Blocked versus interleaved: How range contexts modulate time perception and its EEG signatures

Accurate time perception is a crucial element in a wide range of cognitive tasks, including decision-making, memory, and motor control. One commonly observed phenomenon is that when given a range of time intervals to consider, people's estimates often cluster around the midpoint of those intervals. Previous studies have suggested that the range of these intervals can also influence our judgments, but the neural mechanisms behind this "range effect" are not yet understood. We used both behavioral tests and electroencephalographic (EEG) measures to understand how the range of sample time intervals affects the accuracy of people's subsequent time estimates. Study participants were exposed to two different setups: In the "blocked-range" (BR) session, short and long intervals were presented in separate blocks, whereas in the "interleaved-range" (IR) session, intervals of various lengths were presented randomly. Our findings indicated that the BR context led to more accurate time estimates compared to the IR context. In terms of EEG data, the BR context resulted in quicker buildup of contingent negative variation (CNV), which also reached higher amplitude levels and dissolved more rapidly during the encoding stage. We also observed an enhanced amplitude in the offset P2 component of the EEG signal. Overall, our results suggest that the variability in time intervals, as defined by their range, influences the neural processes that underlie time estimation.

Early and late contingent negative variation (CNV) reflect different aspects of deficits in schizophrenia

Abnormal reward processing and psychomotor slowing are well-known in schizophrenia (SZ). As a slow frontocentral potential, contingent negative variation (CNV) is associated with anticipatory attention, motivation and motor planning. The present study aims to evaluate the early and late amplitude and latencies of CNV in patients with SZ compared to healthy controls during a reward processing task and to show its association with clinical symptoms. We recruited 21 patients with SZ and 22 healthy controls to compare early and late CNV amplitude and latency values during a Monetary Incentive Delay (MID) Task between groups. Patients' symptom severity, levels of negative symptoms and depressive symptoms were assessed. Clinical features of the patients were further examined for their relation with CNV components. In conclusion, we found decreased early CNV amplitudes in SZ during the reward condition. They also displayed diminished and shortened late CNV responses for incentive cues, specifically at the central location. Furthermore, early CNV amplitudes exhibited a significant correlation with positive symptoms. Both CNV latencies were linked with medication dosage and the behavioural outcomes of the MID task. We revealed that early and late CNV exhibit different functions in neurophysiology and correspond to various facets of the deficits observed in patients. Our findings also emphasized that slow cortical potentials are indicative of deficient motivational processes as well as impaired reaction preparation in SZ. To gain a deeper understanding of the cognitive and motor impairments associated with psychosis, future studies must compare the effects of CNV in the early and late phases.

Electrophysiological Activity from the Eye Muscles, Cerebellum and Cerebrum During Reflexive (Classical Pavlovian) Versus Voluntary (Ivanov-Smolensky) Eye-Blink Conditioning

We report an experiment to investigate the role of the cerebellum and cerebrum in motor learning of timed movements. Eleven healthy human subjects were recruited to perform two experiments, the first was a classical eye-blink conditioning procedure with an auditory tone as conditional stimulus (CS) and vestibular unconditional stimulus (US) in the form of a double head-tap. In the second experiment, subjects were asked to blink voluntarily in synchrony with the double head-tap US preceded by a CS, a form of Ivanov-Smolensky conditioning in which a command or instruction is associated with the US. Electrophysiological recordings were made of extra-ocular EMG and EOG at infra-ocular sites (IO1/2), EEG from over the frontal eye fields (C3'/C4') and from over the posterior fossa over the cerebellum for the electrocerebellogram (ECeG). The behavioural outcomes of the experiments showed weak reflexive conditioning for the first experiment despite the double tap but robust, well-synchronised voluntary conditioning for the second. Voluntary conditioned blinks were larger than the reflex ones. For the voluntary conditioning experiment, a contingent negative variation (CNV) was also present in the EEG leads prior to movement, and modulation of the high-frequency EEG occurred during movement. US-related cerebellar activity was prominent in the high-frequency ECeG for both experiments, while conditioned response-related cerebellar activity was additionally present in the voluntary conditioning experiment. These results demonstrate a role for the cerebellum in voluntary (Ivanov-Smolensky) as well as in reflexive (classical Pavlovian) conditioning.

