1
|
Rapaport H, Seymour RA, Benikos N, He W, Pellicano E, Brock J, Sowman PF. Investigating predictive coding in younger and older children using MEG and a multi-feature auditory oddball paradigm. Cereb Cortex 2023:7078825. [PMID: 36928162 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2022] [Revised: 02/03/2023] [Accepted: 02/03/2023] [Indexed: 03/18/2023] Open
Abstract
There is mounting evidence for predictive coding theory from computational, neuroimaging, and psychological research. However, there remains a lack of research exploring how predictive brain function develops across childhood. To address this gap, we used pediatric magnetoencephalography to record the evoked magnetic fields of 18 younger children (M = 4.1 years) and 19 older children (M = 6.2 years) as they listened to a 12-min auditory oddball paradigm. For each child, we computed a mismatch field "MMF": an electrophysiological component that is widely interpreted as a neural signature of predictive coding. At the sensor level, the older children showed significantly larger MMF amplitudes relative to the younger children. At the source level, the older children showed a significantly larger MMF amplitude in the right inferior frontal gyrus relative to the younger children, P < 0.05. No differences were found in 2 other key regions (right primary auditory cortex and right superior temporal gyrus) thought to be involved in mismatch generation. These findings support the idea that predictive brain function develops during childhood, with increasing involvement of the frontal cortex in response to prediction errors. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the brain function underpinning child cognitive development.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hannah Rapaport
- School of Psychological Sciences, 16 University Ave, Macquarie University, Sydney, 2109, Australia.,Macquarie School of Education, 26 Wally's Walk, Macquarie University, Sydney, 2109, Australia
| | - Robert A Seymour
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, 12 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AR, United Kingdom
| | - Nicholas Benikos
- School of Psychological Sciences, 16 University Ave, Macquarie University, Sydney, 2109, Australia
| | - Wei He
- School of Psychological Sciences, 16 University Ave, Macquarie University, Sydney, 2109, Australia
| | - Elizabeth Pellicano
- Macquarie School of Education, 26 Wally's Walk, Macquarie University, Sydney, 2109, Australia.,Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, 26 Bedford Way, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
| | - Jon Brock
- School of Psychological Sciences, 16 University Ave, Macquarie University, Sydney, 2109, Australia
| | - Paul F Sowman
- School of Psychological Sciences, 16 University Ave, Macquarie University, Sydney, 2109, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Chronaki G, Benikos N, Soltesz F, Sonuga-Barke EJS. The reinforcing value of delay escape in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder: An electrophysiological study. Neuroimage Clin 2019; 23:101917. [PMID: 31491823 PMCID: PMC6614592 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2019.101917] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2019] [Revised: 06/15/2019] [Accepted: 06/29/2019] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
The delay aversion hypothesis argues that the tendency for impulsive choice (preference for smaller sooner over larger later rewards) is motivated by the escape of negative affective states associated with delay. This model predicts that individuals with ADHD find the imposition of delay before an outcome or event especially aversive and its escape reinforcing. Consistent with this, fMRI studies show that ADHD is associated with amygdala hyper-sensitivity to cues of delay. However, evidence that delay escape is reinforcing is lacking. Here we extend fMRI research by using electrophysiological methods to study the reinforcing properties of delay-escape in ADHD. Thirty controls and 25 adolescents with ADHD aged 10–15 years performed the Escape Delay Incentive (EDI) task- in which pre-target cues indicated three conditions: i) CERTAIN DELAY: delay would follow a response irrespective of response speed ii) CONDITIONAL DELAY: delay would only follow if the response was too slow and iii) NO DELAY: delay would follow the response whatever the speed. We focused on the Contingent Negative Variation (CNV), a cue-evoked marker of motivated response preparation, across two time windows (CNV1 and CNV2). We took measures of parent, teacher and self-rated ADHD symptoms, task performance (RT) and self-rated delay aversion. We isolated CNV components and compared these between ADHD and controls. Adolescents with ADHD displayed a larger CNV2 to the CONDITIONAL DELAY than the CERTAIN DELAY cues compared to controls. However, this effect was not mirrored at the performance level and was unrelated to self-reported delay aversion. Our study provides the first ERP evidence that delay escape differentially reinforcers neural activation of attention preparation in ADHD cases. Future studies should examine the impact of varying cognitive load on task EDI performance. Individuals with ADHD find cues predicting the imposition of delay aversive but evidence that delay escape is reinforcing is lacking We used the Escape-Delay Incentive Task to isolate the CNV, reflecting motivated attention preparation to escape delay cues Adolescents with ADHD displayed larger CNV2 to cues signalling the possibility to escape delay Results provide the first ERP evidence of the reinforcing value of delay escape in ADHD
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Georgia Chronaki
- Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience (DCN) Laboratory, School of Psychology, University of Central Lancashire, UK; Developmental Brain-Behaviour Laboratory, Psychology, University of Southampton, UK; Division of Neuroscience & Experimental Psychology, University of Manchester, UK.
