Event-related Potential Methodology Research Articles

Evaluation of Event-Related Potentials in Somatic Diseases - Systematic Review.

Many somatic illnesses (e.g. hypertension, diabetes, pulmonary and cardiac diseases, hepatitis C, kidney and heart failure, HIV infection, Sjogren's disease) may impact central nervous system functions resulting in emotional, sensory, cognitive or even personality impairments. Event-related potential (ERP) methodology allows for monitoring neurocognitive processes and thus can provide a valuable window into these cognitive processes that are influenced, or brought about, by somatic disorders. The current review aims to present published studies on the relationships between somatic illness and brain function as assessed with ERP methodology, with the goal to discuss where this field of study is right now and suggest future directions.

Attention modulates early visual processing: An association between subjective contrast perception and early C1 ERP component.

The question of whether spatial attention can modulate initial afferent activity in area V1, as measured by the earliest visual event-related potential (ERP) component "C1", is still the subject of debate. Because attention always enhances behavioral performance, previous research has focused on finding evidence of attention-related enhancements in visual neural responses. However, recent psychophysical studies revealed a complex picture of attention's influence on visual perception: attention amplifies the perceived contrast of low-contrast stimuli while dampening the perceived contrast of high-contrast stimuli. This evidence suggests that attention may not invariably augment visual neural responses but could instead exert inhibitory effects under certain circumstances. Whether this bi-directional modulation of attention also manifests in C1 and whether the modulation of C1 underpins the attentional influence on contrast perception remain unknown. To address these questions, we conducted two experiments (N = 67 in total) by employing a combination of behavioral and ERP methodologies. Our results did not unveil a uniform attentional enhancement or attenuation effect of C1 across all subjects. However, an intriguing correlation between the attentional effects of C1 and contrast appearance for high-contrast stimuli did emerge, revealing an association between attentional modulation of C1 and the attentional modulation of contrast appearance. This finding offers new insights into the relationship between attention, perceptual experience, and early visual neural processing, suggesting that the attentional effect on subjective visual perception could be mediated by the attentional modulation of the earliest visual cortical response.

The electrophysiology of aphasia: A scoping review

ObjectiveTo systematically assess the body of literature using N400 and P600 as they relate to people with aphasia. The primary aim was to reveal patterns in the literature which could be used to direct future research in the development of clinically relevant Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) for language assessment, while also identifying gaps in existing knowledge and highlight areas of further inquiry. MethodsA literature search was performed on studies published before May 2021. Relevant studies on aphasia and the two ERPs of interest were assessed for quality, and the relationship between aphasia and these ERPs was explored. ResultsA total of 721 articles were identified, with 30 meeting inclusion criteria. Although there is significant variation in the literature, this scoping review revealed people with aphasia show reduced amplitude, delayed latency and different distribution compared to controls, and that ERPs are modulated by severity of aphasia. ConclusionsTo develop a relevant clinical tool for the management of aphasia, future research must strive to improve consistency within ERP methodology, with a greater number of diverse aphasia subtypes included in research. SignificanceThis scoping review reveals N400 and P600 represent promising potential biomarkers for the diagnosis and ongoing management of aphasia.

Searching for a "Brain Signature" of Neurodevelopmental Disorders: Event-Related Potentials and the Quest for Biomarkers of Cognition.

This review summarizes main applications of event-related potentials (ERPs) to the study of cognitive processes in persons with neurodevelopmental disorders, for whom traditional behavioral assessments may not be suitable. A brief introduction to the ERPs is followed by a review of empirical studies using passive ERP paradigms to address three main questions: characterizing individual differences, predicting risk for poor developmental outcomes, and documenting treatment effects in persons with neurodevelopmental disorders. Evidence across studies reveals feasibility of ERP methodology in a wide range of clinical populations and notes consistently stronger brain-behavior associations involving ERP measures of higher-order cognition compared with sensory-perceptual processes. The final section describes the current limitations of ERP methodology that need to be addressed before it could be used as a clinical tool and highlights the needed steps toward translating ERPs from group-level research applications to individually interpretable clinical use.

The Influences of Brand Awareness on Consumers' Cognitive Process: An Event-Related Potentials Study.