Neuroelectric indices of pre-motor planning and adiposity are selectively related to balance in children

BACKGROUND

Motor function and weight status are components of physical fitness that have been implicated in childhood motor and cognitive development. The lateralized readiness potential (LRP), an index of motor planning and action, can provide context surrounding relationships between fitness and brain activity underlying cognitive and motor functions. This study evaluated the relationship between the LRP and motor skills, as well as associations between weight status and neural and behavioral motor functions.

METHODS

Children aged 7-13 (n = 35) participated in a cross-sectional study, using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children 2nd edition (MABC-2) to assess balance, manual dexterity, and aiming/catching. The stimulus- (LRP-S) and response-locked (LRP-R) LRPs were elicited from a modified flanker task. Stepwise regressions tested the association between LRPs and MABC-2 components. Linear regressions were conducted to examine BMI and %Fat in relation to LRPs and MABC-2 components.

RESULTS

Analyses revealed that LRP-S mean amplitude difference (β = 0.401, P = 0.042) and reaction time interference scores (β = 0.545, P = 0.004) were positively associated with balance, after adjusting for covariates. The LRP-S and interference scores did not predict other MABC-2 outcomes and LRP-R did not predict any MABC-2 components. Further, %Fat (β = -0.439, P = 0.044), not BMI (β = -0.364, P = 0.082), only predicted balance.

CONCLUSION

We found that changes in the LRP-S amplitude were positively associated with balance, and %Fat was negatively related to balance. This evidence is that fitness components such as weight status and coordination are related to neural markers of motor function which may be useful in intervention designs aimed to improve brain function via improvements in physical fitness and health behaviors.

Neurophysiological evidence of motor preparation in inner speech and the effect of content predictability

Self-generated overt actions are preceded by a slow negativity as measured by electroencephalogram, which has been associated with motor preparation. Recent studies have shown that this neural activity is modulated by the predictability of action outcomes. It is unclear whether inner speech is also preceded by a motor-related negativity and influenced by the same factor. In three experiments, we compared the contingent negative variation elicited in a cue paradigm in an active vs. passive condition. In Experiment 1, participants produced an inner phoneme, at which an audible phoneme whose identity was unpredictable was concurrently presented. We found that while passive listening elicited a late contingent negative variation, inner speech production generated a more negative late contingent negative variation. In Experiment 2, the same pattern of results was found when participants were instead asked to overtly vocalize the phoneme. In Experiment 3, the identity of the audible phoneme was made predictable by establishing probabilistic expectations. We observed a smaller late contingent negative variation in the inner speech condition when the identity of the audible phoneme was predictable, but not in the passive condition. These findings suggest that inner speech is associated with motor preparatory activity that may also represent the predicted action-effects of covert actions.

Encoding, working memory, or decision: how feedback modulates time perception

The hypothesis that individuals can accurately represent temporal information within approximately 3 s is the premise of several theoretical models and empirical studies in the field of temporal processing. The significance of accurately representing time within 3 s and the universality of the overestimation contrast dramatically. To clarify whether this overestimation arises from an inability to accurately represent time or a response bias, we systematically examined whether feedback reduces overestimation at the 3 temporal processing stages of timing (encoding), working memory, and decisions proposed by the scalar timing model. Participants reproduced the time interval between 2 circles with or without feedback, while the electroencephalogram (EEG) was synchronously recorded. Behavioral results showed that feedback shortened reproduced times and significantly minimized overestimation. EEG results showed that feedback significantly decreased the amplitude of contingent negative variation (CNV) in the decision stage but did not modulate the CNV amplitude in the encoding stage or the P2-P3b amplitudes in the working memory stage. These results suggest that overestimation arises from response bias when individuals convert an accurate representation of time into behavior. Our study provides electrophysiological evidence to support the conception that short intervals under approximately 3 s can be accurately represented as "temporal gestalt."

