Startle-elicited Event-Related Potentials to Affective Stimuli are Associated with Recent Illicit Opioid use among Patients Receiving Opioid Agonist Treatment

Opioid use disorder (OUD) has been linked to exaggerated attentional, affective, and arousal responses to opioid-related stimuli, as well as altered responses to other affective (eg, naturally rewarding or aversive) stimuli, particularly blunted responses to pleasant/rewarding stimuli. Both exaggerated responses to drug-related stimuli and reduced response to pleasant stimuli may influence the course of OUD and its treatment, however interpretation of studies thus far is limited by methodological issues. In the present study, we examined subjective ratings, and attenuation of the P3 component of the acoustic startle-evoked event-related potential (as a measure of attention), while viewing neutral, pleasant, unpleasant, and drug-related images. Participants prescribed opioid agonist treatment (OAT) for OUD (n = 82) were compared to a carefully-matched control group (n = 33) and to recently-abstinent participants with OUD (n = 22). Relative to controls, participants prescribed OAT gave higher positive valence ratings of drug images, and blunted valence responses to other affective images, but groups did not differ in terms of arousal ratings or P3 amplitude. Within the OAT group, linear modeling of associations between frequency of recent illicit opioid use and startle P3 amplitude found an association between increased recent illicit opioid use and reduced attention to pleasant, relative to unpleasant, images. The latter finding may have implications for interventions targeting cognitive biases in people with substance use disorder. In particular, they suggest that enhancing attention to pleasant stimuli may be as, if not more important, than the typical approach of trying to reduce attentional bias to drug-related stimuli.

Spatial Distribution of the N2 and P300 Components of the Auditory Evoked Potential in Women with Arterial Hypertension: A study in the Russian Arctic

The aim of this study was to evaluate the spatial distribution of the latencies and amplitudes of the N2 and P3 (or P300) components of the AEP in the Russian Arctic working-age women with different levels of BP. Methods and Results: A total of 25 working-age women living in Nadym city for more than 20 years took part in this study. Group 1 (n=12, control group) consisted of women with BP within the normal range (<130/90 mmHg); Group 2 (n=13) consisted of women with AH (AH duration from 1 to 10 years). The parameters of the N2 and P300) components of the AEP were evaluated using an electroencephalograph (Neuron-Spectrum-4/VPM, Russia). An auditory oddball paradigm was used to elicit the oddball ERPs. In Group 2, compared with Group 1, the N2 latency was more pronounced in the parietal (P4, P3), central (C4, C3), frontal (F4, F3), and left temporal (T3, F7) regions. The N2 amplitude in all studied brain regions in individuals of both groups was comparable. The P300 latency did not differ between the two groups. In Group 2, the P300 amplitude was significantly lower in the parietal region (P3) on the left, and in the central and temporal regions on the right (C4, T4). In Group 2, inverse correlations between DBP and the P3 amplitude were revealed in the central (C4: r=-0.88, P=0.001; C3: r=-0.86, P=0.001), frontal (F4: r=-0.76; P=0.01; F3: r=-0.93, P=0.001), and anterior-temporal cerebral regions (F8: r=-0.65, P=0.04; F7: r=-0.64, P=0.04). SBP correlated with the P3 amplitude in the right mid-temporal region (T4: r=0.64, P=0.04). Conclusion: The features of the spatial distribution of the N2 and P3 components of the AEP can be used for early diagnosis of the risk of developing cognitive disorders in AH patients.

Inhibitory Top-Down Control Deficits in Schizophrenia With Auditory Verbal Hallucinations: A Go/NoGo Task

Objective: Auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH), with unclear mechanisms, cause extreme distresses to schizophrenia patients. Deficits of inhibitory top-down control may be linked to AVH. Therefore, in this study, we focused on inhibitory top-down control in schizophrenia patients with AVH.Method: The present study recruited 40 schizophrenia patients, including 20 AVH patients and 20 non-AVH patients, and 23 healthy controls. We employed event-related potentials to investigate the N2 and P3 amplitude and latency differences among these participants during a Go/NoGo task.Results: Relative to healthy controls, the two patient groups observed longer reaction time (RT) and reduced accuracy. The two patient groups had smaller NoGo P3 amplitude than the healthy controls, and the AVH patients showed smaller NoGo P3 amplitude than the non-AVH patients. In all the groups, the parietal area showed smaller NoGo P3 than frontal and central areas. However, no significant difference was found in N2 and Go P3 amplitude between the three groups.Conclusions: AVH patients might have worse inhibitory top-down control, which might be involved in the occurrence of AVH. Hopefully, our results could enhance understanding of the pathology of AVH.

Towards equivalent Go/NoGo tasks across psychophysiological contexts: Recommendations for task design

In three studies, we examined markers of inhibitory processing (N2 and P3 amplitude, as well as response time (RT) and error rates) in Go/NoGo tasks with short vs long SOAs. We provide guidelines for task design for Go/NoGo researchers across psychophysiological methodologies, so that researchers may increase the inhibitory requirements when long SOAs are required.