Brand awareness plays an important role in most aspects of marketing. However, consumers’ cognitive process of brand awareness, which plays an important role in purchase decision or product usage experiences, is still unclear in the brain. Using event-related potentials (ERPs), the influences of two different brand awareness on consumers’ cognitive process was investigated. Phone pictures with high or low brand awareness and girl pictures were used to carry out this experiment research. An amended oddball task was designed in which girl photos were taken as target stimuli, and phone pictures were taken as non-target stimuli. Subjects were asked to identify the girl pictures. Smaller ERPs components N2 and P3 along with high brand awareness phone pictures were found compared to the low brand awareness ones. The amplitude variation in N2 and P3 indicated that the cognitive process of identification and attention distribution were changed along with the magnitude of brand awareness, which meant consumers could allocate different attention resources to distinguish high or low brand awareness product unconsciously. This may indicate the identification and attention distribution caused by brand awareness can be detected by N2 and P3, and event-related potentials methodology may be a sensitive measurement technique for brand awareness.

The Relationship Between Respiratory-Related Premotor Potentials and Small Perturbations in Ventilation.

Respiratory-related premotor potentials from averaged electroencephalography (EEG) over the motor areas indicate cortical activation in healthy participants to maintain ventilation in the face of moderate inspiratory or expiratory loads. These experimental conditions are associated with respiratory discomfort, i.e., dyspnea. Premotor potentials are also observed in resting breathing in patients with reduced automatic respiratory drive or respiratory muscle strength due to respiratory or neurological disease, presumably in an attempt to maintain ventilation. The aim of this study was to determine if small voluntary increases in ventilation or smaller load-capacity imbalances, that generate an awareness of breathing but aren’t necessarily dyspneic, give rise to respiratory premotor potentials in healthy participants. In 15 healthy subjects, EEG was recorded during voluntary large breaths (∼3× tidal volume, that were interspersed with smaller non-voluntary breaths in the same trial; in 10 subjects) and breathing with a ‘low’ inspiratory threshold load (∼7 cmH2O; in 8 subjects). Averaged EEG signals at Cz and FCz were assessed for premotor potentials prior to inspiration. Premotor potential incidence in large breaths was 40%, similar to that in the smaller non-voluntary breaths in the same trial (20%; p > 0.05) and to that in a separate trial of resting breathing (0%; p > 0.05). The incidence of premotor potentials was 25% in the low load condition, similar to that in resting breathing (0%; p > 0.05). In contrast, voluntary sniffs were always associated with a higher incidence of premotor potentials (100%; p < 0.05). We have demonstrated that in contrast to respiratory and neurological disease, there is no significant cortical contribution to increase tidal volume or to maintain the load-capacity balance with a small inspiratory threshold load in healthy participants as detected using event-related potential methodology. A lack of cortical contribution during loading was associated with low ratings of respiratory discomfort and minimal changes in ventilation. These findings advance our understanding of the neural control of breathing in health and disease and how respiratory-related EEG may be used for medical technologies such as brain-computer interfaces.

Combining Behavioral and ERP Methodologies to Investigate the Differences Between McGurk Effects Demonstrated by Cantonese and Mandarin Speakers.

The present study investigated the impact of Chinese dialects on McGurk effect using behavioral and event-related potential (ERP) methodologies. Specifically, intra-language comparison of McGurk effect was conducted between Mandarin and Cantonese speakers. The behavioral results showed that Cantonese speakers exhibited a stronger McGurk effect in audiovisual speech perception compared to Mandarin speakers, although both groups performed equally in the auditory and visual conditions. ERP results revealed that Cantonese speakers were more sensitive to visual cues than Mandarin speakers, though this was not the case for the auditory cues. Taken together, the current findings suggest that the McGurk effect generated by Chinese speakers is mainly influenced by segmental phonology during audiovisual speech integration.

Semantic processing of actions at 9 months is linked to language proficiency at 9 and 18 months

The current study uses event-related potential methodologies to investigate how social–cognitive processes in preverbal infants relate to language performance. We assessed 9-month-olds’ understanding of the semantic structure of actions via an N400 event-related potential (ERP) response to action sequences that contained expected and unexpected outcomes. At 9 and 18months of age, infants’ language abilities were measured using the Swedish Early Communicative Development Inventory (SECDI). Here we show that 9-month-olds’ understanding of the semantic structure of actions, evidenced in an N400 ERP response to action sequences with unexpected outcomes, is related to language comprehension scores at 9months and is related to language production scores at 18months of age. Infants who showed a selective N400 response to unexpected action outcomes are those who are classed as above mean in their language proficiency. The results provide evidence that language performance is related to the ability to detect and interpret human actions at 9months of age. This study suggests that some basic cognitive mechanisms are involved in the processing of sequential events that are shared between two conceptually different cognitive domains and that pre-linguistic social understanding skills and language proficiency are linked to one another.