The Dominance of Anticipatory Prefrontal Activity in Uncued Sensory-Motor Tasks

Anticipatory event-related potentials (ERPs) precede upcoming events such as stimuli or actions. These ERPs are usually obtained in cued sensory-motor tasks employing a warning stimulus that precedes a probe stimulus as in the contingent negative variation (CNV) paradigms. The CNV wave has been widely studied, from clinical to brain-computer interface (BCI) applications, and has been shown to emerge in medial frontoparietal areas, localized in the cingulate and supplementary motor areas. Several dated studies also suggest the existence of a prefrontal CNV, although this component was not confirmed by later studies due to the contamination of ocular artifacts. Another lesser-known anticipatory ERP is the prefrontal negativity (pN) that precedes the uncued probe stimuli in discriminative response tasks and has been localized in the inferior frontal gyrus. This study aimed to characterize the pN by comparing it with the CNV in cued and uncued tasks and test if the pN could be associated with event preparation, temporal preparation, or both. To achieve these aims, high-density electroencephalographic recording and advanced ERP analysis controlling for ocular activity were obtained in 25 volunteers who performed 4 different visuomotor tasks. Our results showed that the pN amplitude was largest in the condition requiring both time and event preparation, medium in the condition requiring event preparation only, and smallest in the condition requiring temporal preparation only. We concluded that the prefrontal CNV could be associated with the pN, and this activity emerges in complex tasks requiring the anticipation of both the category and timing of the upcoming stimulus. The proposed method can be useful in BCI studies investigating the endogenous neural signatures triggered by different sensorimotor paradigms.

Reduced neural activity when anticipating social versus nonsocial rewards in schizophrenia: Preliminary evidence from an ERP study

Diminished social motivation is a core feature of schizophrenia that might reflect disturbances in social reward processing. It is not known whether these disturbances reflect anticipatory ("wanting") and/or consummatory ("liking") pleasure deficits. The primary aim of this study was to examine social versus nonsocial reward processing during these temporally distinct substages using event-related potential (ERP) components. Twenty-three schizophrenia participants and 20 healthy participants completed an incentive delay task with social (i.e., smiling expressions) and nonsocial (i.e., money) rewards. We measured two anticipatory ERPs (i.e., "wanting") (target anticipation: Contingent Negative Variation [CNV]; feedback anticipation: Stimulus Preceding Negativity [SPN]) and one consummatory ERP (i.e., "liking") (feedback receipt: P300). As a secondary aim, we examined correlations between the ERPs and interview-rated motivational negative symptoms and social functioning. Schizophrenia participants showed overall less target anticipation (blunted CNV) across all trials (social and nonsocial) than healthy participants. Importantly, schizophrenia participants exhibited less anticipation of social rewards relative to nonsocial rewards (SPN), whereas healthy participants showed similar anticipation for both reward types. Both groups showed similar responses to social and nonsocial reward receipt (P300). Furthermore, social reward anticipation during the incentive delay task was associated with more social approach behaviors in the real-world. Together, these findings provide preliminary evidence for intact social reward "liking" and impaired "wanting" in schizophrenia.

Neural mechanisms of motor dysfunction in individuals at clinical high-risk for psychosis: Evidence for impairments in motor activation

Motor abnormalities are a core feature of psychotic disorders observed from the premorbid period through chronic illness, suggesting motor dysfunction may reflect the pathophysiology of psychosis. Electrophysiology research in schizophrenia suggests impaired motor activation and preparation may underlie these motor abnormalities. Despite behavioral studies suggesting similar motor dysfunction in those at clinical high-risk (CHR) for psychosis, there have been no studies examining neural mechanisms of motor dysfunction in the CHR period, where research can inform pathophysiological and risk models. The present study used the lateralized readiness potential (LRP), an event-related potential index of motor activation and preparation, to examine mechanisms of motor dysfunction in 42 CHR and 41 control participants (N = 83, 56% female). Response competition was manipulated to determine whether deficits are secondary to cognitive control impairments or reflect primary motor deficits. Behaviorally, CHR participants exhibited overall slower responses than controls. Further, relative to controls, CHR participants showed reduced activation of correct but not incorrect responses, reflected in blunted LRP amplitude under weak response competition and no difference in amplitude associated with the incorrect response under strong response competition. This pattern of results suggests individuals at CHR for psychosis exhibit primary motor deficits in activating and preparing behavioral responses and are contrary to a deficit in cognitive control. Further, blunted LRP amplitude was associated with worsening of negative symptoms at 12-month follow-up. Together, these findings are consistent with LRP studies in psychosis and implicate motor activation deficits as potential mechanisms of motor dysfunction in the high-risk period. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Dealing with uncertainty: A high-density EEG investigation on how intolerance of uncertainty affects emotional predictions

Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) can influence emotional predictions, constructed by the brain (generation stage) to prearrange action (implementation stage), and update internal models according to incoming stimuli (updating stage). However, neurocomputational mechanisms by which IU affects emotional predictions are unclear. This high-density EEG study investigated if IU predicted event-related potentials (ERPs) and brain sources activity developing along the stages of emotional predictions, as a function of contextual uncertainty. Thirty-six undergraduates underwent a S1-S2 paradigm, with emotional faces and pictures as S1s and S2s, respectively. Contextual uncertainty was manipulated across three blocks, each with 100%, 75%, or 50% S1-S2 emotional congruency. ERPs, brain sources and their relationship with IU scores were analyzed for each stage. IU did not affect prediction generation. During prediction implementation, higher IU predicted larger Contingent Negative Variation in the 75% block, and lower left anterior cingulate cortex and supplementary motor area activations. During prediction updating, as IU increased P2 to positive S2s decreased, along with P2 and Late Positive Potential in the 75% block, and right orbito-frontal cortex activity to emotional S2s. IU was therefore associated with altered uncertainty assessment and heightened attention deployment during implementation, and to uncertainty avoidance, reduced attention to safety cues and disrupted access to emotion regulation strategies during prediction updating.

Approach of visual stimuli facilitates the prediction of tactile events and suppresses beta band oscillations around the primary somatosensory area

The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether the approach of visual stimuli influences prediction of subsequent tactile events. For this purpose, we examined electroencephalograms (EEGs) during the prediction of tactile events when visual stimuli did or did not approach. Tactile stimuli were presented with a high probability (80%) of being applied to the left (or right) index finger and a low probability (20%) of being applied to the opposite index finger. In the approach condition, visual stimuli were presented towards the hand to which the high-probability tactile stimuli were presented; in the neutral condition, visual stimuli did not approach. The result of time-frequency analysis for the EEGs showed that beta band event-related spectral perturbation at the electrodes around the primary somatosensory area (C3 and C4) was suppressed about 300 ms before the presentation of a tactile stimulus and that event-related desynchronization (ERD) occurred in all conditions. Moreover, the beta band ERD of the approach condition was larger than that of the neutral condition. These results provide evidence that the approach of visual stimuli facilitates prediction itself for subsequent tactile events.

Neurophysiological mechanisms underlying motor feature binding processes and representations

Coherent, voluntary action requires an integrated representation of these actions and their defining features. Although theories delineate how action integration requiring binding between different action features may be accomplished, the underlying neurophysiological mechanisms are largely elusive. The present study examined the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying binding processes in actions. To this end, we conducted EEG recordings and applied standard event-related potential analyses, temporal EEG signal decomposition and multivariate pattern analyses (MVPA). According to the code occupation account, an overlap between a planned and a to-be-performed action impairs performance. The level, to which performance is attenuated depends on the strength of binding of action features. This binding process then determines the representation of them, the so-called action files. We show that code occupation and bindings between action features specifically modulate processes preceding motor execution as showed by the stimulus-locked lateralized readiness potential (LRP). Conversely, motor execution processes reflected by the response-locked LRP were not modulated by action file binding. The temporal decomposition of the EEG signal, further distinguished between action file related processes: the planned response determining code occupation was reflected in general (voluntary) response selection but not in involuntary (response priming-related) activation. Moreover, MVPA on temporally decomposed neural signals indicated that action files are represented as a continuous chain of activations. Within this chain, inhibitory and response re-activation patterns can be distinguished. Taken together, the neurophysiological correlates of action file binding suggest that parallel, stimulus- and response-related pre-motor processes are responsible for the code occupation in the human motor system.

