scholarly journals Selective Attention and Multisensory Integration: Multiple Phases of Effects on the Evoked Brain Activity

2005 ◽  
Vol 17 (7) ◽  
pp. 1098-1114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Durk Talsma ◽  
Marty G. Woldorff
Keyword(s):  
Multisensory Integration ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Random Order ◽  
Stimulus Onset ◽  
Variable Stimulus ◽  
Processing Negativity ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
Anticipatory Activity

We used event-related potentials (ERPs) to evaluate the role of attention in the integration of visual and auditory features of multisensory objects. This was done by contrasting the ERPs to multisensory stimuli (AV) to the sum of the ERPs to the corresponding auditory-only (A) and visual-only (V) stimuli [i.e., AV vs. (A + V)]. V, A, and VA stimuli were presented in random order to the left and right hemispaces. Subjects attended to a designated side to detect infrequent target stimuli in either modality there. The focus of this report is on the ERPs to the standard (i.e., nontarget) stimuli. We used rapid variable stimulus onset asynchronies (350-650 msec) to mitigate anticipatory activity and included “no-stim” trials to estimate and remove ERP overlap from residual anticipatory processes and from adjacent stimuli in the sequence. Spatial attention effects on the processing of the unisensory stimuli consisted of a modulation of visual P1 and N1 components (at 90-130 msec and 160-200 msec, respectively) and of the auditory N1 and processing negativity (100-200 msec). Attended versus unattended multisensory ERPs elicited a combination of these effects. Multisensory integration effects consisted of an initial frontal positivity around 100 msec that was larger for attended stimuli. This was followed by three phases of centro-medially distributed effects of integration and/or attention beginning at around 160 msec, and peaking at 190 (scalp positivity), 250 (negativity), and 300-500 msec (positivity) after stimulus onset. These integration effects were larger in amplitude for attended than for unattended stimuli, providing neural evidence that attention can modulate multisensory-integration processes at multiple stages.

scholarly journals The Influence of Subclinical Neck Pain on Neurophysiological and Behavioral Measures of Multisensory Integration

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 362
Author(s):  
Antonia M. Karellas ◽  
Paul Yielder ◽  
James J. Burkitt ◽  
Heather S. McCracken ◽  
Bernadette A. Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
Neck Pain ◽  
Multisensory Integration ◽  
Performance Measures ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Neural Processing ◽  
Significant Group ◽  
Related Potentials

Multisensory integration (MSI) is necessary for the efficient execution of many everyday tasks. Alterations in sensorimotor integration (SMI) have been observed in individuals with subclinical neck pain (SCNP). Altered audiovisual MSI has previously been demonstrated in this population using performance measures, such as reaction time. However, neurophysiological techniques have not been combined with performance measures in the SCNP population to determine differences in neural processing that may contribute to these behavioral characteristics. Electroencephalography (EEG) event-related potentials (ERPs) have been successfully used in recent MSI studies to show differences in neural processing between different clinical populations. This study combined behavioral and ERP measures to characterize MSI differences between healthy and SCNP groups. EEG was recorded as 24 participants performed 8 blocks of a simple reaction time (RT) MSI task, with each block consisting of 34 auditory (A), visual (V), and audiovisual (AV) trials. Participants responded to the stimuli by pressing a response key. Both groups responded fastest to the AV condition. The healthy group demonstrated significantly faster RTs for the AV and V conditions. There were significant group differences in neural activity from 100–140 ms post-stimulus onset, with the control group demonstrating greater MSI. Differences in brain activity and RT between individuals with SCNP and a control group indicate neurophysiological alterations in how individuals with SCNP process audiovisual stimuli. This suggests that SCNP alters MSI. This study presents novel EEG findings that demonstrate MSI differences in a group of individuals with SCNP.