Trait Disinhibition and NoGo Event-Related Potentials in Violent Mentally Disordered Offenders and Healthy Controls

Trait disinhibition may function as a dispositional liability toward maladaptive behaviors relevant in the treatment of mentally disordered offenders (MDOs). Reduced amplitude and prolonged latency of the NoGo N2 and P3 event-related potentials have emerged as promising candidates for transdiagnostic, biobehavioral markers of trait disinhibition, yet no study has specifically investigated these two components in violent, inpatient MDOs. Here, we examined self-reported trait disinhibition, experimentally assessed response inhibition, and NoGo N2 and P3 amplitude and latency in male, violent MDOs (N = 27) and healthy controls (N = 20). MDOs had a higher degree of trait disinhibition, reduced NoGo P3 amplitude, and delayed NoGo P3 latency compared to controls. The reduced NoGo P3 amplitude and delayed NoGo P3 latency in MDOs may stem from deficits during monitoring or evaluation of behavior. NoGo P3 latency was associated with increased trait disinhibition in the whole sample, suggesting that trait disinhibition may be associated with reduced neural efficiency during later stages of outcome monitoring or evaluation. Findings for NoGo N2 amplitude and latency were small and non-robust. With several limitations in mind, this is the first study to demonstrate attenuated NoGo P3 amplitude and delayed NoGo P3 latency in violent, inpatient MDOs compared to healthy controls.

The Relationship Between Response-Inhibitory Event-Related Potentials and Symptoms of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Adult Patients with Major Depressive Disorder

Objective Attention-deficit and poor impulse control have frequently been observed in major depressive disorder (MDD) and attention-deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Altered event-related potential (ERP) performance, such as GoNogo tasks, has been regarded as a neurocognitive process associated with attention and behavioral inhibition. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between Nogo ERP and adult ADHD in MDD.Methods A total of 64 participants with MDD (32 comorbid with ADHD) and 32 healthy controls aged 19–45 years were recruited; they performed GoNogo paradigms during electroencephalogram measurement. Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS) were evaluated. Clinical measures and GoNogo ERP were compared between three groups: depression with ADHD, depression without ADHD, and healthy controls.Results MDD subjects with ADHD showed significantly decreased Nogo P3 amplitude at frontal electrode, compared with those without ADHD and healthy controls. MDD subjects with ADHD showed significantly longer Nogo N2 latency at frontal and frontocentral electrodes, compared with those without ADHD and healthy controls. In MDD subjects with ADHD, the Nogo P3 amplitude at the frontal electrode was negatively correlated with the ASRS score and inattention. The Nogo N2 latency at the frontal electrode was positively correlated with false alarm rate.Conclusion The decreased Nogo P3 amplitude in the frontal area might be a potential biological marker for inattention in depressed patients with ADHD.

Reliability of P3 Event-Related Potential during Working Memory Across the Spectrum of Cognitive Aging

Event-related potentials (ERPs) offer unparalleled temporal resolution in tracing distinct electrophysiological processes related to normal and pathological cognitive aging. The stability of ERPs in older individuals, who inherently show more intraindividual variability in cognitive functions, has not been established. In this test-retest reliability study, 39 older individuals (age 74.10 (5.4) years; 23 (59%) women; 15 non β-amyloid elevated, 16 β-amyloid elevated, 8 cognitively impaired) with scores on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA) ranging between 3 and 30 completed a working memory (n-back) test with three levels of difficulty at baseline and two-week follow-up. Stability of the ERP was evaluated on grand averaged task effects for both visits. P3 peak amplitude and latency were measured in frontal channels. P3 peak amplitude at Fz, our main outcome variable, showed excellent reliability in 0-back (intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), 95% confidence interval = 0.82 (0.67 – 0.90) and 1-back (ICC = 0.87 (0.76 – 0.93), however, only fair reliability in 2-back (ICC = 0.53 (0.09 – 0.75). Reliability of P3 peak latencies was substantially lower, with ICCs ranging between 0.17 for 2-back and 0.54 for 0-back. Generalized linear mixed models showed no confounding effect of age, group, or task difficulty on stability of P3 amplitude and latency of Fz. By contrast, MOCA scores tended to negatively correlate with P3 amplitude of Fz (p=0.07). We conclude that P3 peak amplitude and latency provide a stable measure of electrophysiological processes in older individuals. However, impaired cognition may affect the stability of the ERP response.

A Longitudinal, Prospective Study to Evaluate the Effects of Treatment on the Inhibitory Control Function After Transsphenoidal Surgery for Pituitary Adenomas

Objectives: Injured cognitive abilities have been reported in patients with pituitary adenoma. However, to date, few researchers have directly investigated the electrophysiological study of inhibitory control function of pituitary patients both pre- and postsurgery. Thus, this study aimed to identify the factors affecting the inhibitory control function of pituitary patients. Methods: Thirty presurgery pituitary patients were recruited and 26 patients of them completed the postsurgery follow-up. Thirty healthy people were recruited for control group. Visual Go/Nogo tasks were carried out by the patients and controls to assess the inhibitory control function before surgery and 6 months after the surgery, respectively. The function of inhibitory control was analyzed with the components of N2 and P3. Results: Across 3 groups, Nogo stimuli evoked larger frontal-central N2nogo and P3nogo than Go stimuli did. Furthermore, N2d of presurgery patients (−1.14 μV) and postsurgery patients(−0.61 μV) were significantly decreased compared with that of control group (−3.09 μV), F(2, 83) = 13.92, P < .01, whereas no difference was detected between pre- and postsurgery groups. There was no remarkable difference in the amplitude of P3d among the 3 groups, F(2, 83) = 0.19, P > .05. With regard to the amplitude of P3 for Go condition, The P3 amplitude of healthy group (4.38 μV) was larger than both pre- and postsurgery (1.00 μV and 3.01 μV). With regard to the amplitude of P3 for Nogo condition, The P3 amplitude of healthy group (5.25 μV) was larger than both pre- and postsurgery groups (2.35 μV and 4.18 μV). Conclusions: These results indicated that presurgery patients showed the dysfunction of inhibition, due to the nerve tissue damage or brain structure alteration caused by the presurgery physical pressure from tumor and abnormal hormone levels. Postsurgery patients showed a tendency toward recovery, but there was no obvious improvement in the inhibitory control function after successful treatments.