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Perone S, Vaughan AM. Frontal Alpha Asymmetry dynamics: A window into active self-regulatory processes. Biol Psychol 2024:108872. [PMID: 39321992 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2024.108872] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2024] [Revised: 08/22/2024] [Accepted: 09/17/2024] [Indexed: 09/27/2024]
Abstract
Frontal Alpha Asymmetry (FAA) has been studied since the late 1970s as a neural correlate of emotion regulation and motivational processes. FAA is often viewed through a dispositional lens reflecting individual differences in positive or negative emotionality and biases toward approach or avoidance motivational processes. However, FAA also shifts in response to context-specific conditions that elicit approach or avoidance responses, indicating FAA reflects active, ongoing self-regulatory processes. Moreover, FAA changes over time, and how it changes over time is affected by context, experience, and development. We propose FAA evolves over four different time scales including the (1) second-to-second, (2) laboratory task, (3) intervention or intensive learning experience, and (4) developmental time scales. We present evidence showing FAA evolves over each of these time scales and highlight influences of individual differences and the developmental context on how FAA changes over time. We emphasize the insights gained by studying change in FAA over each time scale. We concluded with recommendations about future directions and speculate about the nested, bidirectional nature of the four timescales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sammy Perone
- Department of Human Development, Washington State University.
| | - Aryn M Vaughan
- Department of Human Development, Washington State University
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2
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Pan Z, Zhang C, Su W, Qi X, Feng X, Gao L, Xu X, Liu J. Relationship between individual differences in pain empathy and task- and resting-state EEG. Neuroimage 2023; 284:120452. [PMID: 37949258 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2023] [Revised: 11/06/2023] [Accepted: 11/07/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Pain empathy is a complex form of psychological inference that enables us to understand how others feel in the context of pain. Since pain empathy may be grounded in our own pain experiences, it exhibits huge inter-individual variability. However, the neural mechanisms behind the individual differences in pain empathy and its association with pain perception are still poorly understood. In this study, we aimed to characterize brain mechanisms associated with individual differences in pain empathy in adult participants (n = 24). The 32-channel electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded at rest and during a pain empathy task, and participants viewed static visual stimuli of the limbs submitted to painful and nonpainful stimulation to solicit empathy. The pain sensitivity of each participant was measured using a series of direct current stimulations. In our results, the N2 of Fz and the LPP of P3 and P4 were affected by painful pictures. We found that both delta and alpha bands in the frontal and parietal cortex were involved in the regulation of pain empathy. For the delta band, a close relationship was found between average power, either in the resting or task state, and individual differences in pain empathy. It suggested that the spectral power in Fz's delta band may reflect subjective pain empathy across individuals. For the alpha band, the functional connectivity between Fz and P3 under painful picture stimulation was correlated to individuals' pain sensitivity. It indicated that the alpha band may reflect individual differences in pain sensitivity and be involved in pain empathy processing. Our results suggested the distinct role of the delta and alpha bands of EEG signals in pain empathy processing and may deepen our understanding of the neural mechanisms underpinning pain empathy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiqiang Pan
- Xi'an Key Laboratory of Intelligent Sensing and Regulation of trans-Scale Life Information, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Chuan Zhang
- Department of Radiology, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Sichuan 637000, PR China
| | - Wenjie Su
- Xi'an Key Laboratory of Intelligent Sensing and Regulation of trans-Scale Life Information, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Xingang Qi
- Xi'an Key Laboratory of Intelligent Sensing and Regulation of trans-Scale Life Information, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Xinyue Feng
- Xi'an Key Laboratory of Intelligent Sensing and Regulation of trans-Scale Life Information, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Lanqi Gao
- Xi'an Key Laboratory of Intelligent Sensing and Regulation of trans-Scale Life Information, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Xiaoxue Xu
- Department of Radiology, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Sichuan 637000, PR China.
