Quantifying evidential value and selective reporting in recent and 10-year past psychophysiological literature: A pre-registered P-curve analysis

Selective reporting (i.e., only reporting significant findings as opposed to all analyses or results) is a questionable research practice that undermines the integrity of published research. Psychophysiology research may be susceptible to selective reporting, given the high number of decision points and methodological complexity in analyses of psychophysiology data. We aimed to assess the presence of selective reporting and evidential value (i.e., that significant results are due to true underlying effects) in recent and past psychophysiological research by utilizing p-curve analyses. Study protocols and methods were pre-registered on the Open Science Framework (OSF). P-values and the associated test statistics were extracted from articles in the most recent issue (as of January 2018) and 10-year previous counterpart issue of three major psychophysiology journals: Psychophysiology, International Journal of Psychophysiology, and Journal of Psychophysiology. Using the p-curve application, 10 primary p-curves were conducted: all recent articles, all past articles, recent articles split by journal, past articles split by journal, recent cognitive electrophysiology articles, and past cognitive electrophysiology articles. Evidential value and generally adequate average power (≥78% average power) were present in all p-curves, except those that only included articles from the Journal of Psychophysiology because of the small number of articles published in the journal. Findings provide some positive news and indicate that, generally, results were not selectively reported, and selective reporting may not be a primary issue for this sample of psychophysiological research. Future p-curve analyses examining sub-disciplines of psychophysiology are recommended.

Neural correlates of error monitoring in an adult with Klinefelter's syndrome: a case report

Studies have indicated that individuals with Klinefelter's syndrome (KS) exhibit deficits in executive functions. However, little attention has been paid to investigate control mechanism of executive functions, i.e., error monitoring, in individuals with KS. Two event-related potential (ERP) components, i.e., error-related negativity (Ne/ERN) and error positivity (Pe), are the electrophysiological markers of error monitoring. This case report presents the findings of error monitoring from an adult with KS using the electrophysiological technique. This KS individual displayed small ERN and Pe amplitudes, suggesting that he may exhibit deficient error detection and reaction, a lack of conscious error recognition, and nonproficient adjustment after an error. The findings of this report should stimulate further study in error monitoring in individuals with KS.

A preliminary study of the neural mechanisms of frustration in pediatric bipolar disorder using magnetoencephalography

BACKGROUND

Irritability is prevalent and impairing in pediatric bipolar disorder (BD) but has been minimally studied using neuroimaging techniques. We used magnetoencephalography (MEG) to study theta band oscillations in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) during frustration in BD youth. ACC theta power is associated with attention to emotional stimuli, and the ACC may mediate responses to frustrating stimuli.

METHODS

We used the affective Posner task, an attention paradigm that uses rigged feedback to induce frustration, to compare 20 medicated BD youth (14.9+/-2.0 years; 45% male) and 20 healthy controls (14.7+/-1.7 years; 45% male). MEG measured neuronal activity after negative and positive feedback; we also compared groups on reaction time, response accuracy, and self-reported affect. Patients met strict DSM-IV BD criteria and were euthymic. Controls had no psychiatric history.

RESULTS

BD youth reported more negative affective responses than controls. After negative feedback, BD subjects, relative to controls, displayed greater theta power in the right ACC and bilateral parietal lobe. After positive feedback, BD subjects displayed lower theta power in the left ACC than did controls. Correlations between MEG, behavior, and affect were nonsignificant.

CONCLUSION

In this first MEG study of BD youth, BD youth displayed patterns of theta oscillations in the ACC and parietal lobe in response to frustration-inducing negative feedback that differed from healthy controls. These data suggest that BD youth may display heightened processing of negative feedback and exaggerated self-monitoring after frustrating emotional stimuli. Future studies are needed with unmedicated bipolar youth, and comparison ADHD and anxiety groups.