Intramodal and crossmodal refractory effects: Evidence from oscillatory brain activity

2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (0) ◽  
pp. 192
Author(s):  
Davide Bottari ◽  
Sophie Rohlf ◽  
Marlene Hense ◽  
Boukje Habets ◽  
Brigitte Roeder
Keyword(s):  
Brain Activity ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Random Order ◽  
Oddball Paradigm ◽  
Brain Response ◽  
Time Frequency ◽  
Tactile Stimuli ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
Oscillatory Brain Activity ◽  
Auditory Cortices

Event-related potentials (ERP) to the second stimulus of a pair are known to be reduced in amplitude. The magnitude of this ‘refractoriness’ is modulated by both the interstimulus interval and the similarity between the two stimuli. Intramodal refractoriness is interpreted as an index of a temporary decrement in neural responsiveness. So, cross-modal refractoriness might be an indicator of shared neural generators between modalities. We analysed oscillatory neuronal activity while participants were engaged in an oddball paradigm with auditory (4000 Hz, 50 ms-long, 90 db, bilateral) and tactile stimuli (50 ms-long, 125 Hz-vibrations, index fingers) presented in a random order with an ISI of either 1000 or 2000 ms. Participants were required to detect rare tactile (middle fingers) and auditory deviants (600 Hz). A time–frequency analysis of the brain response to the second stimulus of each pair (T-T, A-A, T-A and A-T) contrasting Short and Long ISIs revealed a reduced refractory effect after Long ISI with respect to Short ISI, in all pairs (both intramodal and cross-modal). This emerged as a broadly distributed increase of evoked theta activity (3–7 Hz, 100–500 ms). Only in intramodal tactile pairs and cross-modal tactile-auditory pairs we also observed that Long ISI with respect to Short ISI determined a decrease of induced alpha (8–12 Hz, 200–700 ms), a typical sign of enhanced neural excitability and thus decreased refractoriness. These data suggest that somatosensory and auditory cortices display different neural markers of refractoriness and that the auditory cortex might have a stronger low level degree of influence on the tactile cortex than vice-versa.

scholarly journals Fast unconscious processing of emotional stimuli in early stages of the visual cortex

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis Carretie ◽  
Uxia Fernandez-Folgueiras ◽  
Fatima Alvarez ◽  
German A. Cipriani ◽  
Manuel Tapia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Stimulus Onset ◽  
Emotional Stimuli ◽  
Brain Areas ◽  
Unconscious Processing ◽  
Visual Thalamus ◽  
Relevant Role ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
Subliminal Stimulation

Several cortical and subcortical brain areas have been reported to be sensitive to the emotional content of subliminal stimuli. However, the timing of these activations remains unclear. Our scope was to detect the earliest cortical traces of visual unconscious processing by recording event-related potentials (ERPs) from 43 participants. Subliminal spiders (emotional) and wheels (neutral), sharing similar low-level visual parameters, were presented at two different locations (fixation and periphery). The differential (peak to peak) amplitude from CP1 (77 milliseconds from stimulus onset) to C2 (100 milliseconds), two early visual ERP components originated in V1/V2 according to source localization analyses, was analyzed via Bayesian and traditional analyses. Spiders elicited greater CP1-C2 amplitudes than wheels when presented at fixation. This fast effect of subliminal stimulation -not reported previously to the best of our knowledge- has implications in several debates: i) the amygdala cannot be mediating these effects, ii) latency of other evaluative structures recently proposed, such as the visual thalamus, is compatible with these results, iii) the absence of peripheral stimuli effects points to a relevant role of the parvocellular visual system in unconscious processing.

A systematic review of cognitive and neurobiologic factors associated with specific phobias

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (03) ◽  
pp. 192-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Galushko ◽  
O. Graf ◽  
W. Gaebel ◽  
J. Zielasek
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Specific Phobia ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Late Positive Potentials ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
Activity Measures