| | - Nicholas Benikos
- Department of Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, Australia
| | - Fruzsina Soltesz
- Developmental Brain-Behaviour Laboratory, Psychology, University of Southampton, UK
| | - Edmund J S Sonuga-Barke
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Kings College London, UK; Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Aarhus University, Denmark.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Chronaki G, Broyd SJ, Garner M, Benikos N, Thompson MJJ, Sonuga-Barke EJS, Hadwin JA. The Moderating Effect of Self-Reported State and Trait Anxiety on the Late Positive Potential to Emotional Faces in 6-11-Year-Old Children. Front Psychol 2018. [PMID: 29515476 PMCID: PMC5826320 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction: The emergence of anxiety during childhood is accompanied by the development of attentional biases to threat. However, the neural mechanisms underlying these biases are poorly understood. In addition, previous research has not examined whether state and trait anxiety are independently associated with threat-related biases. Methods: We compared ERP waveforms during the processing of emotional faces in a population sample of 58 6-11-year-olds who completed self-reported measures of trait and state anxiety and depression. Results: The results showed that the P1 was larger to angry than neutral faces in the left hemisphere, though early components (P1, N170) were not strongly associated with child anxiety or depression. In contrast, Late Positive Potential (LPP) amplitudes to angry (vs. neutral) faces were significantly and positively associated with symptoms of anxiety/depression. In addition, the difference between LPPs for angry (vs. neutral) faces was independently associated with state and trait anxiety symptoms. Discussion: The results showed that neural responses to facial emotion in children with elevated symptoms of anxiety and depression were most evident at later processing stages characterized as evaluative and effortful. The findings support cognitive models of threat perception in anxiety and indicate that trait elements of anxiety and more transitory fluctuations in anxious affect are important in understanding individual variation in the neural response to threat in late childhood.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Georgia Chronaki
- Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience (DCN) Laboratory, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, United Kingdom.,Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom.,School of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
| | - Samantha J Broyd
- School of Psychology, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia
| | - Matthew Garner
- School of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
| | - Nicholas Benikos
- Department of Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | | | | | - Julie A Hadwin
- School of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Chronaki G, Soltesz F, Benikos N, Sonuga-Barke EJS. An electrophysiological investigation of reinforcement effects in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder: Dissociating cue sensitivity from down-stream effects on target engagement and performance. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2017; 28:12-20. [PMID: 29080475 PMCID: PMC6987869 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2017.10.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2016] [Revised: 10/13/2017] [Accepted: 10/17/2017] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Objective Neural hypo-sensitivity to cues predicting positive reinforcement has been observed in ADHD using the Monetary Incentive Delay (MID) task. Here we report the first study using an electrophysiological analogue of this task to distinguish between (i) cue related anticipation of reinforcement and downstream effects on (ii) target engagement and (iii) performance in a clinical sample of adolescents with ADHD and controls. Methods Thirty-one controls and 32 adolescents with ADHD aged 10–16 years performed the electrophysiological (e)-MID task − in which preparatory cues signal whether a response to an upcoming target will be reinforced or not − under three conditions; positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement (response cost) and no consequence (neutral). We extracted values for both cue-related potentials known to be, both, associated with response preparation and modulated by reinforcement (Cue P3 and Cue CNV) and target-related potentials (target P3) and compared these between ADHD and controls. Results ADHD and controls did not differ on cue-related components on neutral trials. Against expectation, adolescents with ADHD displayed Cue P3 and Cue CNV reinforcement-related enhancement (versus neutral trials) compared to controls. ADHD individuals displayed smaller target P3 amplitudes and slower and more variable performance − but effects were not modulated by reinforcement contingencies. When age, IQ and conduct problems were controlled effects were marginally significant but the pattern of results did not change. Discussion ADHD was associated with hypersensitivity to positive (and marginally negative) reinforcement reflected on components often thought to be associated with response preparation − however these did not translate into improved attention to targets. In the case of ADHD, upregulated CNV may be a specific marker of hyper-arousal rather than an enhancement of anticipatory attention to upcoming targets. Future studies should examine the effects of age, IQ and conduct problems on reinforcement sensitivity in ADHD.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Georgia Chronaki
- Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience (DCN) Laboratory, School of Psychology, University of Central Lancashire, UK; Developmental Brain-Behaviour Laboratory, Psychology, University of Southampton, UK; Division of Neuroscience & Experimental Psychology, University of Manchester, UK
| | - Fruzsina Soltesz
- Developmental Brain-Behaviour Laboratory, Psychology, University of Southampton, UK
| | - Nicholas Benikos
- Department of Cognitive Science Australian Hearing Hub 16 University Avenue Macquarie University, NSW, 2109, UK
| | - Edmund J S Sonuga-Barke
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Kings College London, UK; Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Belgium.
