Psychophysiology最新文献

The ERP components P3 and P600 have been proposed to reflect phasic activity of the locus coeruleus norepinephrine (LC/NE) system in response to deviant and task-relevant stimuli across cognitive domains. However, causal evidence for this link remains limited. Here, we used continuous transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS), a noninvasive method proposed to modulate LC/NE activity, to test whether these components are indeed sensitive to NE manipulation. Forty participants completed both an active visual oddball task and a sentence processing task, including both syntactic and semantic violations, while receiving continuous taVNS at the cymba conchae in one session and sham stimulation at the earlobe in another session. We observed robust P3 and P600 effects. Crucially, however, taVNS had no effect on P3 or P600 amplitude. The physiological NE markers, salivary alpha-amylase level and baseline pupil size, were also unaffected by the stimulation, suggesting that the taVNS protocol and/or task may not have been sufficient to successfully engage the LC/NE system. Beyond the stimulation, however, exploratory analyses revealed correlations between the syntactic P600 and both the P3 and salivary alpha-amylase levels, supporting the idea that the P600 might be related to both the P3 and NE. Overall, our findings do not allow for theoretical implications concerning a potential causal link between the two components and NE but highlight the need for more standardized taVNS protocols.

Emotion is key to human communication, and inferring emotion in a speaker's voice is a cross-cultural and cross-linguistic capability. Electroencephalography (EEG) studies of neural mechanisms supporting emotion perception have reported that early components of the event-related potential (ERP) are modulated by emotion. However, the nature of emotion's effect, especially on the P200 component, is disputed. We hypothesized that early acoustic features of emotional utterances might account for ERP modulations previously attributed to emotion. We recorded multi-channel EEG from healthy participants (n = 30) tasked with recognizing the emotion of utterances. We used 50 vocalizations in five emotions-anger, happiness, neutral, sadness and pleasure-drawn from the Montreal Affective Voices dataset. We statistically quantified instantaneous associations between ERP amplitudes, emotion categories, and acoustic features, specifically, intensity, pitch, first formant, and second formant. We found that shortly after utterance onset (120-250 ms, i.e., P200, early P300) ERP amplitude for sad vocalizations was less than for other emotional categories. Moreover, ERP amplitude at around 180 ms for happy vocalization was less than for anger, sadness, and pleasure. Our analysis showed that acoustic intensity explains most of these early-latency effects. We also found that, at longer latency (220-500 ms; late P200, P300) ERP amplitude for neutral vocalizations was less than for other emotional categories. Furthermore, there were also ERP differences between anger and happiness, anger and pleasure, anger and sadness, happiness and pleasure, as well as happiness and sadness in shorter windows during this late period. Acoustic pitch and, to a lesser degree, acoustic intensity explain most of these later effects. We conclude that acoustic features can account for early ERP modulations evoked by emotional utterances. Because previous studies used a variety of stimuli, our result likely resolves previous disputes on emotion's effect on P200.

Objects typically appear within rich visual scenes. By capitalizing on learnt statistical pairings between objects and scenes, the visual system can use scene information to generate predictions about objects likely to occur within a given environment. Some models of visual system function propose that scene information is extracted from low-spatial frequency components and rapidly propagates through the visual processing hierarchy. This contextual information may help bias perceptual inferences toward objects that are likely to appear within a scene, enacted via top-down feedback carrying predictions. We tested this hypothesized influence of low spatial frequency information through newly learnt predictive object-scene associations. We recorded electroencephalographic (EEG) data from 40 participants who viewed high-spatial frequency objects either in isolation or embedded within low- or high-spatial frequency scenes. Object-scene pairings were probabilistically manipulated such that certain objects more frequently appeared in certain scenes. We trained classifiers on EEG data from object-only trials and tested them on object plus scene trials. We did not observe differences in classification accuracy across expected and unexpected objects for both low- and high-spatial frequency scenes, and any interaction between spatial frequency and expectation. However, we observed expectation effects on event-related potentials for both spatial frequency conditions. These effects arose at similar latencies for both low- and high-spatial frequency scenes but interacted with the expectation effects. Together, we report evidence that expectations induced by object-scene pairings influence visually evoked responses but do not modulate object representations.