Summary Background: To clarify the role of cognitive and neurobiologic factors in the aetiopathogenesis of specific phobia, a systematic review of studies investigating these factors was performed. MEDLINE, PsycINFO, EMBASE, and Cochrane Central were searched up to March 23, 2012. Method: Thirty-four studies were analyzed in detail for this systematic review. Results: Persons with specific phobia differed from healthy persons in their reaction to the exposure to phobia-related stimuli due to biased attentional, memory and interpretational processes. Longer reaction times, increased recall and recognition performances for threat-related information, and a tendency to misinterpret ambiguous stimuli were found in persons with specific phobia. Regarding brain activity measures as indicators of neurobiologic factors following exposure to fear-related stimuli, amygdala, anterior cingulated cortex, insula, fusiform gyrus, and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex activities were most commonly reported to be increased in persons with specific phobia. Other studies revealed increased amplitudes of event-related potentials (N100, P300, and late positive potentials) in persons with specific phobia.

scholarly journals Electroencephalography (EEG) Reveals Increased Frontal Activity in Social Presence

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 731
Author(s):  
Anna Soiné ◽  
Alessandra Natascha Flöck ◽  
Peter Walla
Keyword(s):  
Social Presence ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Stimulus Onset ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Significant Other ◽  
Skin Conductance Responses ◽  
Frontal Electrode ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
Frontal Activity

It remains an unsolved conundrum how social presence affects the neural processes involved in adaptive situation-specific decision-making mechanisms. To investigate this question, brain potential changes via electroencephalography (EEG) and skin conductance responses (SCR) were taken within this study, while participants were exposed to pre-rated pleasant, neutral, and unpleasant pictures, which they had to rate in terms of their perceived arousal. Crucially, they had to—in respective runs—do this alone and in the presence of a significant other. Contrasting respective event-related potentials (ERPs) revealed significantly more negative going potentials peaking at 708 ms post stimulus onset at mid-frontal electrode locations (around FPz and AFz), when participants were exposed to neutral pictures while in the presence of a significant other. SCR results demonstrate higher states of arousal in the presence of a significant other regardless of picture emotion category. Self-reported arousal turned out to be highest in response to neutral pictures within the significant other condition, whereas in the alone condition in response to the pleasant pictures. In light of existing literature on social aspects and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), the ERP finding in the significant other condition, while rating emotionally neutral pictures, is interpreted as reflecting heightened ACC activation, which is supported by electrode locations showing significant brain activity differences as well as by source localization results. Neutral pictures are inherently ambiguous, and the current results indicate the presence of another person to change the way one processes, perceives, and acts on them. This is in support for theories proposing the ACC to be part of a larger signal-specification network that gauges relevant stimuli for adequate execution of control.

scholarly journals Brain activity in an awake chimpanzee in response to the sound of her own name

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 311-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ari Ueno ◽  
Satoshi Hirata ◽  
Kohki Fuwa ◽  
Keiko Sugama ◽  
Kiyo Kusunoki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Brain Activity ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Stimulus Onset ◽  
Auditory Stimuli ◽  
Negative Shift ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
Own Name ◽  
Group Member ◽  
The Brain

The brain activity of a fully awake chimpanzee being presented with her name was investigated. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were measured for each of the following auditory stimuli: the vocal sound of the subject's own name (SON), the vocal sound of a familiar name of another group member, the vocal sound of an unfamiliar name and a non-vocal sound. Some differences in ERP waveforms were detected between kinds of stimuli at latencies at which P3 and Nc components are typically observed in humans. Following stimulus onset, an Nc-like negative shift at approximately 500 ms latency was observed, particularly in response to SON. Such specific ERP patterns suggest that the chimpanzee processes her name differently from other sounds.

Orienting and Focusing in Voluntary and Involuntary Visuospatial Attention Conditions

2010 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 198-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Wang ◽  
Jianhui Wu ◽  
Shimin Fu ◽  
Yuejia Luo
Keyword(s):  
Gain Control ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Stimulus Onset ◽  
Orientation Discrimination ◽  
Involuntary Attention ◽  
Attention Condition ◽  
Voluntary Attention ◽  
Visual Spatial ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms

