Risky economic choices and frontal EEG asymmetry in the context of Reinforcer-Sensitivity-Theory-5

This study investigated individual risky choice behavior in a gambling task and its relation with traits proposed by the Reinforcer-Sensitivity-Theory-5 (RST-5; Corr & McNaughton in Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 36(10), 2339–2354, 2012) as well as with frontal EEG asymmetry. As assumed by the RST-5, the results showed independent influences of approach/avoidance and gain/loss sensitivities on participants’ behavior in risky choices. Individual approach/avoidance sensitivity was predicted by trait measures of the behavioral approach system (BAS) and the behavioral inhibition system (BIS), while no such correlation was present for gain/loss sensitivity. EEG recordings revealed relatively stronger left-frontal cortical activity for trials with approach motivation compared to conflict and avoidance motivation. On the individual level, relatively stronger left-frontal cortical activity was associated with trait BAS. In addition, activity changes in frontal EEG asymmetry were associated relatively higher behavioral approach sensitivity. We conclude that frontal EEG asymmetry is an especially useful neuronal marker of BAS sensitivity and that the traits proposed by the RST-5 (measured by frontal EEG asymmetry and self-report) can be used to explain individual differences in risky choice behavior.     

Resting EEG in alpha and beta bands predicts individual differences in attentional breadth

Whether individuals focus their attention on the global level (the forest), or local elements that make up the stimulus (the trees) remains relatively stable over a period of at least 10 days in multiple global/local measures. Greater attentional approach tendencies and vigilance, which are likely reflected by lower alpha and higher beta power, are associated with narrowed attentional breadth. The current study investigated whether individual differences in the propensity for individuals to focus on the global or local levels (attentional breadth) can be predicted based on EEG power in alpha and its neighbouring frequency bands during a preceding rest period. Greater levels of posterior alpha and preponderance of alpha-to-beta power at rest were associated with greater attentional breadth during the subsequent Navon letters task. These results suggest that neural indices of attentional approach when not engaged in a goal-orientated task are associated with individual differences in attentional breadth.     

Separating emotion and motivational direction in fear and anger: effects on frontal asymmetry

State effects on frontal alpha electroencephalograph asymmetry (ASY) are thought to reflect approach and withdrawal motivational tendencies. Although this motivational direction model has inspired a large body of research, efforts to disentangle influences of emotion (EMO) and motivational direction (MOT) on ASY are rare. The authors independently manipulated EMO (fear and anger) and MOT (approach and withdrawal) in a between-subjects design. Irrespective of MOT, anger led to greater changes toward relative left frontal activation (LFA) than did fear. Conversely, higher ratings of negative valence were associated with greater changes toward LFA in withdrawal but with greater changes toward relative right frontal activation in approach. Results are discussed within a model based on behavioral inhibition system-behavioral activation system theory.     

Behavioral Approach System Sensitivity and Risk Taking Interact to Predict Left-Frontal EEG Asymmetry

The Behavioral Approach System (BAS) hypersensitivity theory of bipolar disorder (BD; Alloy & Abramson, 2010; Depue & Iacono, 1989) suggests that hyperreactivity in the BAS results in the extreme fluctuations of mood characteristic of BD. In addition to risk conferred by BAS hypersensitivity, cognitive and personality variables may play a role in determining risk. We evaluated relationships among BAS sensitivity, risk taking, and an electrophysiological correlate of approach motivation, relative left-frontal electroencephalography (EEG) asymmetry. BAS sensitivity moderated the relationship between risk taking and EEG asymmetry. More specifically, individuals who were high in BAS sensitivity showed left-frontal EEG asymmetry regardless of their level of risk-taking behavior. However, among individuals who were moderate in BAS sensitivity, risk taking was positively associated with asymmetry. These findings suggest that cognitive and personality correlates of bipolar risk may evidence unique contributions to a neural measure of trait-approach motivation. Clinical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Laboratory-induced learned helplessness attenuates approach motivation as indexed by posterior versus frontal theta activity