Human Auditory Processing: Insights from Cortical Event-related Potentials

Human communication and language skills rely heavily on the ability to detect and process auditory inputs. This paper reviews possible applications of the event-related potential (ERP) technique to the study of cortical mechanisms supporting human auditory processing, including speech stimuli. Following a brief introduction to the ERP methodology, the remaining sections focus on demonstrating how ERPs can be used in humans to address research questions related to cortical organization, maturation and plasticity, as well as the effects of sensory deprivation, and multisensory interactions. The review is intended to serve as a primer for researchers interested in using ERPs for the study of the human auditory system.

Aggression proneness: Transdiagnostic processes involving negative valence and cognitive systems

Aggressive behavior is observed in persons with various mental health problems and has been studied from the perspectives of neuroscience and psychophysiology. The present research reviews some of the extant experimental literature to help clarify the interplay between domains of functioning implicated in aggression proneness. We then convey a process-oriented model that elucidates how the interplay of the Negative Valence and Cognitive System domains of NIMH's Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) helps explain aggression proneness, particularly reactive aggression. Finally, we report on a study involving event-related potential (ERP) indices of emotional and inhibitory control processing during an emotional-linguistic go/no-go task among 67 individuals with histories of violence and criminal offending (30% female, 44% African-American) who reported on their aggressive tendencies using the Buss–Perry Aggression Questionnaire. Results provide evidence that tendencies toward angry and aggressive behavior relate to reduced inhibitory control processing (no-go P3) specifically during relevant threat-word blocks, suggesting deterioration of cognitive control by acute or sustained threat sensitivity. These findings highlight the value of ERP methodologies for clarifying the interplay of Negative Valence and Cognitive System processes in aggression proneness.

Neural correlates of emotional intelligence in a visual emotional oddball task: An ERP study

The present study was aimed at identifying potential behavioral and neural correlates of Emotional Intelligence (EI) by using scalp-recorded Event-Related Potentials (ERPs). EI levels were defined according to both self-report questionnaire and a performance-based ability test. We identified ERP correlates of emotional processing by using a visual-emotional oddball paradigm, in which subjects were confronted with one frequent standard stimulus (a neutral face) and two deviant stimuli (a happy and an angry face). The effects of these faces were then compared across groups with low and high EI levels. The ERP results indicate that participants with high EI exhibited significantly greater mean amplitudes of the P1, P2, N2, and P3 ERP components in response to emotional and neutral faces, at frontal, posterior-parietal and occipital scalp locations. P1, P2 and N2 are considered indexes of attention-related processes and have been associated with early attention to emotional stimuli. The later P3 component has been thought to reflect more elaborative, top–down, emotional information processing including emotional evaluation and memory encoding and formation. These results may suggest greater recruitment of resources to process all emotional and non-emotional faces at early and late processing stages among individuals with higher EI. The present study underscores the usefulness of ERP methodology as a sensitive measure for the study of emotional stimuli processing in the research field of EI.

Event-related Potentials (ERPs) in Second Language Research: A Brief Introduction to the Technique, a Selected Review, and an Invitation to Reconsider Critical Periods in L2

This article provides a selective overview of recent event-related brain potential (ERP) studies in L2 morpho-syntax, demonstrating that the ERP evidence supporting the critical period hypothesis (CPH) may be less compelling than previously thought. The article starts with a general introduction to ERP methodology and language-related ERP profiles in native speakers. The second section presents early ERP studies supporting the CPH, discusses some of their methodological problems, and follows up with data from more recent studies avoiding these problems. It is concluded that well-controlled ERP studies support the convergence hypothesis, according to which L2 learners initially differ from native speakers and then converge on native-like neurocognitive processing mechanisms. The fact that ERPs in late L2 learners at high levels of proficiency are often indistinguishable from those of native speakers suggests that age-of-acquisition effects in SLA are not primarily driven by maturational constraints.