| | - Jixin Liu
- Xi'an Key Laboratory of Intelligent Sensing and Regulation of trans-Scale Life Information, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
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3
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Lopez KL, Monachino AD, Vincent KM, Peck FC, Gabard-Durnam LJ. Stability, change, and reliable individual differences in electroencephalography measures: a lifespan perspective on progress and opportunities. Neuroimage 2023; 275:120116. [PMID: 37169118 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2023] [Revised: 03/27/2023] [Accepted: 04/13/2023] [Indexed: 05/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Electroencephalographic (EEG) methods have great potential to serve both basic and clinical science approaches to understand individual differences in human neural function. Importantly, the psychometric properties of EEG data, such as internal consistency and test-retest reliability, constrain their ability to differentiate individuals successfully. Rapid and recent technological and computational advancements in EEG research make it timely to revisit the topic of psychometric reliability in the context of individual difference analyses. Moreover, pediatric and clinical samples provide some of the most salient and urgent opportunities to apply individual difference approaches, but the changes these populations experience over time also provide unique challenges from a psychometric perspective. Here we take a developmental neuroscience perspective to consider progress and new opportunities for parsing the reliability and stability of individual differences in EEG measurements across the lifespan. We first conceptually map the different profiles of measurement reliability expected for different types of individual difference analyses over the lifespan. Next, we summarize and evaluate the state of the field's empirical knowledge and need for testing measurement reliability, both internal consistency and test-retest reliability, across EEG measures of power, event-related potentials, nonlinearity, and functional connectivity across ages. Finally, we highlight how standardized pre-processing software for EEG denoising and empirical metrics of individual data quality may be used to further improve EEG-based individual differences research moving forward. We also include recommendations and resources throughout that individual researchers can implement to improve the utility and reproducibility of individual differences analyses with EEG across the lifespan.
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Affiliation(s)
- K L Lopez
- Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA, United States
| | - A D Monachino
- Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA, United States
| | - K M Vincent
- Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA, United States
| | - F C Peck
- University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - L J Gabard-Durnam
- Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA, United States.
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El Basbasse Y, Packheiser J, Peterburs J, Maymon C, Güntürkün O, Grimshaw G, Ocklenburg S. Walk the plank! Using mobile electroencephalography to investigate emotional lateralization of immersive fear in virtual reality. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2023; 10:221239. [PMID: 37266038 PMCID: PMC10230188 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.221239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2022] [Accepted: 04/03/2023] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Most studies on emotion processing induce emotions through images or films. However, this method lacks ecological validity, limiting generalization to real-life emotion processing. More realistic paradigms using virtual reality (VR) may be better suited to investigate authentic emotional states and their neuronal correlates. This pre-registered study examines the neuronal underpinnings of naturalistic fear, measured using mobile electroencephalography (EEG). Seventy-five healthy participants walked across a virtual plank which extended from the side of a skyscraper-either 80 storeys up (the negative condition) or at street level (the neutral condition). Subjective ratings showed that the negative condition induced feelings of fear. Following the VR experience, participants passively viewed negative and neutral images from the international affective picture system (IAPS) outside of VR. We compared frontal alpha asymmetry between the plank and IAPS task and across valence of the conditions. Asymmetry indices in the plank task revealed greater right-hemispheric lateralization during the negative VR condition, relative to the neutral VR condition and to IAPS viewing. Within the IAPS task, no significant asymmetries were detected. In summary, our findings indicate that immersive technologies such as VR can advance emotion research by providing more ecologically valid ways to induce emotion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yasmin El Basbasse
- Department of Biopsychology, Faculty of Psychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ruhr-University Bochum, Universitätsstrasse 150, 44780 Bochum, Germany
| | - Julian Packheiser
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Social Brain Lab, 1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Jutta Peterburs
- Institute for Systems Medicine & Department of Human Medicine, MSH Medical School Hamburg, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
| | - Christopher Maymon
- School of Psychology, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
| | - Onur Güntürkün
- Department of Biopsychology, Faculty of Psychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ruhr-University Bochum, Universitätsstrasse 150, 44780 Bochum, Germany
- Research Center One Health Ruhr, Research Alliance Ruhr, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Gina Grimshaw
- School of Psychology, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
| | - Sebastian Ocklenburg
- Department of Biopsychology, Faculty of Psychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ruhr-University Bochum, Universitätsstrasse 150, 44780 Bochum, Germany
- Department of Psychology, MSH Medical School Hamburg, Am Kaiserkai 1, 20457 Hamburg, Germany
- Institute for Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, Medical School Hamburg, Am Kaiserkai 1, 20457 Hamburg, Germany
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5