In the present study, we used event-related potentials (ERPs) and behavioral measurements in a peripherally cued line-orientation discrimination task to investigate the underlying mechanisms of orienting and focusing in voluntary and involuntary attention conditions. Informative peripheral cue (75% valid) with long stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) was used in the voluntary attention condition; uninformative peripheral cue (50% valid) with short SOA was used in the involuntary attention condition. Both orienting and focusing were affected by attention type. Results for attention orienting in the voluntary attention condition confirmed the “sensory gain control theory,” as attention enhanced the amplitude of the early ERP components, P1 and N1, without latency changes. In the involuntary attention condition, compared with invalid trials, targets in the valid trials elicited larger and later contralateral P1 components, and smaller and later contralateral N1 components. Furthermore, but only in the voluntary attention condition, targets in the valid trials elicited larger N2 and P3 components than in the invalid trials. Attention focusing in the involuntary attention condition resulted in larger P1 components elicited by targets in small-cue trials compared to large-cue trials, whereas in the voluntary attention condition, larger P1 components were elicited by targets in large-cue trials than in small-cue trials. There was no interaction between orienting and focusing. These results suggest that orienting and focusing of visual-spatial attention are deployed independently regardless of attention type. In addition, the present results provide evidence of dissociation between voluntary and involuntary attention during the same task.

scholarly journals The encoding of stochastic regularities is facilitated by action-effect predictions

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Betina Korka ◽  
Erich Schröger ◽  
Andreas Widmann
Keyword(s):  
Coding Theory ◽  
Predictive Coding ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Random Order ◽  
Generative Models ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Action Effect ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
Sensory Prediction ◽  
Action Intention

AbstractOur brains continuously build and update predictive models of the world, sources of prediction being drawn for example from sensory regularities and/or our own actions. Yet, recent results in the auditory system indicate that stochastic regularities may not be easily encoded when a rare medium pitch deviant is presented between frequent high and low pitch standard sounds in random order, as reflected in the lack of sensory prediction error event-related potentials [i.e., mismatch negativity (MMN)]. We wanted to test the implication of the predictive coding theory that predictions based on higher-order generative models—here, based on action intention, are fed top-down in the hierarchy to sensory levels. Participants produced random sequences of high and low pitch sounds by button presses in two conditions: In a “specific” condition, one button produced high and the other low pitch sounds; in an “unspecific” condition, both buttons randomly produced high or low-pitch sounds. Rare medium pitch deviants elicited larger MMN and N2 responses in the “specific” compared to the “unspecific” condition, despite equal sound probabilities. These results thus demonstrate that action-effect predictions can boost stochastic regularity-based predictions and engage higher-order deviance detection processes, extending previous notions on the role of action predictions at sensory levels.

scholarly journals Anytime collaborative brain–computer interfaces for enhancing perceptual group decision-making

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Saugat Bhattacharyya ◽  
Davide Valeriani ◽  
Caterina Cinel ◽  
Luca Citi ◽  
Riccardo Poli
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Group Decision Making ◽  
Group Decision ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Brain Computer Interfaces ◽  
Appearance Time ◽  
Perceptual Group ◽  
Computer Interfaces ◽  
Related Potentials

AbstractIn this paper we present, and test in two realistic environments, collaborative Brain-Computer Interfaces (cBCIs) that can significantly increase both the speed and the accuracy of perceptual group decision-making. The key distinguishing features of this work are: (1) our cBCIs combine behavioural, physiological and neural data in such a way as to be able to provide a group decision at any time after the quickest team member casts their vote, but the quality of a cBCI-assisted decision improves monotonically the longer the group decision can wait; (2) we apply our cBCIs to two realistic scenarios of military relevance (patrolling a dark corridor and manning an outpost at night where users need to identify any unidentified characters that appear) in which decisions are based on information conveyed through video feeds; and (3) our cBCIs exploit Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) elicited in brain activity by the appearance of potential threats but, uniquely, the appearance time is estimated automatically by the system (rather than being unrealistically provided to it). As a result of these elements, in the two test environments, groups assisted by our cBCIs make both more accurate and faster decisions than when individual decisions are integrated in more traditional manners.

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