Feasibility of event-related potential methodology to evaluate changes in cortical processing after rehabilitation in children with cerebral palsy: A pilot study

This study examined the feasibility of using event-related potentials (ERPs) to measure changes in cortical processing following an established rehabilitative intervention (constraint-induced movement therapy, CIMT) for children with cerebral palsy (CP). Sixteen participants with a diagnosis of hemiparetic CP, with a median age of 6 years, were assessed pre and immediately post CIMT and at 6-month follow-up, using a picture–word match/mismatch discrimination task and standard neurobehavioral measures. Intervention effects were evident in improved performance on behavioral tests of sensory and motor function and the increased mean ERP amplitude of the N400 match/mismatch response on the side ipsilateral to the lesion. These effects were maintained 6 months after the intervention. No such changes were observed on the side contralateral to the lesion. This research suggests that ERPs can measure rehabilitation-induced changes in neural function in children with CP.

The effect of learning on feedback-related potentials in adolescents with dyslexia: an EEG-ERP study.

IntroductionIndividuals with dyslexia exhibit associated learning deficits and impaired executive functions. The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) is a learning-based task that relies heavily on executive functioning, in particular, attention shift and working memory. Performance during early and late phases of a series within the task represents learning and implementation of a newly learned rule. Here, we aimed to examine two event-related potentials associated with learning, feedback-related negativity (FRN)-P300 complex, in individuals with dyslexia performing the WCST.MethodsAdolescents with dyslexia and age-matched typical readers performed the Madrid card sorting test (MCST), a computerized version of the WCST. Task performance, reading measures, and cognitive measures were collected. FRN and the P300 complex were acquired using the event-related potentials methodology and were compared in early vs late errors within a series.ResultsWhile performing the MCST, both groups showed a significant reduction in average reaction times and a trend toward decreased error rates. Typical readers performed consistently better than individuals with dyslexia. FRN amplitudes in early phases were significantly smaller in dyslexic readers, but were essentially equivalent to typical readers in the late phase. P300 amplitudes were initially smaller among readers with dyslexia and tended to decrease further in late phases. Differences in FRN amplitudes for early vs late phases were positively correlated with those of P300 amplitudes in the entire sample.ConclusionIndividuals with dyslexia demonstrate a behavioral and electrophysiological change within single series of the MCST. However, learning patterns seem to differ between individuals with dyslexia and typical readers. We attribute these differences to the lower baseline performance of individuals with dyslexia. We suggest that these changes represent a fast compensatory mechanism, demonstrating the importance of learning strategies on reading among individuals with dyslexia.

Effects of caffeine treatment for apnea of prematurity on cortical speech-sound differentiation in preterm infants.

Caffeine, standard treatment for apnea of prematurity, improves brainstem auditory processing. We hypothesized that caffeine also improves cortical differentiation of complex speech sounds. We used event-related potential methodology to measure responses to speech-sound contrasts in 45 intensive care neonates, stratified by cumulative exposure as no-, low-, and high-caffeine groups. Sound differentiation in the low-caffeine group and near-term no-caffeine infants was similar with repeated measures analysis of variance controlling for gestational and postnatal age. However, a generalized estimating equation approach demonstrated that, at equivalent postnatal age, differentiation was reduced in the high-caffeine (gestational age 25 weeks) compared to the low-caffeine group (gestational age 28 weeks), reflecting the importance of maturity at birth (Z = 2.77, P < .006). We conclude that caffeine improves measures of auditory processing associated with improved neurodevelopmental outcomes in preterm infants. However, current usage of caffeine for apnea of prematurity cannot fully compensate for the effects of brain immaturity on speech sound processing.

BRAIN ACTIVITY ASSOCIATED WITH TRANSLATION BETWEEN GRAPHICAL AND SYMBOLIC REPRESENTATIONS OF FUNCTIONS IN GENERALLY GIFTED AND EXCELLING IN MATHEMATICS ADOLESCENTS

In this study, we examine the impact and the interplay of general giftedness (G) and excellence in mathematics (EM) on high school students’ mathematical performance associated with translations from graphical to symbolic representations of functions, as reflected in cortical electrical activity (by means of ERP—event-related potentials—methodology). We report on findings of comparative data analysis based on 75 right-handed male high school students (16 – 18 years old) divided into four research groups designed by a combination of EM and G factors. Effects of EM factor appeared at the behavioral and electrophysiological levels. The fifth group of participants included 9 students with extraordinary mathematical abilities (S-MG: super mathematically gifted). We found that in EM participants, the G factor has no impact on the performance associated with translation between representations of the functions. The highest overall electrical activity is found in excelling in mathematics students who are not identified as generally gifted (NG-EM students). This increased electrical activity can be an indicator of increased cognitive load in this group of students. We identified accumulative and unique characteristics of S-MG at the behavioral and electrophysiological levels. We explain the findings by the nature of the tasks used in the study. We argue that a combination of the ERP techniques along with more traditional educational research methods enables obtaining reliable measures on the mental processing involved in learning mathematics and mathematical problem solving.