Lateralized readiness potentials and sensorimotor activity in adults with obsessive-compulsive disorder

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients are known to have various functional abnormalities in prefrontal and motor areas. Given the presence of compulsions in many OCD patients, impaired response preparation processes could be a core feature of OCD. Yet, these processes remain understudied from a neurophysiological standpoint. Nineteen OCD patients were matched on age and sex to 19 healthy controls. Continuous EEG was recorded in all participants during a stimulus-response compatibility task. EEG from electrodes C3 and C4 was then averaged into stimulus- and response-locked LRPs. We compared both groups on various LRP measures, such as the LRP onset, the Gratton dip, and the maximum LRP peak. OCD patients showed significantly larger LRP peak than healthy controls, as well as larger Gratton dip. However, there was no group difference regarding LRP onset. Among OCD patients, it seems that motor regions are overactive during response preparation. Such overactivity was found for both incorrect responses that are aborted before execution and responses that are truly executed. These results suggest that regulation of sensorimotor activity should be addressed in the treatment of OCD.

Hidden wounds of violence: Abnormal motor oscillatory brain activity is related to posttraumatic stress symptoms

Victims of urban violence are at risk of developing Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), one of the most debilitating consequences of violence. Considering that PTSD may be associated with inefficient selection of defensive responses, it is important to understand the relation between motor processing and PTSD. The present study aims to investigate the extent to which the severity of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) is related to motor preparation against visual threat cues in victims of urban violence. Participants performed a choice reaction time task while ignoring a picture that could be threating or neutral. The EEG indices extracted were the motor-related amplitude asymmetry (MRAA) in the alpha frequency range, and the lateralized readiness potential (LRP). We observed a linear relation between longer LRP latency and a slower reaction time, selectively during threat processing (compared to neutral) in low PTSS, but not in high PTSS participants. Alpha MRAA suppression and the PTSS were also linearly related: the smaller the alpha MRAA suppression in the threat condition relative to neutral, the greater the PTSS. These results provide evidence that threatening cues affect motor processing that is modulated by the severity of PTSS in victims of urban violence.

Developing and testing a readiness tool for interpersonal violence prevention partnerships with community-based projects

Community-based projects that serve vulnerable families have the opportunity to identify and respond to interpersonal violence (IPV). We developed a readiness assessment tool to support selection of projects to participate in an initiative that involved implementing a community-based IPV intervention for mothers. The overarching aim of the current study was to describe the development of this tool and examine the reliability of coding, validity, and utility of the tool. After developing and refining the tool, 41 community-based projects completed the tool. Responses were coded and scored; scores were used to select projects for the initiative. Preliminary validation for the tool included (a) expert opinion, (b) uptake/implementation of the intervention, and (c) feedback and responses from service providers in terms of the usefulness and importance of the tool. This tool can be used by both researchers and service providers to assess community project readiness and capacity to provide trauma-informed services for vulnerable families.

Promoting Readiness for Residency: Embedding Simulation-Based Mastery Learning for Breaking Bad News Into the Medicine Subinternship

PURPOSE

It is challenging to add rigorous, competency-based communication skills training to existing clerkship structures. The authors embedded a simulation-based mastery learning (SBML) curriculum into a medicine subinternship to demonstrate feasibility and determine the impact on the foundational skill of breaking bad news (BBN).

METHOD

All fourth-year students enrolled in a medicine subinternship at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine from September 2017 through August 2018 were expected to complete a BBN SBML curriculum. First, students completed a pretest with a standardized patient using a previously developed BBN assessment tool. Learners then participated in a 4-hour BBN skills workshop with didactic instruction, focused feedback, and deliberate practice with simulated patients. Students were required to meet or exceed a predetermined minimum passing standard (MPS) at posttest. The authors compared pretest and posttest scores to evaluate the effect of the intervention. Participant demographic characteristics and course evaluations were also collected.

