can be classified (Section 1 and 2). In the following, we show that the ERP method can be used to study the processing of e. g. semantic, pragmatic and syntactic information (Section 3). Crucial for our discussion will be the interpretation of the so-called ERP components and their connection and importance for psycholinguistics and theoretical linguistics. In our presentation, we emphasize, that the electrophysiological brain activity in relation to specific (e. g. linguistic) stimuli can be used to identify distinct processes, which give a deeper insight into the different processing steps of language. At the end of this article (Section 4), we present some results from ERP studies of German negative-polar elements. Additionally, we highlight the advantage and benefits of an alternative method to analyze ERP data compared to the more ‘classical’ average technique.

Examining the Role of Attention and Instruction in At-Risk Kindergarteners

Several studies report that adults and adolescents with reading disabilities also experience difficulties with selective attention. In the present study, event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were used to examine the neural mechanisms of selective attention in kindergarten children at risk for reading disabilities (AR group, n = 8) or on track in early literacy skills (OT group, n = 6) across the first semester of kindergarten. The AR group also received supplemental instruction with the Early Reading Intervention (ERI). Following ERI, the AR group demonstrated improved skills on standardized early literacy measures such that there were no significant differences between the AR and OT groups at posttest or winter follow-up. Analysis of the ERP data revealed that at the start of kindergarten, the AR group displayed reduced effects of attention on sensorineural processing compared to the OT group. Following intervention, this difference between groups disappeared, with the AR group only showing improvements in the effect of attention on sensorineural processing. These data indicate that the neural mechanisms of selective attention are atypical in kindergarten children at risk for reading failure but can be improved by effective reading interventions.

Emotional arousal to negative information after traumatic experiences: an event-related brain potential study

Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) during an emotional Stroop task were measured in two groups of participants: 14 participants who had experienced the great Sichuan earthquake (earthquake group) and 14 participants who did not experience the earthquake (control group). ERP data showed that negative words elicited a more negative P2 than positive words in the earthquake group. Moreover, negative words also elicited a more negative ERP deflection (N280-380 effect) than positive words in the earthquake group, while this effect was not found in the control group. We suggest that the N280-380 effect may reflect heightened emotional arousal to negative words due to personal experience of a traumatic event. Dipole analysis localized the N280-380 to the parahippocampal gyrus and the cuneus, which we suggest may be related to the automatic recollection of the traumatic experience.

아동의 한국어 문장이해과정에 나타난 사건관련전위 연구

The present study investigated the semantic and syntactic processes in Korean children`s sentence comprehension by measuring event-related brain potentials(ERPs). The subjects were 18 right-handed, healthy native Korean children(1st graders), who were free from any hearing problems. While the children listened to the auditory sentence stimuli, ERPs were recorded with the electrodes mounted in a `Quik-Cap` on the subject`s head. The ERP data were recorded and analyzed using the NeuroScan 4.3 and EEGLABv6.03b programs. For statistical analyses, descriptive statistics, three-way repeated measures ANOVA, and t-tests were performed using a SPSS 15.0 PC program. The results indicated that semantic violations elicited a negativity (N400) ranging from 300 to 500 msec. For syntactic violations, children displayed a positivity (P600) ranging from 900 to 1,100 msec. The discovery of N400 and P600 in semantic and syntactic processes respectively, confirmed the suggestion that Indo-European and Korean languages share a common mechanism for sentence comprehension.

