Event-related potentials in a two-choice oddball task of impaired behavioral inhibitory control among males with tendencies towards cybersex addiction

AbstractBackground and aimsImpaired behavioral inhibitory control (BIC) is known to play a crucial role in addictive behavior. However, research has been inconclusive as to whether this is also the case for cybersex addiction. This study aimed to investigate the time course of BIC in male individuals with tendencies towards cybersex addiction (TCA) using event-related potentials (ERPs) and to provide neurophysiological evidence of their deficient BIC.MethodsThirty-six individuals with TCA and 36 healthy controls (HCs) were given a Two-Choice Oddball task that required them to respond differently to frequent standard stimuli (images of people) and infrequent deviant stimuli (pornographic images) within 1,000 ms. Electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded as the participants performed the task.ResultsDespite the similarity of standard stimuli between the groups in terms of reaction times (RTs), the RTs of the TCA group to deviant stimuli were much slower than those of the HC group. The behavioral difference was accompanied by group differences in the averaged amplitudes of N2 (200–300 ms) and P3 (300–500 ms) components in the deviant-standard difference wave. More specifically, compared to the HC group, the TCA group demonstrated smaller N2 and P3 amplitude differences for deviant than standard stimuli.Discussion and conclusionsIndividuals with TCA were more impulsive than HC participants and shared neuropsychological and ERP characteristics of substance use disorder or behavioral addictions, which supports the view that cybersex addiction can be conceptualized as a behavioral addiction.

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Response inhibition in problematic social network sites use: an ERP study

Cognitive Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience ◽

10.3758/s13415-021-00879-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Tania Moretta ◽

Giulia Buodo

Keyword(s):

Social Network ◽

Inhibitory Control ◽

Response Inhibition ◽

Social Network Sites ◽

Reaction Times ◽

Event Related Potentials ◽

Neural Correlates ◽

Addictive Behaviors ◽

Related Potentials ◽

Picture Content

AbstractGiven the current literature debate on whether or not Problematic Social Network Sites Use (PSNSU) can be considered a behavioral addiction, the present study was designed to test whether, similarly to addictive behaviors, PSNSU is characterized by a deficit in inhibitory control in emotional and addiction-related contexts. Twenty-two problematic Facebook users and 23 nonproblematic users were recruited based on their score on the Problematic Facebook Use Scale. The event-related potentials were recorded during an emotional Go/Nogo Task, including Facebook-related, unpleasant, pleasant, and neutral pictures. The amplitudes of the Nogo-N2 and the Nogo-P3 were computed as measures of the detection of response conflict and response inhibition, respectively. Reaction times and accuracy also were measured. The results showed that problematic users were less accurate on both Go and Nogo trials than nonproblematic users, irrespective of picture content. For problematic users only, the Nogo-P3 amplitude was lower to Facebook-related, pleasant, and neutral than to unpleasant stimuli, suggesting less efficient inhibition with natural and Facebook-related rewards. Of note, all participants were slower to respond to Facebook-related and pleasant Go trials compared with unpleasant and neutral pictures. Consistently, the Nogo-N2 amplitude was larger to Facebook-related than all other picture contents in both groups. Overall, the findings suggest that PSNSU is associated with reduced inhibitory control. These results should be considered in the debate about the neural correlates of PSNSU, suggesting more similarities than differences between PSNSU and addictive behaviors.

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Aesthetics of Faces

Journal of Psychophysiology ◽

10.1027/0269-8803.22.1.41 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

pp. 41-57 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Anja Roye ◽

Lea Höfel ◽

Thomas Jacobsen

Keyword(s):

Time Course ◽

Reaction Times ◽

Event Related Potentials ◽

Cognitive Effort ◽

Aesthetic Judgment ◽

Stimulus Material ◽

Male And Female ◽

Facial Beauty ◽

The Face ◽

Related Potentials

Temporal and brain topographic characteristics of the aesthetic judgment of male and female faces were investigated, using event-related potentials and reaction times. The evaluative aesthetic judgment of facial beauty (beautiful vs. not beautiful) was contrasted with a nonevaluative descriptive judgment of head shape (round vs. oval). Analysis showed longer reaction times in the descriptive than in the evaluative task, suggesting that the descriptive judgment demanded more cognitive effort and may entail greater uncertainty. Electrophysiologically, the evaluative judgment elicited a negativity (400 to 480 ms) for the judgment not beautiful, maximal over midline leads. A comparable deflection has been previously reported for evaluative judgments of graphic patterns. It was interpreted as an impression formation independent of the type of stimulus material, occurring when an aesthetic entity is judged intentionally. Besides this effect, which was independent of the gender of the face, the temporal characteristics of aesthetic evaluation differed depending on the gender of the face. We report a negativity for male faces only (280–440 ms) and a late positivity (520–1200 ms), which was stronger for female faces, both concerning not beautiful judgments. Thus, the evaluation of male and female facial beauty was processed in different time-windows. The descriptive judgment round elicited a larger posterior positivity compared with oval (320–620 ms). These results complement investigations of the architecture and time course of evaluative aesthetic and descriptive judgment processes, using faces as stimulus material.

