scholarly journals Beliefs in being unlucky and deficits in executive functioning: An ERP study

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaime Martin del Campo ◽  
John Maltby ◽  
Giorgio Fuggetta
Keyword(s):  
Neural Activity ◽  
Attentional Control ◽  
Time Window ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Stimulus Onset ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Top Down

The present study tested the Dysexecutive Luck hypothesis by examining whether deficits in the early stage of top down attentional control led to an increase of neural activity in later stages of response related selection process among those who thought themselves to be unlucky. Individuals with these beliefs were compared to a control group using an Event-Related Potential (ERP) measure assessing underlying neural activity of semantic inhibition while completing a Stroop test. Results showed stronger main interference effects in the former group, via greater reaction times and a more negative distributed scalp late ERP component during incongruent trials in the time window of 450 – 780 ms post stimulus onset. Further, less efficient maintenance of task set among the former group was associated with greater late ERP response-related activation to compensate for the lack of top-down attentional control. These findings provide electrophysiological evidence to support the Dysexecutive Luck hypothesis.

scholarly journals Beliefs in being unlucky and deficits in executive functioning: An ERP study

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaime Martin del Campo ◽  
John Maltby ◽  
Giorgio Fuggetta
Keyword(s):  
Neural Activity ◽  
Attentional Control ◽  
Time Window ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Stimulus Onset ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Top Down

The present study tested the Dysexecutive Luck hypothesis by examining whether deficits in the early stage of top down attentional control led to an increase of neural activity in later stages of response related selection process among those who thought themselves to be unlucky. Individuals with these beliefs were compared to a control group using an Event-Related Potential (ERP) measure assessing underlying neural activity of semantic inhibition while completing a Stroop test. Results showed stronger main interference effects in the former group, via greater reaction times and a more negative distributed scalp late ERP component during incongruent trials in the time window of 450 – 780 ms post stimulus onset. Further, less efficient maintenance of task set among the former group was associated with greater late ERP response-related activation to compensate for the lack of top-down attentional control. These findings provide electrophysiological evidence to support the Dysexecutive Luck hypothesis.

scholarly journals Indexing the graded allocation of visuospatial attention using anticipatory alpha oscillations

2011 ◽  
Vol 105 (3) ◽  
pp. 1318-1326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian C. Gould ◽  
Matthew F. Rushworth ◽  
Anna C. Nobre
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Times ◽  
Neural Mechanism ◽  
Visuospatial Attention ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Response Preparation ◽  
Beta Band ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Alpha Oscillations ◽  
Time Frequency ◽  
Eeg Data

Lateralization in the desynchronization of anticipatory occipitoparietal alpha (8–12 Hz) oscillations has been implicated in the allocation of selective visuospatial attention. Previous studies have demonstrated that small changes in the lateralization of alpha-band activity are predictive of behavioral performance but have not directly investigated how flexibly alpha lateralization is linked to top-down attentional goals. To address this question, we presented participants with cues providing varying degrees of spatial certainty about the location at which a target would appear. Time-frequency analysis of EEG data demonstrated that manipulating spatial certainty led to graded changes in the extent to which alpha oscillations were lateralized over the occipitoparietal cortex during the cue-target interval. We found that individual differences in alpha desynchronization contralateral to attention predicted reaction times, event-related potential measures of perceptual processing of targets, and beta-band (15–25 Hz) activity typically associated with response preparation. These results support the hypothesis that anticipatory alpha modulation is a plausible neural mechanism underlying the allocation of visuospatial attention and is under flexible top-down control.