Research suggests that midline posterior versus frontal electroencephalographic (EEG) theta activity (PFTA) may reflect a novel neurophysiological index of approach motivation. Elevated PFTA has been associated with approach-related tendencies both at rest and during laboratory tasks designed to enhance approach motivation. PFTA is sensitive to changes in dopamine signaling within the fronto-striatal neural circuit, which is centrally involved in approach motivation, reward processing, and goal-directed behavior. To date, however, no studies have examined PFTA during a laboratory task designed to reduce approach motivation or goal-directed behavior. Considerable animal and human research supports the hypothesis put forth by the learned helplessness theory that exposure to uncontrollable aversive stimuli decreases approach motivation by inducing a state of perceived uncontrollability. Accordingly, the present study examined the effect of perceived uncontrollability (i.e., learned helplessness) on PFTA. EEG data were collected from 74 participants (mean age = 19.21 years; 40 females) exposed to either Controllable (n = 26) or Uncontrollable (n = 25) aversive noise bursts, or a No-Noise Condition (n = 23). In line with prediction, individuals exposed to uncontrollable aversive noise bursts displayed a significant decrease in PFTA, reflecting reduced approach motivation, relative to both individuals exposed to controllable noise bursts or the No-Noise Condition. There was no relationship between perceived uncontrollability and frontal EEG alpha asymmetry, another commonly used neurophysiological index of approach motivation. Results have implications for understanding the neurophysiology of approach motivation and establishing PFTA as a neurophysiological index of approach-related tendencies.     

On the selective relation of frontal cortical asymmetry and anger-out versus anger-control

The model of anterior asymmetry and emotion proposes an asymmetric representation of approach and withdrawal systems in the left and right anterior brain regions. Within this framework, 3 different concepts have been related to anterior asymmetry: affective valence, motivational direction, and behavioral activation. The aim of the present study was an empirical investigation into the relation between anterior cortical activity and questionnaire measures related to the 3 dimensions positive versus negative affect, approach versus withdrawal motivation, and behavioral activation versus inhibition. Subjects with relative greater left than right frontal cortical activity showed higher anger-out scores and lower anger-control scores. These results support the hypothesis that motivational direction is related to frontal asymmetry (approach-left and withdrawal-right). Furthermore, subjects with greater bilateral (left and right) frontal cortical activity showed higher behavioral activation scores. This finding might suggest that behavioral activation is related to approach and withdrawal motivation.     

A dynamic model of guilt: implications for motivation and self-regulation in the context of prejudice

Guilt is widely recognized as an important self-regulatory emotion, yet alternative theoretical accounts view guilt primarily as either a punishment cue or a prosocial motivator. Integrating these views, we propose that guilt functions dynamically to first provide a negative reinforcement cue associated with reduced approach motivation, which transforms into approach-motivated behavior when an opportunity for reparation presents itself. We tested this hypothesis in the context of racial prejudice. White subjects viewed a multiracial series of faces while cortical activity was recorded using electroencephalography. Following bogus feedback indicating anti-Black responses, subjects reported elevated guilt, which was associated with changes in frontal cortical asymmetry indicating reduced approach motivation. When subjects were presented with an opportunity to engage in prejudice-reducing behavior, guilt predicted greater interest in prejudice reduction, which in turn was associated with an approach-related shift in frontal asymmetry. The results support a dynamic model in which guilt is associated with adaptive changes in motivation and behavior.     

Massage and music therapies attenuate frontal EEG asymmetry in depressed adolescents

EEG asymmetry, specifically greater relative right frontal activation, is associated with negative affect. Depressed adults show stable patterns of this asymmetry. The present study assessed the effects of massage therapy and music therapy on frontal EEG asymmetry in depressed adolescents. Thirty adolescents with greater relative right frontal EEG activation and symptoms of depression were given either massage therapy (n = 14) or music therapy (n = 16). EEG was recorded for three-minute periods before, during, and after therapy. Frontal EEG asymmetry was significantly attenuated during and after the massage and music sessions.     