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Marcu GM, Szekely-Copîndean RD, Radu AM, Bucuță MD, Fleacă RS, Tănăsescu C, Roman MD, Boicean A, Băcilă CI. Resting-state frontal, frontlateral, and parietal alpha asymmetry:A pilot study examining relations with depressive disorder type and severity. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1087081. [PMID: 37008856 PMCID: PMC10062203 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1087081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2022] [Accepted: 02/14/2023] [Indexed: 03/09/2023] Open
Abstract
IntroductionThe search for biomarkers has been central to efforts of improving clinical diagnosis and prognosis in psychopathology in the last decades. The main approach has been to validate biomarkers that could accurately discriminate between clinical diagnoses of very prevalent forms of psychopathology. One of the most popular electrophysiological markers proposed for discrimination in depressive disorders is the electroencephalography (EEG)-derived frontal alpha asymmetry. However, the validity, reliability and predictive value of this biomarker have been questioned in recent years, mainly due to conceptual and methodological heterogeneity.MethodsIn the current non-experimental, correlational study we investigated relationship of resting-state EEG alpha asymmetry from multiple sites (frontal, frontolateral, and parietal) with different forms of depressive disorders (varying in type or severity), in a clinical sample.ResultsResults showed that alpha asymmetry in the parietal (P3-P4) was significantly higher than in the frontal (F3-F4) and frontolateral sites (F7-F8). However, we did not find significant relations between alpha asymmetry indices and our depressive disorder measures, except for a moderate positive association between frontolateral alpha asymmetry (eyes-closed only) and depressive disorder severity (determined through clinical structured interview). We also found no significant differences in alpha asymmetry between participants, depending on their depression type.DiscussionBased on results, we propose the parietal and frontolateral asymmetry indices to form hypotheses that should not be abandoned in the depression markers research, but worth for further experimental research. Methodological and clinical implications of the current findings are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriela M. Marcu
- Department of Psychology, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Sibiu, Romania
- Faculty of Medicine, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania
- Scientific Collective for Research in Neuroscience, Clinical Psychiatric Hospital “Dr. Gh. Preda”, Sibiu, Romania
| | - Raluca D. Szekely-Copîndean
- Scientific Collective for Research in Neuroscience, Clinical Psychiatric Hospital “Dr. Gh. Preda”, Sibiu, Romania
- Department of Social and Human Research, Romanian Academy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Ana-Maria Radu
- Department of Psychology, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Sibiu, Romania
- Scientific Collective for Research in Neuroscience, Clinical Psychiatric Hospital “Dr. Gh. Preda”, Sibiu, Romania
- *Correspondence: Ana-Maria Radu,
| | - Mihaela D. Bucuță
- Department of Psychology, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Sibiu, Romania
- Center for Psychological Research, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Sibiu, Romania
| | - Radu S. Fleacă
- Faculty of Medicine, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Sibiu, Romania
| | - Ciprian Tănăsescu
- Faculty of Medicine, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Sibiu, Romania
| | - Mihai D. Roman
- Faculty of Medicine, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Sibiu, Romania
| | - Adrian Boicean
- Faculty of Medicine, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Sibiu, Romania
| | - Ciprian I. Băcilă
- Scientific Collective for Research in Neuroscience, Clinical Psychiatric Hospital “Dr. Gh. Preda”, Sibiu, Romania
- Faculty of Medicine, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Sibiu, Romania
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Deng X, Zhang S, Chen X, Coplan RJ, Xiao B, Ding X. Links between social avoidance and frontal alpha asymmetry during processing emotional facial stimuli: An exploratory study. Biol Psychol 2023; 178:108516. [PMID: 36792050 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2023.108516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2022] [Revised: 02/10/2023] [Accepted: 02/12/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2023]
Abstract
Individuals who are socially avoidant actively remove themselves from opportunities for social interaction and have a strong desire for solitude. Although social avoidance is associated with a host of adjustment difficulties, its neural substrates remain under-explored. To address this gap, we conducted an exploratory study to compare electroencephalography (EEG) frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA) scores during processing emotional facial stimuli in socially avoidant and non-withdrawn comparison individuals. From an original sample of N = 384 undergraduate students, 25 avoidant and 27 comparison individuals were identified. For this subset of participants, EEG modulations and self-reported experience ratings during a picture processing task were assessed. Among the results, the socially avoidant group's ratings of positive stimuli were significantly lower than the non-withdrawn comparison group. The socially avoidant group also had significantly lower FAA scores in response to positive stimuli than the comparison group. Further, asymmetry scores of the comparison group in the positive conditions were higher than in the negative and neutral conditions. However, there were no significant differences between these three conditions in the socially avoidant group. Our results suggest that socially avoidant individuals may eschew interpersonal relationships because of a relatively greater right hemisphere cortical activity, which may contribute to a withdrawal motivation when confronted with negative emotional stimuli in social contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinmei Deng
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China; The Shenzhen Humanities & Social Sciences Key Research Bases of the Center for Mental Health, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Simin Zhang
- Department of Psychology, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiaomin Chen
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Robert J Coplan
- Department of Psychology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
| | - Bowen Xiao
- Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Xuechen Ding
- Department of Psychology, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China; The Research Base of Online Education for Shanghai Middle and Primary Schools, Shanghai, China.