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In exogenous attention, time is the clue: brain and heart interactions to survive threatening stimuli

10.1101/2020.11.17.386334 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Elisabeth Ruiz-Padial ◽

Francisco Mercado

Keyword(s):

Emotional Regulation ◽

Time Course ◽

Reaction Times ◽

Event Related Potentials ◽

Neural Mechanisms ◽

Exogenous Attention ◽

Neural Responses ◽

Related Potentials ◽

Negative Stimuli

AbstractThe capture of exogenous attention by negative stimuli has been interpreted as adaptive for survival in a diverse and changing environment. In the present paper, we investigate the neural responses towards two discrete negative emotions with different biological meanings, disgust and fear, and its potential relationships with heart rate variability (HRV) as an index of emotional regulation. With that aim, 30 participants performed a digit categorization task while fear, disgust and neutral distractor pictures were presented. Resting HRV at baseline, behavioral responses, and event-related potentials were recorded. Whereas P1 amplitudes were highest to fear distractors, the disgust stimulation led to augmented P2 amplitudes compared to the rest of distractors. Interestingly, increased N2 amplitudes were also found to disgust distractors, but only in high HRV participants. Neural source estimation data point to the involvement of the insula in this exogenous attentional response to disgust. Additionally, disgust distractors provoked longer reaction times than fear and neutral distractors in the high HRV group. Present findings are interpreted in evolutionary terms suggesting that exogenous attention is captured by negative stimuli following a different time course for fear and disgust. Possible HRV influences on neural mechanisms underlying exogenous attention are discussed considering the potential important role of this variable in emotional regulation processes.

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Experienced meditators exhibit no differences to demographically-matched controls in theta phase synchronisation, P200, or P300 during an auditory oddball task

10.1101/608547 ◽

2019 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

JR Payne ◽

O Baell ◽

H Geddes ◽

B Fitzgibbon ◽

M Emonson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Bayes Factor ◽

Community Sample ◽

Event Related Potentials ◽

Group Differences ◽

Auditory Oddball ◽

Oddball Task ◽

Related Potentials ◽

Theta Phase ◽

Neural Markers ◽

Meditation Experience

AbstractObjectivesLong-term meditation practice affects the brain’s ability to sustain attention. However, how this occurs is not well understood. Electroencephalography (EEG) studies have found that during dichotic oddball listening tasks, experienced meditators displayed altered attention-related neural markers including theta phase synchronisation (TPS) and event-related potentials (ERP; P200 and P300) to target tones while meditating compared to resting, and compared to non-meditators after intensive meditation interventions. Research is yet to establish whether the changes in the aforementioned neural markers are trait changes which may be observable in meditators irrespective of practice setting.MethodThe present study expanded on previous research by comparing EEG measures from a dichotic oddball task in a sample of community-based mindfulness meditators (n=22) to healthy controls with no meditation experience (n=22). To minimise state effects, neither group practiced meditation during / immediately prior to the EEG session.ResultsNo group differences were observed in behavioural performance or either the global amplitude or distribution of theta phase synchronisation, P200 or P300. Bayes Factor analysis suggested evidence against group differences for the P200 and P300.ConclusionsThe results suggest that increased P200, P300 and TPS do not reflect trait-related changes in a community sample of mindfulness meditators. The present study used a larger sample size than previous research and power analayses suggested the study was suficiently powered to detect differences. These results add nuance to our understanding of which processes are affected by meditation and the amount of meditation required to generate differences in specific neural processes.