Neuronal Synchronization and Selective Color Processing in the Human Brain

2004 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 503-522 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias M. Müller ◽  
Andreas Keil
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Time Window ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Stimulus Onset ◽  
Gamma Band ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Alpha Band ◽  
Color Processing ◽  
The Time Domain

In the present study, subjects selectively attended to the color of checkerboards in a feature-based attention paradigm. Induced gamma band responses (GBRs), the induced alpha band, and the event-related potential (ERP) were analyzed to uncover neuronal dynamics during selective feature processing. Replicating previous ERP findings, the selection negativity (SN) with a latency of about 160 msec was extracted. Furthermore, and similarly to previous EEG studies, a gamma band peak in a time window between 290 and 380 msec was found. This peak had its major energy in the 55to 70-Hz range and was significantly larger for the attended color. Contrary to previous human induced gamma band studies, a much earlier 40to 50-Hz peak in a time window between 160 and 220 msec after stimulus onset and, thus, concurrently to the SN was prominent with significantly more energy for attended as opposed to unattended color. The induced alpha band (9.8–11.7 Hz), on the other hand, exhibited a marked suppression for attended color in a time window between 450 and 600 msec after stimulus onset. A comparison of the time course of the 40to 50-Hz and 55to 70-Hz induced GBR, the induced alpha band, and the ERP revealed temporal coincidences for changes in the morphology of these brain responses. Despite these similarities in the time domain, the cortical source configuration was found to discriminate between induced GBRs and the SN. Our results suggest that large-scale synchronous high-frequency brain activity as measured in the human GBR play a specific role in attentive processing of stimulus features.

Beta Neurofeedback Training Improves Attentional Control in the Elderly

2020 ◽  
pp. 003329411990034 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacek Bielas ◽  
Łukasz Michalczyk
Keyword(s):  
Executive Functioning ◽  
Attentional Control ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Neurofeedback Training ◽  
Age Related

One of the well-documented behavioral changes that occur with advancing age is a decline in executive functioning, for example, attentional control. Age-related executive deficits are said to be associated with a deterioration of the frontal lobes. Neurofeedback is a training method which aims at acquiring self-control over certain brain activity patterns. It is considered as an effective approach to help improve attentional and self-management capabilities. However, studies evaluating the efficacy of neurofeedback training to boost executive functioning in an elderly population are still relatively rare and controversial. The aim of our study was to contribute to the assessment of the efficacy of neurofeedback as a method for enhancing executive functioning in the elderly. We provided a group of seniors with beta up-training (12–22 Hz), consisting of 20 sessions (30 minutes each), on the Cz site and tested its possible beneficiary influence on attentional control assessed by means of the Stroop and Simon tasks. The analysis of the subjects’ mean reaction times during consecutive tasks in the test and the retest, after implementation of neurofeedback training, showed a significant improvement. In contrast, the difference in reaction times between the test and the retest in the control group who had not been submitted to neurofeedback training was not significant.

Tracking the Location of Visuospatial Attention in a Contingent Capture Paradigm

2008 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 657-671 ◽  
Author(s):  
Émilie Leblanc ◽  
David J. Prime ◽  
Pierre Jolicoeur
Keyword(s):  
Attentional Capture ◽  
Attentional Control ◽  
Visuospatial Attention ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Contingent Capture ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Distractor Location ◽  
Attentional Control Settings ◽  
Attentional Engagement ◽  
Considerable Controversy

Currently, there is considerable controversy regarding the degree to which top-down control can affect attentional capture by salient events. According to the contingent capture hypothesis, attentional capture by a salient stimulus is contingent on a match between the properties of the stimulus and top-down attentional control settings. In contrast, bottom-up saliency accounts argue that the initial capture of attention is determined solely by the relative salience of the stimulus, and the effect of top-down attentional control is limited to effects on the duration of attentional engagement on the capturing stimulus. In the present study, we tested these competing accounts by utilizing the N2pc event-related potential component to track the locus of attention during an attentional capture task. The results were completely consistent with the contingent capture hypothesis: An N2pc wave was elicited only by distractors that possessed the target-defining attribute. In a second experiment, we expanded upon this finding by exploring the effect of target-distractor similarity on the duration that attention dwells at the distractor location. In this experiment, only distractors possessing the target-defining attribute (color) captured visuospatial attention to their location and the N2pc increased in duration and in magnitude when the capture distractor also shared a second target attribute (category membership). Finally, in three additional control experiments, we replicated the finding of an N2pc generated by distractors, only if they shared the target-defining attribute. Thus, our results demonstrate that attentional control settings influence both which stimuli attract attention and to what extent they are processed.