RESULTS

Eighty-five students were eligible for the study, and 79 (93%) completed all components. Although 55/79 (70%) reported having personally delivered serious news to actual patients, baseline performance was poor. Students' overall checklist performance significantly improved from a mean of 65.0% (SD = 16.2%) items correct to 94.2% (SD = 5.9%; P < .001) correct. There was also statistically significant improvement in scaled items assessing quality of communication, and all students achieved the MPS at mastery posttest. All students stated they would recommend the workshop to colleagues.

CONCLUSIONS

It is feasible to embed SBML into a required clerkship. In the context of this study, rigorous SBML resulted in uniformly high levels of skill acquisition, documented competency, and was positively received by learners.

Event-related and readiness potentials when preparing to approach and avoid alcohol cues following cue avoidance training in heavy drinkers

RATIONALE

Cue avoidance training (CAT) reduces alcohol consumption in the laboratory. However, the neural mechanisms that underlie the effects of this intervention are poorly understood.

OBJECTIVES

The present study investigated the effects of a single session of CAT on event-related and readiness potentials during preparation of approach and avoidance movements to alcohol cues.

METHODS

Heavy drinking young adults (N = 60) were randomly assigned to complete either CAT or control training. After training, we recorded participants' event-related and motor readiness potentials as they were preparing to respond.

RESULTS

In the CAT group, N200 amplitude was higher when preparing to approach rather than avoid alcohol pictures. In the control group, N200 amplitudes did not differ for approach and avoidance to alcohol pictures. Regarding the late positive potential (LPP), in the CAT group, the negativity of this was blunted when preparing to avoid alcohol pictures relative to when preparing to avoid control pictures. In the control group, the negativity of the LPP was blunted when preparing to approach alcohol pictures relative to when preparing to approach control pictures. There were no effects on motor readiness potentials. Behavioural effects indicated short-lived effects of training on reaction times during the training block that did not persist when participants were given time to prepare their motor response before executing it during the EEG testing block.

CONCLUSIONS

After a single session of CAT, the enhanced N200 when approaching alcohol cues may indicate the engagement of executive control to overcome the associations learned during training. These findings clarify the neural mechanisms that may underlie the effects of CAT on drinking behaviour.

Symmetrical electrophysiological brain responses to unilateral and bilateral auditory stimuli suggest disrupted spatial processing in schizophrenia

Research has found auditory spatial processing deficits in patients with schizophrenia (SCZ), but no study has examined SCZ patients' auditory spatial processing at both pre-attentional and attentional stages. To address this gap, we investigated schizophrenics' brain responses to sounds originating from different locations (right, left, and bilateral sources). The event-related potentials (ERPs) of 25 chronic schizophrenic patients and 25 healthy subjects were compared. Mismatch negativity (MMN) in response to frequency and duration deviants was assessed. Two P3 components (P3a and P3b) were elicited via a frequency discrimination task, and MMN and P3 were recorded through separate monaural and dichotic stimulation paradigms. Our results corroborated the previously published finding that MMN, P3a, and P3b amplitudes are reduced in SCZ patients, but they showed no significant effect of stimulus location on either MMN or P3. These results indicated similarity between the SCZ patients and healthy individuals as regards patterns of ERP responses to stimuli that come from different directions. No evidence of auditory hemispatial bias in the SCZ patients was found, supporting the existence of non-lateralized spatial processing deficits in such patients and suggesting compensatory changes in the hemispheric laterality of patients' brains.

Does the influence of near-threshold primes depend on the type of task?

Most studies investigating the influence of primes on the processing of subsequent targets involve a main task in which responses are made to the targets, and a task that tests prime awareness. If the participant is not aware of the prime location/identity but an influence of the prime is observed in the main task, researchers conclude that this influence can be ascribed to unconscious processing of the prime. This implies the assumption that the prime's influence is independent of task instructions: a prime consciously perceived in the prime task is consciously perceived in the main task. In the metacontrast-masking study, we compared motor- and attention-related electroencephalographic (EEG) components in three tasks with the same stimuli but different instructions and showed that early posterior contralateral negativities (PCNs) and lateralized readiness potentials (LRPs) were smaller when primes were task-relevant than when targets were task-relevant. This suggests that early components may depend on task instruction and are not purely prime-related.