Brain activity associated with translation from a visual to a symbolic representation in algebra and geometry

This paper presents a small part of a larger interdisciplinary study that investigates brain activity (using event related potential methodology) of male adolescents when solving mathematical problems of different types. The study design links mathematics education research with neurocognitive studies. In this paper we performed a comparative analysis of brain activity associated with the translation from visual to symbolic representations of mathematical objects in algebra and geometry. Algebraic tasks require translation from graphical to symbolic representation of a function, whereas tasks in geometry require translation from a drawing of a geometric figure to a symbolic representation of its property. The findings demonstrate that electrical activity associated with the performance of geometrical tasks is stronger than that associated with solving algebraic tasks. Additionally, we found different scalp topography of the brain activity associated with algebraic and geometric tasks. Based on these results, we argue that problem solving in algebra and geometry is associated with different patterns of brain activity.

Quantitative Assessment of Cortical Auditory-tactile Processing in Children with Disabilities

Objective and easy measurement of sensory processing is extremely difficult in nonverbal or vulnerable pediatric patients. We developed a new methodology to quantitatively assess children's cortical processing of light touch, speech sounds and the multisensory processing of the 2 stimuli, without requiring active subject participation or causing children discomfort. To accomplish this we developed a dual channel, time and strength calibrated air puff stimulator that allows both tactile stimulation and sham control. We combined this with the use of event-related potential methodology to allow for high temporal resolution of signals from the primary and secondary somatosensory cortices as well as higher order processing. This methodology also allowed us to measure a multisensory response to auditory-tactile stimulation.

Cortical speech sound differentiation in the neonatal intensive care unit predicts cognitive and language development in the first 2 years of life

Neurodevelopmental delay in childhood is common in infants born preterm, but is difficult to predict before infants leave the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). We hypothesized that event-related potential (ERP) methodology characterizing the cortical differentiation of speech sounds in hospitalized infants would predict cognitive and language outcomes during early childhood. We conducted a prospective study of 57 infants in NICU (34 male, gestational age at birth 24-40wks), quantifying the amplitude of ERP responses to speech sounds before discharge (median gestational age 37.1wks), followed by standardized neurodevelopmental assessments at 12 months and 24 months. Analyses were performed using ordinary least squares linear regression. Overall validity of constructs using all ERP variables, as well as sex, maternal education, gestational age, and age at ERP, was good and allowed significant prediction of cognitive and communication outcomes at 12 months and 24 months (R(2) =22-42%; p<0.05). Quantitative models incorporating specific ERPs, gestational age, and age at ERP explained a large proportion of the variance in cognition and receptive language on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development at 24 months (R(2) >50%; p<0.05). This study establishes ERP methodology as a valuable research tool to quantitatively assess cortical function in the NICU and to predict meaningful outcomes in early childhood.

Behavioral and neural correlates of emotional intelligence: An Event-Related Potentials (ERP) study

The present study was aimed at identifying potential behavioral and neural correlates of emotional intelligence (EI) by using scalp-recorded Event-Related Potentials (ERPs). EI levels were defined according to both self-report questionnaire and a performance-based test. We identified ERP correlates of emotional processing by comparing ERPs elicited in trials using pleasant, neutral and unpleasant pictures. The effects of these emotion-inducing pictures were then compared across groups with low and high EI levels. Behavioral results revealed a significant valence×EI group interaction effect since valence ratings were lower for unpleasant pictures and higher for pleasant pictures in the high EI group compared with the low EI group. The groups did not differ with respect to neutral picture ratings. The ERP results indicate that participants with high EI exhibited significantly greater mean amplitudes of the P2 (200–300ms post-stimulus) and P3 (310–450ms post-stimulus) ERP components in response to emotional and neutral pictures, at posterior-parietal as well as at frontal scalp locations. This may suggest greater recruitment of resources to process all emotional and non-emotional stimuli at early and late processing stages among individuals with higher EI. The present study also underscores the usefulness of ERP methodology as a sensitive measure for the study of emotional stimuli processing in the research field of EI.