John E. Kiat

Escalating risk and the moderating effect of resistance to peer influence on the P200 and feedback-related negativity

Young people frequently socialize together in contexts that encourage risky decision making, pointing to a need for research into how susceptibility to peer influence is related to individual differences in the neural processing of decisions during sequentially escalating risk. We applied a novel analytic approach to analyze EEG activity from college-going students while they completed the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART), a well-established risk-taking propensity assessment. By modeling outcome-processing-related changes in the P200 and feedback-related negativity (FRN) sequentially within each BART trial as a function of pump order as an index of increasing risk, our results suggest that analyzing the BART in a progressive fashion may provide valuable new insights into the temporal neurophysiological dynamics of risk taking. Our results showed that a P200, localized to the left caudate nucleus, and an FRN, localized to the left dACC, were positively correlated with the level of risk taking and reward. Furthermore, consistent with our hypotheses, the rate of change in the FRN was higher among college students with greater self-reported resistance to peer influence.

Why won’t they sit with me? An exploratory investigation of stereotyped cues, social exclusion, and the P3b

ABSTRACT The importance of understanding how we anticipate and prepare for being socially excluded is underscored by the numerous adverse mental and physical consequences of social rejection. In this study, we adapted a social exclusion paradigm, the Lunchroom task, to investigate the use of social context cues in the formation of social outcome expectations as indexed by the P3b, an ERP component associated with attention orientation and context updating. In this task, Black and White participants were presented with either neutral or stereotyped cues prior to being exposed to simulated inclusion versus exclusion outcome scenarios. Black participants showed evidence of (1) a significantly reduced P3b response to exclusions preceded by stereotyped cues relative to neutral cue-related exclusions and (2) a marginally significant increase in the P3b response to inclusions relative to exclusions when both were preceded by stereotyped cues. Both of these findings suggest a key role for the use of social cues in the formation of outcome expectations. In line with our hypothesis that the random intermixing of inclusion and exclusion outcomes would prevent formation of outcome expectations when coupled with the absence of self-relevant cues, no overall P3b modulations were observed among a comparison group of White participants.

An exploratory high-density EEG investigation of the misinformation effect: Attentional and recollective differences between true and false perceptual memories

HIGHLIGHTSTrue and false perceptual memory ERPs on the misinformation effect are contrasted.Both attention and retrieval processes are shown to have key roles in event memory.True memories are associated with a higher P3b and LPC relative to false ones.False memory rejections show a marginally higher P3b relative to false memories. ABSTRACT The misinformation effect, a phenomenon in which eyewitness memories are altered via exposure to post‐event misinformation, is one of the most important paradigms used to investigate the reconstructive nature of human memory. The aim of this study was to use the misinformation effect paradigm to investigate differences in attentional and recollective processing between true and false event memories. Nineteen participants completed a variant of the misinformation paradigm in which recognition responses to true and misinformation based event details embedded within a narrative context, were investigated using high‐density (256‐channel) EEG with a 1‐day delay between event exposure and test. Source monitoring responses were used to isolate event‐related‐potentials (ERPs) associated with perceptual (i.e. event) source attributions. Temporal‐spatial analyses of these ERPs showed evidence of an elevated P3b and Late‐Positive Component, associated with stronger context‐matching responses and recollective activity respectively, in true perceptual memories relative to false misinformation based ones. These findings represent the first retrieval focused EEG investigation of the misinformation effect and highlight the interplay between attention and retrieval processes in episodic memory recognition.

The impact of individuation on the bases of human empathic responding

ABSTRACT While there is substantial overlap in the neural systems underlying empathy for people we know as opposed to strangers, social distance has been shown to significantly moderate empathic neural responses towards the negative experiences of others. Intriguingly however, variance in empathic neural responses towards known and unknown targets has not been reflected by behavioral differences as indexed by self‐reported empathic ratings. One explanation for this disconnect is that empathic evaluations of known and unknown individuals draw on different bases (e.g. target identity/reactions) within the empathic process. To test this hypothesis, we utilized high density EEG to assess how individuating targets with personal names moderated the link between behavioral pain ratings and attentional processing oriented towards (a) initial target processing and (b) subsequent expressions target discomfort. Consistent with prior findings, no differences in pain ratings between individuated and unindividuated targets was observed. However, individual mean pain rating differences for individuated targets was strongly positively related to attentional processing levels, indexed by the P300, during the initial presentation of those targets, a relationship absent for unindividuated targets. In contrast, pain ratings for unindividuated targets was positively related to levels of attentional processing, indexed by the Late Positive Potential (LPP), during the subsequent discomfort expression stage. Furthermore, the LPP response to individuated target discomfort was positively linked to behavioral measures of emotional expressivity whereas the LPP response to unindividuated target discomfort was positively associated with cognitive appraisal. These findings suggest that individuation can significantly shift the bases of empathic responding. HIGHLIGHTSIndividuating targets using names moderates the neural bases of empathic responding.Pain ratings for named targets were linked to P300 responses to face presentations.Ratings for unnamed targets were linked to LPP responses to pain expressions.Expression LPP responses to named targets were predicted by emotional expressivity.Expression LPP responses to unnamed targets were predicted by cognitive reappraisal.