Approach-motivated positive affect reduces breadth of attention

Research has found that positive affect broadens attention. However, these studies have manipulated positive affect that is low in approach motivation. Positive affect that is high in approach motivation should reduce the breadth of attention, as organisms shut out irrelevant stimuli as they approach desired objects. Four studies examined the attentional consequences of approach-motivated positive-affect states. Results were consistent with predictions. Participants showed less global attentional focus after viewing high-approach-motivating positive stimuli than after viewing low-approach-motivating positive stimuli (Study 1) or neutral stimuli (Study 2). Study 3 found that greater trait approach motivation resulted in less global attentional focus after participants viewed approach-motivating positive stimuli. Study 4 manipulated affect and approach motivation independently. Greater approach-motivated positive affect caused lower global focus. High-approach-motivated positive affect reduces global attentional focus, whereas low-approach-motivated positive affect increases global attentional focus. Incorporating the intensity of approach motivation into models of positive affect broadens understanding of the consequences of positive affect.     

Motion as motivation: using repetitive flexion movements to stimulate the approach system

Research suggests that having a healthy approach system is critical for adaptive emotional functioning. The goal of the current study (n=186 undergraduates) was to determine the efficacy of an easy-to-disseminate and cost-efficient strategy for stimulating this system. The experiment tested the effects of repeated flexion movements (rFM) on approach system activation as measured by both self-report (BAS scales) and behavior. The results showed that rFM increased approach system motivation in men but not women. Men who completed the rFM task reported significantly greater levels of fun-seeking motivation than men in the control task. Moreover, the rFM task led to changes in actual behavior. Men who completed the rFM task exhibited significantly greater persistence on a difficult laboratory task than men in the control task. In contrast, women who completed the rFM task reported significantly lower levels of fun seeking and tended to exhibit less persistence on a difficult laboratory task than women in the control task. These results provide support for embodied theories of emotion as well as additional evidence for a gender difference in approach-avoidance tendencies.     

Making a life worth living: neural correlates of well-being

Despite the vast literature that has implicated asymmetric activation of the prefrontal cortex in approach-withdrawal motivation and emotion, no published reports have directly explored the neural correlates of well-being. Eighty-four right-handed adults (ages 57-60) completed self-report measures of eudaimonic well-being, hedonic well-being, and positive affect prior to resting electroencephalography. As hypothesized, greater left than right superior frontal activation was associated with higher levels of both forms of well-being. Hemisphere-specific analyses documented the importance of goal-directed approach tendencies beyond those captured by approach-related positive affect for eudaimonic but not for hedonic well-being. Appropriately engaging sources of appetitive motivation, characteristic of higher left than right baseline levels of prefrontal activation, may encourage the experience of well-being.     

Manipulating smoking motivation: impact on an electrophysiological index of approach motivation.

A chief goal of this research was to determine whether stimuli and events known to enhance smoking motivation also influence a physiological variable with the potential to index approach motivation. Asymmetry of electroencephalographic (EEG) activity across the frontal regions of the 2 hemispheres (left minus right hemisphere activation) was used to index approach motivation. In theory, if EEG asymmetry sensitively indexes approach dispositions, it should be influenced by manipulations known to affect smoking motivation, that is, exposure to smoking cues and tobacco deprivation. Seventy-two smokers participated in this research and were selectively exposed to a smoking-anticipation condition (cigarettes plus expectation of imminent smoking) following either 24 hr of tobacco withdrawal or ad libitum smoking. Results indicated that EEG asymmetry was increased by smoking anticipation and that smoking itself reduced EEG asymmetry. Results also suggested that smoking anticipation increased overall (bihemispheric) EEG activation. Results were interpreted in terms of major theories of drug motivation.     