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How salience enhances inhibitory control: An analysis of electro-cortical mechanisms

10.1101/2022.01.12.475991 ◽

2022 ◽

Author(s):

J. Leon Kenemans ◽

Iris Schutte ◽

Sam Van Bijnen ◽

H.N. Alexander Logemann

Keyword(s):

High Resolution ◽

Inhibitory Control ◽

Visual Evoked Potential ◽

Evoked Potential ◽

Reaction Times ◽

Event Related Potentials ◽

Stop Signal ◽

Related Potentials ◽

Signal Salience ◽

High Salience

Stop-signal tasks (SSTs) combined with human electro-cortical recordings (Event-Related Potentials, ERPs) have revealed mechanisms associated with successful stopping (relative to failed), presumably contributing to inhibitory control. The corresponding ERP signatures have been labeled stop N1 (+/- 100-ms latency), stop N2 (200 ms), and stop P3 (160-250 ms), and argued to reflect more proactive (N1) versus more reactive (N2, P3) mechanisms. However, stop N1 and stop N2, as well as latencies of stop-P3, appear to be quite inconsistent across studies. The present work addressed the possible influence of stop-signal salience, expecting high salience to induce clear stop N1s but reduced stop N2s, and short-latency stop P3s. Three SST varieties were combined with high-resolution EEG. An imperative visual (go) stimulus was occasionally followed by a subsequent (stop) stimulus that signalled to withhold the just initiated response. Stop-Signal Reaction Times (SSRTs) decreased linearly from visual-low to visual-high-salience to auditory. Auditory Stop N1 was replicated. A C1-like visual evoked potential (latency < 100 ms) was observed only with high salience, but not robustly associated with successful versus failed stops. Using the successful-failed contrast a visual stop-N1 analogue (112-156 ms post-stop-signal) was identified, as was right-frontal stop N2, but neither was sensitive to salience. Stop P3 had shorter latency for high than for low salience, and the extent of the early high-salience stop P3 correlated inversely with SSRT. These results suggest that salience-enhanced inhibitory control as manifest in SSRTs is associated with reactive rather than proactive electrocortical mechanisms.

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In exogenous attention, time is the clue: Brain and heart interactions to survive threatening stimuli

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0243117 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (5) ◽

pp. e0243117

Author(s):

Elisabeth Ruiz-Padial ◽

Francisco Mercado

Keyword(s):

Emotional Regulation ◽

Time Course ◽

Reaction Times ◽

Event Related Potentials ◽

Neural Mechanisms ◽

Exogenous Attention ◽

Neural Responses ◽

Related Potentials ◽

Negative Stimuli

The capture of exogenous attention by negative stimuli has been interpreted as adaptive for survival in a diverse and changing environment. In the present paper, we investigate the neural responses towards two discrete negative emotions with different biological meanings, disgust and fear, and its potential relationships with heart rate variability (HRV) as an index of emotional regulation. With that aim, 30 participants performed a digit categorization task while fear, disgust and neutral distractor pictures were presented. Resting HRV at baseline, behavioral responses, and event-related potentials were recorded. Whereas P1 amplitudes were highest to fear distractors, the disgust stimulation led to augmented P2 amplitudes compared to the rest of distractors. Interestingly, increased N2 amplitudes were also found to disgust distractors, but only in high HRV participants. Neural source estimation data point to the involvement of the insula in this exogenous attentional response to disgust. Additionally, disgust distractors provoked longer reaction times than fear and neutral distractors in the high HRV group. Present findings are interpreted in evolutionary terms suggesting that exogenous attention is captured by negative stimuli following a different time course for fear and disgust. Possible HRV influences on neural mechanisms underlying exogenous attention are discussed considering the potential important role of this variable in emotional regulation processes.

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Face and Word Recognition in Patients with Left and Right Hemispheric Lesions: Evidence from Reaction Times and ERPs

Zeitschrift für Neuropsychologie ◽

10.1024//1016-264x.13.1.69 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

pp. 69-83 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Stefan R. Schweinberger ◽

Thomas Klos ◽

Werner Sommer

Keyword(s):

Slow Wave ◽

Reaction Times ◽

Memory Search ◽

Event Related Potentials ◽

Performance Deficits ◽

Set Size ◽

Left Brain ◽

Related Potentials ◽

Abstract Words ◽

Left Brain Damage

Abstract: We recorded reaction times (RTs) and event-related potentials (ERPs) in patients with unilateral lesions during a memory search task. Participants memorized faces or abstract words, which were then recognized among new ones. The RT deficit found in patients with left brain damage (LBD) for words increased with memory set size, suggesting that their problem relates to memory search. In contrast, the RT deficit found in patients with RBD for faces was apparently related to perceptual encoding, a conclusion also supported by their reduced P100 ERP component. A late slow wave (720-1720 ms) was enhanced in patients, particularly to words in patients with LBD, and to faces in patients with RBD. Thus, the slow wave was largest in the conditions with most pronounced performance deficits, suggesting that it reflects deficit-related resource recruitment.

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