scholarly journals Attention Bias to Pain Words Comes Early and Cognitive Load Matters: Evidence from an ERP Study on Experimental Pain

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Kangling Wang ◽  
Yifei Chen ◽  
Shimin Huang ◽  
Howe Liu ◽  
Wen Wu
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Load ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Experimental Pain ◽  
Attention Bias ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Low Load ◽  
Word Discrimination ◽  
Semantic Differentiation

Attention bias (AB) is a common cognitive challenge for patients with pain. In this study, we tested at what stage AB to pain occurs in participants with experimental pain (EP) and tested whether cognitive load interferes with it. We recruited 40 healthy adults aged 18-27 years, and randomized them into control and EP groups. We sprayed the participants in the EP group with 10% capsaicin paste to mimic acute pain and those in the control group with water, accessing both groups’ behavioral results and event-related potential data. We found that high-load tasks had longer response times and lower accuracies than low-load tasks did and that different neural processing of words occurred between the groups. The EP group exhibited AB to pain at an early stage with both attentional avoidance (N1 latency) and facilitated attention (P2 amplitude) to pain words. The control group coped with semantic differentiation (N1) at first, followed by pain word discrimination (P2). In addition, AB to pain occurred only in low-load tasks. As the cognitive load multiplied, we did not find AB in the EP group. Therefore, our study adds further evidence for AB to pain, suggesting the implementation of cognitive load in future AB therapy.

scholarly journals Sequential Congruency Effects of Reverse Stroop Interference on Event-Related Potential Components for Go- and Nogo-Stimuli

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kota Suzuki
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Response Inhibition ◽  
Attentional Control ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
The Other ◽  
Task Demand ◽  
Time Range ◽  
Color Processing ◽  
Sequential Modulation

Sequential congruency effects are observed in interference tasks, in which reaction times (RTs) are shorter for congruent stimuli preceded by congruent (cC) than incongruent stimuli (iC), and RTs are longer for incongruent stimuli preceded by congruent (cI) than incongruent stimuli (iI). These effects are interpreted as resulting from incongruent stimuli triggering attentional control in the next trial, which reduces cognitive control. This study aimed to examine sequential congruency effects on event-related potential (ERP) components for Go- and Nogo-stimuli. We used the hybrid reverse Stroop Go/Nogo task. The stimuli were Kanji characters, “赤” (i.e., red) and “青” (i.e., blue) painted in congruent and incongruent colors. Participants responded to one of the two characters (i.e, the Go-stimulus) and stopped responding to the other character (i.e., the Nogo-stimulus). The results indicated that the Nogo-N1 was reduced by trials preceded by incongruent stimuli compared with congruent ones, suggesting that color processing was inhibited by attentional control; however, there was no reduction in the Go-N1. In addition, the Nogo-N2 amplitudes were larger for cI than iI and iC than cC. On the other hand, the Go-N2 was not modulated by sequential modulation effects, which was lower for incongruent stimuli than congruent stimuli. These results indicate that the Nogo-N2 is involved in cognitive control, whereas the Go-N2 is associated with selection processing. These findings suggest that the modulation of sequential congruency effects of N1 and N2 required the response inhibition task demand; however, Go-P3 and Nogo-P3 amplitudes were the largest for cI. Therefore, the time range of ERP components might be related to the susceptibility of an interaction effect between response inhibition task demand and sequential congruency effects.

scholarly journals Accessory Stimulus Effects on Response Selection: Does Arousal Speed Decision Making?