Assessing cross-modal target transition effects with a visual-auditory oddball

Prior research has shown contextual manipulations involving temporal and sequence related factors significantly moderate attention-related responses, as indexed by the P3b event-related-potential, towards infrequent (i.e., deviant) target oddball stimuli. However, significantly less research has looked at the influence of cross-modal switching on P3b responding, with the impact of target-to-target cross-modal transitions being virtually unstudied. To address this gap, this study recorded high-density (256 electrodes) EEG data from twenty-five participants as they completed a cross-modal visual-auditory oddball task. This task was comprised of unimodal visual (70% Nontargets: 30% Deviant-targets) and auditory (70% Nontargets: 30% Deviant-targets) oddballs presented in fixed alternating order (i.e., visual-auditory-visual-auditory, etc.) with participants being tasked with detecting deviant-targets in both modalities. Differences in the P3b response towards deviant-targets as a function of preceding deviant-targets presentation modality was analyzed using temporal-spatial PCA decomposition. In line with predictions, the results indicate that the ERP response to auditory deviant-targets preceded by visual deviant-targets exhibits an elevated P3b, relative to the processing of auditory deviant-targets preceded by auditory deviant-targets. However, the processing of visual deviant-targets preceded by auditory deviant-targets exhibited a reduced P3b response, relative to the P3b response towards visual deviant-targets preceded by visual deviant-targets. These findings provide the first demonstration of temporally and perceptually decoupled target-to-target cross-modal transitions moderating P3b responses on the oddball paradigm, generally providing support for the context-updating interpretation of the P3b response.

The influence of distractor strength and response order on MCQ responding

Abstract Multiple-choice questions (MCQs) play a key role in standardised testing and in-class assessment. Research into the influence of within-item response order on MCQ characteristics has been mixed. While some researchers have shown preferential selection of response options presented earlier in the answer list, others have failed to replicate these results. This paper investigates a possible explanation for these mixed findings by assessing the influence of distractor strength on MCQ response order effects. A real-world assessment was administered to 232 undergraduates in which the response order within items was systematically varied. A generalised multilevel model was then used to show a significant interaction between distractor strength and response position with regard to response behaviour. Furthermore, the effect was found to be independent of student ability. These findings have implications for MCQ test construction, minimising the negative consequences of MCQ test exposure and promoting improved test-taking strategies.

Attentional responses on an auditory oddball predict false memory susceptibility

Attention and memory are highly integrated processes. Building on prior behavioral investigations, this study assesses the link between individual differences in low-level neural attentional responding and false memory susceptibility on the misinformation effect, a paradigm in which false event memories are induced via misleading post-event information. Twenty-four subjects completed the misinformation effect paradigm after which high-density (256-channel) EEG data was collected as they engaged in an auditory oddball task. Temporal-spatial decomposition was used to extract two attention-related components from the oddball data, the P3b and Classic Slow Wave. The P3b was utilized as an index of individual differences in salient target attentional responding while the slow wave was adopted as an index of variability in task-level sustained attention. Analyses of these components show a significant negative relationship between slow-wave responses to oddball non-targets and perceptual false memory endorsements, suggestive of a link between individual differences in levels of sustained attention and false memory susceptibility. These findings provide the first demonstrated link between individual differences in basic attentional responses and false memory. These results support prior behavioral work linking attention and false memory and highlight the integration between attentional processes and real-world episodic memory.

Tick–tock goes the croc: a high-density EEG study of risk-reactivity and binge-drinking

Abstract Links between individual differences in risk processing and high-risk behaviors such as binge-drinking have long been the focus of active research. However, investigations in this area almost exclusively utilize decision-making focused paradigms. This emphasis makes it difficult to assess links between risk behaviors and raw risk reactivity independent of decision and feedback processes. A deeper understanding of this association has the potential to shed light on the role of risk reactivity in high-risk behavior susceptibility. To contribute toward this aim, this study utilizes a popular risk-taking game, the crocodile dentist, to assess links between individual differences in decision-free risk-reactivity and reported binge-drinking frequency levels. In this task, participants engage in a series of decision-free escalating risk responses. Risk-reactivity was assessed by measuring late positive potential responses toward risk-taking action initiation cues using high-density 256-Channel EEG. The results indicate that, after controlling for overall alcohol consumption frequency, higher rates of reported binge-drinking are associated with both increased general risk-taking responsivity and increased risk-reactivity escalation as a function of risk level. These findings highlight intriguing links between risk reactivity and binge-drinking frequency, making key contributions in the areas of risk-taking and affective science.

Exploring electrophysiological correlates of social cognition in subclinical schizotypy: Exploring electrophysiological correlates of social cognition in subclinical schizotypy

Impairments in social cognition and associated abnormalities in brain function are well documented in psychotic disorders. They may represent neurodevelopmental vulnerabilities and may therefore be present in less severe or even subclinical conditions of the schizophrenia spectrum, such as schizotypy. Schizotypy has features highly suggestive of social cognitive impairments, but little is known about possible related abnormalities of brain function. This exploratory pilot study examines electrophysiological event-related potentials (ERPs) implicated in schizophrenia, in 23 undergraduates with a range of subclinical schizotypal characteristics. ERPs were recorded in response to emotional face stimuli in an experimental paradigm designed to assess very early stages of social stimulus processing. Three ERPs were assessed, P100, N170 and P300. P100 and P300 were found to be related to multiple schizotypal features, but N170 was not. The results support occurrence of social cognitive impairments linked to abnormal brain function across the schizophrenia spectrum. Copyright

The role of individual differences in visual\verbal information processing preferences in visual\verbal source monitoring

ABSTRACT Researchers have long sought to understand individual differences in false memory susceptibility. One particularly interesting direction in this area looks at individual differences in visual versus verbal styles of information processing. Prior work linking individual differences in these cognitive styles with false memory susceptibility has been mixed, likely due to a lack of research that distinguishes between visual and verbal styles as independent factors. The current study addresses this issue by linking independent visual and verbal scores on the Style of Processing scale with performance on a Picture-Word source-monitoring task in which 82 participants indicated if various objects were previously presented to them as words or images. The results of this study show that higher visual style of processing preferences are associated with improved levels of visual source-monitoring ability as indexed by a reduced number of source-monitoring errors involving the misattribution of verbally presented items to a visual source.