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7
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Glier S, Campbell A, Corr R, Pelletier-Baldelli A, Belger A. Individual differences in frontal alpha asymmetry moderate the relationship between acute stress responsivity and state and trait anxiety in adolescents. Biol Psychol 2022; 172:108357. [PMID: 35662579 PMCID: PMC10091222 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2022.108357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2021] [Revised: 05/09/2022] [Accepted: 05/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Stress is a risk factor in the development and maintenance of psychopathology, particularly anxiety. Despite theory suggesting differences in stress responsivity may explain heterogeneity in anxiety, findings remain contradictory. This may be due to failure to account for individuals' neurobiological states and outdated methodologic analyses which confound conceptually and biologically distinct stress response pathways. In 145 adolescents, this study examined whether individual differences in neural activation underlying motivational states, indexed by resting frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA) before and after the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), moderate the relationship between stress responsivity (measured by cortisol) and anxiety. Adolescents with rightward FAA activation (indexed by changes in resting FAA pre-to-post TSST) and high trait anxiety showed blunted cortisol reactivities while those with leftward FAA activation and high state anxiety showed prolonged cortisol recoveries. Our work reveals individual differences in vulnerability to psychosocial stressors and is the first study to show that FAA activation moderates the relationships between anxiety and distinct phases of the stress response in adolescents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Glier
- School of Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Psychiatry Department at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
| | - Alana Campbell
- Psychiatry Department at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Rachel Corr
- Psychiatry Department at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | | | - Aysenil Belger
- Psychiatry Department at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
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8
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Goshvarpour A, Goshvarpour A. Innovative Poincare's plot asymmetry descriptors for EEG emotion recognition. Cogn Neurodyn 2022; 16:545-559. [PMID: 35603058 PMCID: PMC9120274 DOI: 10.1007/s11571-021-09735-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2021] [Revised: 09/18/2021] [Accepted: 10/13/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Given the importance of emotion recognition in both medical and non-medical applications, designing an automatic system has captured the attention of several scholars. Currently, EEG-based emotion recognition has a special position, which has not fulfilled the desired accuracy rates yet. This experiment intended to provide novel EEG asymmetry measures to improve emotion recognition rates. Four emotional states have been classified using the k-nearest neighbor (kNN), support vector machine, and Naïve Bayes. Feature selection has been performed, and the role of employing a different number of top-ranked features on emotion recognition rates has been assessed. To validate the efficiency of the proposed scheme, two public databases, including the SJTU Emotion EEG Dataset-IV (SEED-IV) and a Database for Emotion Analysis using Physiological signals (DEAP) were evaluated. The experimental results indicated that kNN outperformed the other classifiers with a maximum accuracy of 95.49 and 98.63% using SEED-IV and DEAP datasets, respectively. In conclusion, the results of the proposed novel EEG-asymmetry measures make the framework a superior one compared to the state-of-art EEG emotion recognition approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Atefeh Goshvarpour
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Sahand University of Technology, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Ateke Goshvarpour
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Imam Reza International University, Rezvan Campus, Phalestine Sq., Mashhad, Razavi Khorasan Iran
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9
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Berretz G, Packheiser J, Wolf OT, Ocklenburg S. Acute stress increases left hemispheric activity measured via changes in frontal alpha asymmetries. iScience 2022; 25:103841. [PMID: 35198894 PMCID: PMC8850739 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.103841] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2021] [Revised: 09/08/2021] [Accepted: 01/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Frontal EEG alpha band asymmetries have been linked to affective processing in healthy individuals and affective disorders. As stress provides a strong source of negative affect, the present study investigated how acute stress affects frontal EEG alpha asymmetries. Continuous EEG data were acquired from 51 healthy adult participants during stress induction with the Trier Social Stress Test. EEG data were also collected during a non-stressful control condition. Furthermore, EEG resting state data were acquired after both conditions. Under stress, participants showed stronger left hemispheric activation over frontal electrodes as well as reduced left-hemispheric activation over occipital electrodes compared to the control condition. Our results are in line with predictions of the asymmetric inhibition model which postulates that the left prefrontal cortex inhibits negative distractors. Moreover, the results support the capability model of emotional regulation which states that frontal asymmetries during emotional challenge are more pronounced compared to asymmetries during rest. EEG recording during social stress induction Stronger left hemispheric frontal activation during emotional challenge No stress-related changes in resting state EEG after stress induction Support for asymmetric inhibition and the capability model of emotional regulation
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Affiliation(s)
- Gesa Berretz
- Department of Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitätsstraße 150, Room: IB 6/109, 44780 Bochum, Germany
- Corresponding author
| | - Julian Packheiser
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Social Brain Lab, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Oliver T. Wolf