Error-related brain activity as a transdiagnostic endophenotype for obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety and substance use disorder

BACKGROUND

Increased neural error-signals have been observed in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), anxiety disorders, and inconsistently in depression. Reduced neural error-signals have been observed in substance use disorders (SUD). Thus, alterations in error-monitoring are proposed as a transdiagnostic endophenotype. To strengthen this notion, data from unaffected individuals with a family history for the respective disorders are needed.

METHODS

The error-related negativity (ERN) as a neural indicator of error-monitoring was measured during a flanker task from 117 OCD patients, 50 unaffected first-degree relatives of OCD patients, and 130 healthy comparison participants. Family history information indicated, that 76 healthy controls were free of a family history for psychopathology, whereas the remaining had first-degree relatives with depression (n = 28), anxiety (n = 27), and/or SUD (n = 27).

RESULTS

Increased ERN amplitudes were found in OCD patients and unaffected first-degree relatives of OCD patients. In addition, unaffected first-degree relatives of individuals with anxiety disorders were also characterized by increased ERN amplitudes, whereas relatives of individuals with SUD showed reduced amplitudes.

CONCLUSIONS

Alterations in neural error-signals in unaffected first-degree relatives with a family history of OCD, anxiety, or SUD support the utility of the ERN as a transdiagnostic endophenotype. Reduced neural error-signals may indicate vulnerability for under-controlled behavior and risk for substance use, whereas a harm- or error-avoidant response style and vulnerability for OCD and anxiety appears to be associated with increased ERN. This adds to findings suggesting a common neurobiological substrate across psychiatric disorders involving the anterior cingulate cortex and deficits in cognitive control.

Action-effect contingency modulates the readiness potential

The ability to constantly anticipate events in the world is critical to human survival. It has been suggested that predictive processing originates from the motor system and that incoming sensory inputs can be altered to facilitate sensorimotor integration. In the current study, we investigated the role of the readiness potentials, i.e. the premotor brain activity registered within the fronto-parietal areas, in sensorimotor integration. We recorded EEG data during three conditions: a motor condition in which a simple action was required, a visual condition in which a visual stimulus was presented on the screen, and a visuomotor condition wherein the visual stimulus appeared in response to a button press. We measured evoked potentials before the motor action and/or after the appearance of the visual stimulus. Anticipating a visual feedback in response to a voluntary action modulated the amplitude of the readiness potentials. We also found an enhancement in the amplitude of the visual N1 and a reduction in the amplitude of the visual P2 when the visual stimulus was induced by the action rather than externally generated. Our results suggest that premotor brain activity might reflect predictive processes in sensory-motor binding and that the readiness potentials may possibly represent a neural marker of these predictive mechanisms.

Electrophysiological Correlates of Absolute Pitch in a Passive Auditory Oddball Paradigm: a Direct Replication Attempt

Humans with absolute pitch (AP) are able to effortlessly name the pitch class of a sound without an external reference. The association of labels with pitches cannot be entirely suppressed even if it interferes with task demands. This suggests a high level of automaticity of pitch labeling in AP. The automatic nature of AP was further investigated in a study by Rogenmoser et al. (2015). Using a passive auditory oddball paradigm in combination with electroencephalography, they observed electrophysiological differences between musicians with and without AP in response to piano tones. Specifically, the AP musicians showed a smaller P3a, an event-related potential (ERP) component presumably reflecting early attentional processes. In contrast, they did not find group differences in the mismatch negativity (MMN), an ERP component associated with auditory memory processes. They concluded that early cognitive processes are facilitated in AP during passive listening and are more important for AP than the preceding sensory processes. In our direct replication study on a larger sample of musicians with (n = 54, 27 females, 27 males) and without (n = 50, 24 females, 26 males) AP, we successfully replicated the non-significant effects of AP on the MMN. However, we could not replicate the significant effects for the P3a. Additional Bayes factor analyses revealed moderate to strong evidence (Bayes factor > 3) for the null hypothesis for both MMN and P3a. Therefore, the results of this replication study do not support the postulated importance of cognitive facilitation in AP during passive tone listening.