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Chronaki G, Benikos N, Fairchild G, Sonuga-Barke EJS. Atypical neural responses to vocal anger in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2015; 56:477-87. [PMID: 25117642 DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.12312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/29/2014] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Deficits in facial emotion processing, reported in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), have been linked to both early perceptual and later attentional components of event-related potentials (ERPs). However, the neural underpinnings of vocal emotion processing deficits in ADHD have yet to be characterised. Here, we report the first ERP study of vocal affective prosody processing in ADHD. METHODS Event-related potentials of 6-11-year-old children with ADHD (n = 25) and typically developing controls (n = 25) were recorded as they completed a task measuring recognition of vocal prosodic stimuli (angry, happy and neutral). Audiometric assessments were conducted to screen for hearing impairments. RESULTS Children with ADHD were less accurate than controls at recognising vocal anger. Relative to controls, they displayed enhanced N100 and attenuated P300 components to vocal anger. The P300 effect was reduced, but remained significant, after controlling for N100 effects by rebaselining. Only the N100 effect was significant when children with ADHD and comorbid conduct disorder (n = 10) were excluded. CONCLUSION This study provides the first evidence linking ADHD to atypical neural activity during the early perceptual stages of vocal anger processing. These effects may reflect preattentive hyper-vigilance to vocal anger in ADHD.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Georgia Chronaki
- Developmental Brain-Behaviour Laboratory, Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK; Section of Clinical & Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychological Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
6
|
Abstract
The Thatcher illusion (Thompson in Perception, 9, 483-484, 1980) is often explained as resulting from recognising a distortion of configural information when 'Thatcherised' faces are upright but not when inverted. However, recent behavioural studies suggest that there is an absence of perceptual configurality in upright Thatcherised faces (Donnelly et al. in Attention, Perception & Psychophysics, 74, 1475-1487, 2012) and both perceptual and decisional sources of configurality in behavioural tasks with Thatcherised stimuli (Mestry, Menneer et al. in Frontiers in Psychology, 3, 456, 2012). To examine sources linked to the behavioural experience of the illusion, we studied inversion and Thatcherisation of faces (comparing across conditions in which no features, the eyes, the mouth, or both features were Thatcherised) on a set of event-related potential (ERP) components. Effects of inversion were found at the N170, P2 and P3b. Effects of eye condition were restricted to the N170 generated in the right hemisphere. Critically, an interaction of orientation and eye Thatcherisation was found for the P3b amplitude. Results from an individual with acquired prosopagnosia who can discriminate Thatcherised from typical faces but cannot categorise them or perceive the illusion (Mestry, Donnelly et al. in Neuropsychologia, 50, 3410-3418, 2012) only differed from typical participants at the P3b component. Findings suggest the P3b links most directly to the experience of the illusion. Overall, the study showed evidence consistent with both perceptual and decisional sources and the need to consider both in relation to configurality.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Natalie Mestry
- Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton, Hampshire, SO17 1BJ, UK,
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
7
|
Hsu CF, Benikos N, Sonuga-Barke EJS. Spontaneous activity in the waiting brain: a marker of impulsive choice in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder? Dev Cogn Neurosci 2015; 12:114-22. [PMID: 25681956 PMCID: PMC6989780 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2015.01.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2014] [Revised: 12/09/2014] [Accepted: 01/22/2015] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
In controls very low frequency (VLF) EEG attenuated during task and waiting periods. In ADHD there was less attenuation during tasks and none at all during waiting. Degree of waiting attenuation correlated with parent's ratings of impulsive choice. Aberrant waiting VLF EEG may be a neural marker for impulsive choice in ADHD.
Background Spontaneous very low frequency oscillations (VLFO), seen in the resting brain, are attenuated when individuals are working on attention demanding tasks or waiting for rewards (Hsu et al., 2013). Individuals with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) display excess VLFO when working on attention tasks. They also have difficulty waiting for rewards. Here we examined the waiting brain signature in ADHD and its association with impulsive choice. Methods DC-EEG from 21 children with ADHD and 21 controls (9–15 years) were collected under four conditions: (i) resting; (ii) choosing to wait; (iii) being “forced” to wait; and (iv) working on a reaction time task. A questionnaire measured two components of impulsive choice. Results Significant VLFO reductions were observed in controls within anterior brain regions in both working and waiting conditions. Individuals with ADHD showed VLFO attenuation while working but to a reduced level and none at all when waiting. A closer inspection revealed an increase of VLFO activity in temporal regions during waiting. Excess VLFO activity during waiting was associated with parents’ ratings of temporal discounting and delay aversion. Conclusions The results highlight the potential role for waiting-related spontaneous neural activity in the pathophysiology of impulsive decision-making of ADHD.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Chia-Fen Hsu
- Institute for Disorders of Impulse & Attention, Developmental Brain-Behaviour Laboratory, Psychology, University of Southampton, UK
| | - Nicholas Benikos
- Institute for Disorders of Impulse & Attention, Developmental Brain-Behaviour Laboratory, Psychology, University of Southampton, UK
| | - Edmund J S Sonuga-Barke
- Institute for Disorders of Impulse & Attention, Developmental Brain-Behaviour Laboratory, Psychology, University of Southampton, UK; Department of Experimental Clinical & Health Psychology, Ghent University, Belgium.
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Hsu CF, Broyd SJ, Helps SK, Benikos N, Sonuga-Barke EJ. “Can waiting awaken the resting brain?” A comparison of waiting- and cognitive task-induced attenuation of very low frequency neural oscillations. Brain Res 2013; 1524:34-43. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2013.05.043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2013] [Revised: 05/13/2013] [Accepted: 05/23/2013] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
|