- Department of Cognitive Psychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Sebastian Ocklenburg
- Department of Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitätsstraße 150, Room: IB 6/109, 44780 Bochum, Germany
- Department of Psychology, Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
- Institute for Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
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10
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Metzen D, Genç E, Getzmann S, Larra MF, Wascher E, Ocklenburg S. Frontal and parietal EEG alpha asymmetry: a large-scale investigation of short-term reliability on distinct EEG systems. Brain Struct Funct 2021; 227:725-740. [PMID: 34676455 PMCID: PMC8843903 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-021-02399-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2021] [Accepted: 09/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
EEG resting-state alpha asymmetry is one of the most widely investigated forms of functional hemispheric asymmetries in both basic and clinical neuroscience. However, studies yield inconsistent results. One crucial prerequisite to obtain reproducible results is the reliability of the index of interest. There is a body of research suggesting a moderate-to-good reliability of EEG resting-state alpha asymmetry, but unfortunately sample sizes in these studies are typically small. This study presents the first large-scale short-term reliability study of frontal and parietal EEG resting-state alpha asymmetry. We used the Dortmund Vital Study data set containing 370 participants. In each participant, EEG resting state was recorded eight times, twice with their eyes opened, twice with their eyes-closed, each on two different EEG systems. We found good reliability of EEG alpha power and alpha asymmetry on both systems for electrode pairs. We also found that alpha power asymmetry reliability is higher in the eyes-closed condition than in the eyes-open condition. The frontomedial electrode pair showed weaker reliability than the frontolateral and parietal electrode pairs. Interestingly, we found no population-level alpha asymmetry in frontal electrodes, one of the most investigated electrode sites in alpha asymmetry research. In conclusion, our results suggest that while EEG alpha asymmetry is an overall reliable measure, frontal alpha asymmetry should be assessed using multiple electrode pairs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dorothea Metzen
- Department of Biopsychology, Faculty of Psychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitätsstraße 150, 44801, Bochum, Germany.
| | - Erhan Genç
- Department of Psychology and Neurosciences, Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Technical University of Dortmund (IfADo), 44139, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Stephan Getzmann
- Department of Ergonomics, Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Technical University of Dortmund (IfADo), 44139, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Mauro F Larra
- Department of Ergonomics, Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Technical University of Dortmund (IfADo), 44139, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Edmund Wascher
- Department of Ergonomics, Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Technical University of Dortmund (IfADo), 44139, Dortmund, Germany
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11
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Long Z, Liu G, Xiao Z, Gao P. Improvement of Emotional Response to Negative Stimulations With Moderate-Intensity Physical Exercise. Front Psychol 2021; 12:656598. [PMID: 34276479 PMCID: PMC8280290 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.656598] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2021] [Accepted: 06/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
It is widely accepted that physical exercises (PEs) not only are good for fitness but also contribute to mental health and well-being. The positive influence of PEs on emotion has become a topic of much excitement. However, a quantitative study is required to discuss the effect of short-term moderate-intensity PE on the emotional response by using electroencephalogram (EEG) asymmetry. The experiments, including 20-min moderate-intensity cycling and EEG data acquisition with picture-induced emotion assessment protocol, were designed in this paper. The experiment procedure consists of two emotion assessment sessions, each of which contains 24 pictures. About 80 participants were randomly allocated into the exercise group and the control group. Participants in the exercise group were instructed to have a 20-min moderate-intensity cycling after the first assessment session, then rested until their heart rates recovered to baselines and their emotional states were assessed again in the second session. The control group only had a 20-min break without the cycling exercise between the two sessions. It was observed that, in the control group, the EEG asymmetry had no significant difference in these two assessment sessions for both positive and negative stimulations. However, in the exercise group, the difference of the EEG asymmetry before and after PE was significant only in response to negative stimulations. Further, the in-depth analysis of EEG asymmetry index changes of individual participants shows that the short-term moderate-intensity PE has a positive impact in response to negative stimulations. The proposed experiments show that the negative emotional experience can be reduced by the moderate-intensity PE and support the hypothesis that the moderate-intensity PE is good at improving emotional response to negative stimulations. This study provides the evidence of positive effects of PE in the domain of emotion regulation with experimental data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhengji Long
- College of Electronic and Information Engineering, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.,Chongqing Key Laboratory of Nonlinear Circuits and Intelligent Information Processing, Chongqing, China
| | - Guangyuan Liu
- College of Electronic and Information Engineering, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.,Chongqing Key Laboratory of Nonlinear Circuits and Intelligent Information Processing, Chongqing, China
| | - Zhangyan Xiao
- College of Electronic and Information Engineering, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Pengfei Gao
- College of Electronic and Information Engineering, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
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