Human interpersonal coordination can yield synchronization at multiple timescales, including behavioral (auditory-motor) and physiological (respiratory and cardiac) levels; yet the causal relationship among these levels is poorly understood. We examine dyadic synchronization at behavioral (tone onsets) and physiological (respiratory and cardiac) levels in music performance, a rhythmic task that requires fine temporal coordination among performers. By perturbing dyads' auditory-motor synchrony or their respiration during joint melody perception and production, we demonstrate the directional influence from dyadic respiration synchrony to behavioral synchrony. Respiratory perturbations impaired both dyadic respiratory and behavioral synchrony, whereas auditory-motor perturbations disrupted only dyadic behavioral synchrony. Furthermore, individual differences influenced dyadic synchrony: partners with similar spontaneous production rates achieved better behavioral synchrony in joint production, and partners with similar resting heart rates exhibited stronger cardiac synchrony in joint production. These findings reveal directional entrainment processes between respiratory and behavioral synchrony, and highlight the pivotal role of individual differences in interpersonal coordination.

In a previous paper, we showed in children 6-12 years old that a resting-state (RS) eyes-open dark room (DR) task provides RS parietal-occipital alpha measures similar to those obtained using the standard RS eyes-closed (EC) exam. Results provided initial evidence that the RS DR procedure is feasible and useful with populations often excluded from electrophysiology RS studies, such as participants who cannot remain awake with their eyes closed or cannot remain still for an extended period. The present study extended the DR and EC comparisons to a much larger sample of children spanning a wider age range and expanded the analysis strategy to examine RS aperiodic measures (offset and slope [exponent] of the power spectrum) and to evaluate 15 distinct brain regions rather than just the previously examined parieto-occipital RS periodic alpha activity. RS activity was recorded using MEG, here reporting on 147 DR and EC datasets obtained from children (including 23 with evaluable datasets at multiple timepoints) with typical development (TD; N = 69) and children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; N = 53) 7.7-17.1 years old. Findings showed good reliability in both TD and ASD for the EC and DR parietal-occipital peak alpha frequency (frequency with highest alpha power; interclass correlation [ICC] = 0.84, p < 0.001). The ICC for periodic parieto-occipital PAF power was lower (ICC = 0.65). For offset and exponent, the two RS aperiodic measures, fair to good reliability for both groups was observed between DR and EC at all 15 brain regions (mean and median ICC values 0.77-0.80). Offset and exponent values differed significantly across the 15 brain regions, as did associations between age and both aperiodic measures. Findings confirm that the DR exam is a viable way to obtain RS periodic and aperiodic measures. The lack of TD/ASD differences in the EC and DR periodic and aperiodic ICCs supports the generalizability of the DR procedure. Finally, regional differences in aperiodic measures demonstrate the need to assess aperiodic activity in brain source space rather than scalp sensor space.

Depressive disorders often show recurrent courses that cannot be sufficiently prevented by existing therapeutic protocols. In other affective disorders, recurrence has been linked to three mechanisms -spontaneous recovery, accelerated new/relearning, and reinstatement- which are related to the preservation of disorder-related memory traces even through successful extinction-based interventions. Reconsolidation-interference protocols aim to directly alter such traces by reactivating and destabilizing them before intervention. While this approach has shown benefits in fear, craving, and trauma-related symptoms, its application to depression remains untested. To our knowledge, this study provides the first experimental evidence of its utility in depression-like states. Sixty participants took part in a three-day, three-group, double-blind randomized controlled trial. On day one, helplessness was induced using a modified unsolvable anagram task. On day two, participants were randomized into three groups undergoing different interventions while completing another cognitive demanding task: (1) extinction, where participants experienced success from start to finish; (2) reconsolidation, where participants briefly reexperienced failure before succeeding; or (3) reactivation, where failure repeated. On day three, the helplessness task was presented again to evaluate susceptibility for recurrence across conditions. Behavioral, self-report, and EEG data were collected. Across test days, participants showed reduced motivation and performance, attributing failure to personal ability, confirming successful helplessness induction. However, interventions at day two produced no robust group differences on behavioral, self-report, or EEG measures. Exploratory analyses suggested that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels may have mediated outcomes. Findings do not confirm reconsolidation-based behavioral interference as effective for depression-like helplessness. Nonetheless, exploratory results highlight BDNF as a potential mediator, warranting further study on its role in postretrieval extinction effects in depression.