1999 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 321-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven A. Hackley ◽  
Fernando Valle-Inclán
Keyword(s):  
Response Selection ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Late Phase ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Dependent Measure ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Stimulus Effects ◽  
Accessory Stimulus ◽  
Alternative Responses

When an intense but task-irrelevant “accessory” stimulus accompanies the imperative stimulus in a choice reaction task, reaction times (RTs) are facilitated. In a similar previous study (Hackley & Valle-Inclán, 1998), we showed that this effect is not due to a reduction of the interval from onset of the lateralized readiness potential (LRP) until movement onset. In the present study, the RT task was modified to move a portion of the response selection stage into this time interval. The interval remained invariant, indicating that this late phase of the response selection process is not speeded by accessory stimulation. However, we observed amplitude modulation of the LRP on no-go trials in a condition with three alternative responses. This finding suggests that an earlier phase of response selection is influenced by accessory stimulation. In addition, a novel dependent measure was introduced to event-related potential research—the latency of spontaneous, posttrial blinking.

Influence of Task Predictability on the Activity of Neurons in the Rostral Superior Colliculus During Double-Step Saccades

2009 ◽  
Vol 101 (6) ◽  
pp. 3199-3211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vicente Reyes-Puerta ◽  
Roland Philipp ◽  
Werner Lindner ◽  
Lars Lünenburger ◽  
Klaus-Peter Hoffmann
Keyword(s):  
Superior Colliculus ◽  
Neuronal Activity ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Learning Effect ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Neuronal Responses ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Double Step ◽  
Target Probability ◽  
Preparatory Activity

Target probability has been shown to modulate motor preparatory activity of neurons in the caudal superior colliculus (SC) of the primate. Here we tested whether top-down processes, such as task predictability, influence the activity of neurons also at the rostral pole of the SC (rSC), classically related to fixation. To investigate this, double-step saccade tasks were embedded in two different paradigms, one containing unpredictable and another containing predictable tasks. During predictable tasks the animals could develop some expectation about the forthcoming second target jump, i.e., anticipate when and where to make the second saccade. Neuronal responses were recorded during both paradigms and compared, revealing the influence of task predictability on the activity of rSC neurons during specific periods of fixation. In particular, neuronal activity stayed significantly lower during the fixation period between two successive saccades in predictable than in unpredictable tasks. In addition there was a learning effect within a session during predictable conditions, i.e., the intersaccadic activity was higher in the early than in the late trials. Further, reaction times for the second saccade were shorter in predictable than in unpredictable tasks. However, we demonstrated that this difference in reaction times cannot be solely accounted for by the reported difference in neural activity, which was mainly influenced by the predictability of the tasks. With these results we show that top-down processes such as predictability are imposed on the activity of neurons in the rostral pole of the primate SC.

scholarly journals Neural mechanisms underlying anxiety-related deficits of attentional inhibition: direct ERP evidence from the Pd component

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liping Hu ◽  
Huikang Zhang ◽  
Hongsi Tang ◽  
Lin Shen ◽  
Rui Wu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Trait Anxiety ◽  
Attentional Control ◽  
Neural Mechanism ◽  
Attentional Selection ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Attentional Processing ◽  
General Anxiety ◽  
Anxiety Levels ◽  
Attentional Inhibition

Behavioral evidence shows that anxious individuals tend to be distracted by irrelevant stimulation not only for threat-related stimuli but also for non-emotional neutral stimuli. These findings suggest that anxious individuals may have a general impairment of attentional control, especially inhibition function. However, the neural mechanism underlying the anxiety-related impairment in attentional control is unclear. Here, in a visual search task with geometric stimuli, we examined attentional processing of the non-emotional neutral distractor on participants with different levels of anxiety, using the event-related-potential (ERP) indices of attentional selection (N2 posterior contralateral [N2pc]) and top-down inhibition (distractor positivity [Pd]). We found that distractor-evoked Pd amplitudes were negatively correlated with trait-anxiety scores, i.e., the higher the level of anxiety, the worse the ability of attentional inhibition. In contrast, the amplitudes of distractor-evoked N2pc did not vary with anxiety levels, suggesting that trait-anxiety level does not affect stimulus-driven attentional capture. We also observed attentional processing of target stimuli and found that the peak latency of target-evoked N2pc was delayed as anxiety levels rise, suggesting that anxiety impairs the efficiency of top-down attentional selection of the target. The present study provides direct neurophysiological evidence for general anxiety-related impairment of attentional control.

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