Neural correlates of stimulus and response interference in a 2–1 mapping stroop task

Two sources of interference (i.e., stimulus and response) are believed to contribute to the Stroop interference effect. Some neurophysiological evidence reveals that different neuro-cognitive processes are related to stimulus and response interference in the Stroop and related tasks. However, other evidence indicates that similar patterns of neural recruitment may be associated with these two types interference. Given these discrepant findings, the current study used a 2–1 mapping Stroop task in combination with event-related brain potentials (ERPs) to examine the neural correlates of stimulus and response interference. The response time data revealed that stimulus interference was constant across the response time distribution. In contrast, response interference increased in magnitude across the response time distribution for all but the slowest trials. The stimulus-locked ERP data revealed that early and later modulations of the medial frontal negativity may be sensitive to response interference, but not stimulus interference. These data also revealed that the conflict slow potential (SP) over the parietal and right lateral frontal regions was sensitive to both stimulus and response interference; in contrast, the conflict SP over the left lateral frontal region was only sensitive to response interference. Together the stimulus- and response-locked data lead to the conclusion that the parietal region is primarily involved in response selection in the Stroop task, and that the lateral frontal regions may participate in response monitoring and conflict adaption.

Age and amount of exposure to a foreign language during childhood: Behavioral and ERP data on the semantic comprehension of spoken English by Japanese children

Children's foreign-language (FL) learning is a matter of much social as well as scientific debate. Previous behavioral research indicates that starting language learning late in life can lead to problems in phonological processing. Inadequate phonological capacity may impede lexical learning and semantic processing (phonological bottleneck hypothesis). Using both behavioral and neuroimaging data, here we examine the effects of age of first exposure (AOFE) and total hours of exposure (HOE) to English, on 350 Japanese primary-school children's semantic processing of spoken English. Children's English proficiency scores and N400 event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were analyzed in multiple regression analyses. The results showed (1) that later, rather than earlier, AOFE led to higher English proficiency and larger N400 amplitudes, when HOE was controlled for; and (2) that longer HOE led to higher English proficiency and larger N400 amplitudes, whether AOFE was controlled for or not. These data highlight the important role of amount of exposure in FL learning, and cast doubt on the view that starting FL learning earlier always produces better results.

Increased attention but more efficient disengagement: Neuroscientific evidence for defensive processing of threatening health information.

Previous studies indicate that people respond defensively to threatening health information, especially when the information challenges self-relevant goals. The authors investigated whether reduced acceptance of self-relevant health risk information is already visible in early attention processes, that is, attention disengagement processes. In a randomized, controlled trial with 29 smoking and nonsmoking students, a variant of Posner's cueing task was used in combination with the high-temporal resolution method of event-related brain potentials (ERPs). Reaction times and P300 ERP. Smokers showed lower P300 amplitudes in response to high- as opposed to low-threat invalid trials when moving their attention to a target in the opposite visual field, indicating more efficient attention disengagement processes. Furthermore, both smokers and nonsmokers showed increased P300 amplitudes in response to the presentation of high- as opposed to low-threat valid trials, indicating threat-induced attention-capturing processes. Reaction time measures did not support the ERP data, indicating that the ERP measure can be extremely informative to measure low-level attention biases in health communication. The findings provide the first neuroscientific support for the hypothesis that threatening health information causes more efficient disengagement among those for whom the health threat is self-relevant.

Detection of pitch violations depends upon the familiarity of intonational contour of sentences

Introduction Former studies have shown that a pitch change in utterances in speech was detected accurately in both native (French) and unfamiliar (Portuguese) language and produced an early negativity and a late positivity in the event-related brain potentials (ERPs), more clearly marked in the native language ( Schön et al., 2004; Marques et al., 2007). The present study used the same design to further investigate the influence of the familiarity of the language context on pitch perception with Italian participants. The aim was to examine the effects of pitch change in the native (Italian) and foreign (French) languages, and in meaningless sentences preserving the intonational contour of the mother tongue (jabberwocky). Method Weak and strong pitch changes incongruous with the preceding context were compared to a control congruous condition. Participants had to decide as fast and as accurately as possible if they perceived a pitch change. Both behavioral (accuracy and reaction times – RTs) and ERP measures were analyzed. Results Results showed optimal accuracy and faster RTs in Italian, followed by jabberwocky, and then French. The same trend was present in ERP data, with an early negativity over temporal sites and a late positivity over parietal sites. These effects developed earlier and were more pronounced for the strong incongruity in Italian and in jabberwocky than in French. Conclusions The similarity of results for Italian (congruous) and jabberwocky sentences on one hand, and the difference of results for French sentences, on the other hand, show that familiarity with intonational contour of utterances/speech provided essential cues to perform the task.