Proactive cognitive control enables individuals to anticipate and prepare for upcoming cognitive demands. Whereas prior research highlights the involvement of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in proactive cognitive control, the lateralization of this function remains unclear. In this single-blind, sham-controlled, within-subject, randomized preregistered study, 31 healthy participants (mean age = 22.26, SD = 4.01; 18 women) received, in three separate sessions, sham and active high-frequency (20hz) repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (HF-rTMS) over the left and right DLPFC before performing a blocked version of the antisaccade task in combination with pupillometry to assess proactive cognitive control. Although preregistered analyses with saccade latency (i.e., time to initiate the first saccadic movement) did not show a significant effect of HF-rTMS, exploratory analyses with fixation latencies (i.e., time to fixate the gaze at the correct target location) in antisaccade trials were significantly shorter after both active left and right DLPFC stimulation compared to sham. Moreover, analyses accounting for tonic pupil size showed that the pupil size during the anticipatory phase (reflecting phasic resource allocation) was relatively larger after active left and right HF-rTMS (vs sham) on prosaccade trials, and that a larger pupil size during the anticipatory phase was associated with shorter fixation latencies in antisaccade trials. Tonic pupil size, reflecting sustained resource allocation, was larger after left DLPFC stimulation and was associated with longer saccade and fixation latencies after sham, but not active stimulation. These findings provide important evidence that helps reconcile mixed results in the field by supporting the involvement of both left and right DLPFC in proactive cognitive control via the regulation of anticipatory allocation of cognitive resources.

Bodily rhythms such as breathing and heartbeat influence perception and motor processes. Recent studies have indicated that breathing phases, particularly exhalation, synchronize with voluntary actions, potentially reflecting a general influence on motor intention. However, this effect might depend on the specific effector and movement direction. This study aimed to investigate (i) respiratory synchronization across different voluntary motor tasks, (ii) the interaction between stimulus-locked and action-locked respiratory coupling, and (iii) cardiac synchronization with voluntary actions. A total of 32 healthy participants performed two voluntary motor tasks: a modified Libet clock task and an elbow flexion-extension task. In the Libet clock task, the participants monitored a rotating dot on a clock face and either pressed a key at a self-chosen time (key-press condition) or released the key after holding it pressed (key-release condition). In the elbow flexion-extension task, the participants spontaneously pushed (elbow extension) or pulled (elbow flexion) a joystick. Across tasks, voluntary actions showed an overall tendency to occur during exhalation across multiple effectors (finger and elbow) and movement directions (extension and flexion). Furthermore, stimulus-locked respiratory phase was associated with subsequent action timing, suggesting that trial structure can shape respiration-action coupling. We found no robust evidence for systematic cardiac-phase modulation of voluntary action timing, although a weak condition-specific trend was observed. Collectively, these findings support respiration-action coupling across diverse actions and highlight a potential contribution of stimulus-locked respiratory dynamics to voluntary action timing.

Access to social support during emotional stress is one of the most important factors for the successful regulation of stress-induced psychophysiological activation, and is predictive of improved health and well-being. In this research we wanted to deepen our understanding of this buffering effect, focusing on the modulation of the startle reflex during a standardized stress induction as a function of the proximity with social resources as well as the relationship type with them. Seventy participants were exposed to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) in one of three possible conditions: Alone, Together with their romantic partner, or Together with a stranger. Startle reactivity to a series of acoustic probes presented during the task was measured along with self-reported levels of anxiety. Results indicate that, independently of the social manipulation, stress induction is associated with a strong inhibition of the startle reflex. Furthermore, we found that access to social resources buffers this startle inhibition, showing that being together with others when facing a stressor regulates threat vigilance. We interpret these findings through the lens of the Social Baseline Theory, suggesting that startle dynamically tracks the load sharing process by which proximity with social resources optimizes the physiological as well as cognitive regulation of behavior in a threatening environment.

Although the N170 component is popularly regarded as a marker of configural face processing, contradictory evidence exists. Many neural adaptation studies employing upright and inverted faces as adaptor and test stimuli have reported N170 adaptation effects (i.e., amplitude reduction when preceded by the same versus different face orientation) for inverted but not upright faces, suggesting N170's sensitivity to featural rather than configural processing. Noting that most prior studies relied on non-face-related tasks, the present study systematically investigated N170 adaptation effects under different tasks. Consistent with previous findings, we did not observe a significant adaptation effect for upright faces during a non-face task (flower detection), but such effects emerged in tasks requiring active face discrimination (repeated or target face detection). By contrast, adaptation effects for inverted faces were present regardless of task. Notably, all adaptation effects persisted despite changes in face identity, image, or size, and consistently exhibited the typical right occipito-temporal distribution associated with face processing, indicating they are not attributable to low-level visual adaptation. Further analysis revealed that the N170 adaptation effect for upright faces was influenced by variation in face image but not size, with strongest effects observed when consecutive faces shared the same identity and photograph, an effect absent for inverted faces. Together, our findings suggest that distinct neuronal populations underlie the N170: those more sensitive to inverted faces may process salient facial features (e.g., eyes), while those tuned to upright faces are engaged in configural processing and high-level analysis of facial image patterns.