Extraversion and behavioural approach system in stimulus analysis and motor response initiation

In this study, we attempt to validate previous findings on extraversion-related differences in speed of sensorimotor processing and to extend them into Behavioural Approach System (BAS) subtraits within the framework of the revised Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (rRST) of personality. Here, we assessed psychological traits of extraversion (E), four BAS facets (Goal-Drive Persistence, BAS-GDP; Reward Interest, BAS-RI; Reward Reactivity, BAS-RR; Impulsivity, BAS-I), Behavioural Inhibition System (BIS), and Fight-Flight-Freeze System (FFFS) in 51 volunteers (28 women). Stimulus-locked lateralized readiness potential (S-LRP), response-locked LRP (R-LRP), stimulus-locked and response-locked forearm electromyogram (S-EMG and R-EMG), and P3 components of the event-related potentials (ERPs), were recorded during the performance of a two-choice Go/NoGo visual letter-digit discrimination task varying in task difficulty. High extraverts, relative to introverts and individuals high relative to low on BAS-RI, were more likely to exhibit shorter S-LRP latencies and stimulus- and response-locked EMG latencies. Additionally, high BAS-I had a shorter R-RLP latency than low BAS-I participants for the difficult task. High FFFS levels were associated with longer S-LRP and S-EMG latencies, while high BIS levels had larger response accuracy. Extraverts, relative to introverts, along with those high relative to low on BAS-RR and BAS-I, exhibited smaller P3 amplitudes. The faster cortical premotor initiation, found in individuals high on extraversion, BAS-RI and low on FFFS, may account for their faster peripheral motor response initiation and execution. Smaller P3 amplitudes in extraverts and individuals high on BAS-RR and BAS-I may indicate reduced perceptual processing capacity in these individuals.

The effect of conscious intention to act on the Bereitschaftspotential

The current study investigated the effect of conscious intention to act on the Bereitschaftspotential. Situations in which the awareness of acting is minimally expressed were generated by asking 16 participants to press a button after performing a mental imagery task based on animal pictures (automatic condition). The affective responses induced by the pictures were controlled by selecting the animals according to different valences, threatening and neutral. The Bereitschaftspotential associated with the button presses was compared to the observed when similar movements were performed under the basic instructions of the self-paced movement paradigm (willed condition). Enhanced Bereitschaftspotential amplitudes were observed in the willed condition with respect to the automatic condition. This effect was manifested as a negative slope at medial frontocentral sites during the last 500 ms before movement onset. The valence of the pictures did not affect the motor preparatory potentials. The results suggest that significant part of the NS' subcomponent of the readiness potential is associated with the attention to-and, presumably, awareness of-intention to move, possibly reflecting cortical activation from supplementary motor areas. Secondarily, our findings supports that the feeling of threat does not influence the Bereitschaftspotential associated with automatic movements. Regarding methodological issues, the behavioural model of spontaneous voluntary movements proposed in automatic condition can benefit investigations on purely motor (or non-cognitive) subcomponents of the Bereitschaftspotential.

The time is "right:" Electrophysiology reveals right parietal electrode dominance in time perception

In the present study, healthy undergraduates were asked to identify if a visual stimulus appeared on screen for the same duration as a memorized target (2 s) while event-related potentials (ERP) were recorded. Trials consisted of very short (1.25 s), short (1.6 s), target (2 s), long (2.5 s) or very long (3.125 s) durations, and a yes or no response was required on each trial. We examined behavioral response as signal detection (d') and response bias via a Generalized Accuracy Coefficient (GAC). We examined the mean amplitude as well as the change in amplitude of the initial Contingent Negative Variation (iCNV) and overall CNV (oCNV) and P350 (a P300-like component that follows stimulus extinction) potentials in paired, lateralized posterior electrodes. Results showed a bias to identifying shorter trials as the target more than longer trials via negative GAC scores. The slope and amplitudes of the iCNV and oCNV were consistently greater in right parietal electrodes. Also in right parietal electrodes, the iCNV correlated to d' scores while greater P350 amplitudes in the short condition correlated with more negative GAC scores. The results indicate dominance in the right hemisphere in temporal processing for durations exceeding 1 s. The P350 should also be studied further.