How personal earthquake experience impacts on the Stroop interference effect: An event-related potential study

Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were measured when 24 Chinese subjects performed the classical Stroop task. All of subjects had experienced the great Sichuan earthquake (5/12), with 12 people in each of the Far (Chengdu city) and the Close (Deyang city) earthquake experience groups. The behavioral data showed that the Stroop task yielded a robust Stroop interference effect as indexed by longer RT for incongruent than congruent color words in both the Chengdu and Deyang groups. Scalp ERP data showed that incongruent stimuli elicited a more negative ERP deflection (N400-600; Stroop interference effect) than did congruent stimuli between 400-600 ms in the Chengdu group, while the Stroop interference ERP effect was not found in the Deyang group. Dipole source analysis localized the generator of the N400-600 in the right prefrontal cortex (PFC) and was possibly related to conflict monitoring and cognitive control.

Development of Neural Electromagnetic Ontologies (NEMO): Ontology-based Tools for Representation and Integration of Event-related Brain Potentials

AbstractWe describe a first-generation ontology forrepresentation and integration of event-related brain potentials (ERPs). The ontology is designed following OBO “best practices” and is augmented with tools to perform ontology-based labeling and annotation of ERP data, and a database that enables semantically based reasoning over these data. Because certain high-level concepts in the ERP domain are illdefined, we have developed methods to support coordinated updates to each of these three components. This approach consists of “top-down” (knowledge-driven) design and implementation, followed by “bottom-up” (data-driven) validation and refinement. Our goal is to build an ERP ontology that is logically valid, empirically sound, robust in application, and transparent to users. This ontology will be used to support sharing and meta-analysis of EEG and MEG data collected within our Neural Electromagnetic Ontologies (NEMO) project.

Development of Neural Electromagnetic Ontologies (NEMO): Ontology-based Tools for Representation and Integration of Event-related Brain Potentials

We describe a first-generation ontology forrepresentation and integration of event-related brain potentials (ERPs). The ontology is designed following OBO “best practices” and is augmented with tools to perform ontology-based labeling and annotation of ERP data, and a database that enables semantically based reasoning over these data. Because certain high-level concepts in the ERP domain are illdefined, we have developed methods to support coordinated updates to each of these three components. This approach consists of “top-down” (knowledge-driven) design and implementation, followed by “bottom-up” (data-driven) validation and refinement. Our goal is to build an ERP ontology that is logically valid, empirically sound, robust in application, and transparent to users. This ontology will be used to support sharing and meta-analysis of EEG and MEG data collected within our Neural Electromagnetic Ontologies (NEMO) project.

Psychophysiological evidence of response conflict and strategic control of responses in affective priming

This experiment investigated the role of conflict in the response and evaluative categorization systems in the affective congruency effect using event-related brain potentials (ERPs). Participants completed a primed evaluative decision task in which the proportion of congruent to incongruent trials was manipulated. The size of the affective congruency effect increased along with the proportion of congruent trials. ERP data identified the locus of this effect in the response system: the lateralized readiness potential (LRP) showed that preferential response activation occurred in motor cortex following prime onset, and the fronto-central N2 (conflict monitoring) component indicated that conflict occurred when the response activated by the prime differed from the target response, irrespective of the affective congruency of the prime and target. The extent of this conflict covaried with strategic processing of primes, as participants directed less attention to primes that were likely to elicit conflict. These data support a response conflict account of affective congruency effects in the evaluative decision task and indicate that strategic control of attention is important in determining the extent to which conflict occurs.