Neural Activity Underlying the Effect of Approach-Motivated Positive Affect on Narrowed Attention

ABSTRACT— Positive affects high in approach motivational intensity narrow attention. The present study extended this recent finding by testing whether a neural activation associated with approach-motivation intensity—relative left frontal-central activity—would underlie the effect of appetitive stimuli on narrowed attention (as measured by local attentional bias). It also tested whether individual differences in approach motivation relate to this attentional narrowing. Results supported predictions, suggesting a common association of relative left frontal hemispheric processing for approach-motivational processes and narrowed attention.     

The relationship between self-control and health: The mediating effect of avoidant coping

Trait self-control is related to a number of positive outcomes, including mental health, interpersonal success, academic success and health-related behaviours. This study sought to explore the relationships between self-control, reports of mental and physical health symptoms and coping styles. The results revealed that higher self-control was related to fewer mental and physical health symptoms and less avoidance coping. There was not a significant relationship between self-control and problem-focused or emotion-focused coping styles. Further, the relationships between self-control and mental and physical health outcomes were partially mediated by avoidance coping style. Specifically, the data suggest lower self-control is associated with unhealthy coping strategies (avoidance coping), which in turn are associated with worse mental health outcomes and greater reports of physical health symptoms. Thus lower trait self-control can serve as an indicator, suggesting circumstances in which individuals’ tendencies to engage in unhealthy coping strategies are increased. These findings add to a growing body of literature underscoring the importance of trait self-control.     

A study named desire: Local focus increases approach motivation for desserts

When we desire something, our approach motivation is high. Recent research shows affective states high in approach motivation cause attentional narrowing (localization) (e.g.; Gable and Harmon-Jones in Psychological Science 19:476–482, 2008; Juergensen and Demaree in Motivation and Emotion 39:580–588, 2015). Does the reciprocal relationship exist? That is, when our attention is narrowed, does our motivation to approach something desirable increase? To test this, we primed participants with either global or local attentional focus before viewing images of desirable items (e.g., desserts) or neutral items (e.g., furniture). Relative to participants primed with global attentional focus, participants primed with local attentional focus demonstrated greater approach motivation to desirable desserts compared to neutral items on an Approach Avoidance Task. Despite greater approach motivation for desserts, participants with localized attention did not subjectively rate desserts as more desirable than participants with global attention. These results suggest that increased approach motivation following local priming is evidenced at an implicit level only: participants appear to be unaware of appetitive images’ increased desirability.     

On the relationship of frontal brain activity and anger: Examining the role of attitude toward anger

Activity in the left frontal cortex has been associated with positive affective traits, and activity in the right frontal cortex has been associated with negative affective traits. However, in this past research, the valence of the affect (positive vs. negative) was confounded with the direction of the motivation (approach vs. withdrawal). Recent research found that trait anger, a negative affect with approach tendencies, relates to increased left frontal activity. The present research addressed an alternative explanation for these past results—that the relationship between anger and increased left frontal activity is due to anger being regarded as a positive feeling. After developing a reliable and valid instrument that measures attitude toward anger, research indicated that trait anger related to relative left frontal activity and this relationship was not due to the anger being associated with a positive attitude toward anger.     

Monitor yourself! Deficient error-related brain activity predicts real-life self-control failures

Despite their immense relevance, the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying real-life self-control failures (SCFs) are insufficiently understood. Whereas previous studies have shown that SCFs were associated with decreased activity in the right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG; a region involved in cognitive control), here we consider the possibility that the reduced implementation of cognitive control in individuals with low self-control may be due to impaired performance monitoring. Following a brain-as-predictor approach, we combined experience sampling of daily SCFs with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in a Stroop task. In our sample of 118 participants, proneness to SCF was reliably predicted by low error-related activation of a performance-monitoring network (comprising anterior mid-cingulate cortex, presupplementary motor area, and anterior insula), low posterror rIFG activation, and reduced posterror slowing. Remarkably, these neural and behavioral measures predicted variability in SCFs beyond what was predicted by self-reported trait self-control. These results suggest that real-life SCFs may result from deficient performance monitoring, leading to reduced recruitment of cognitive control after responses that conflict with superordinate goals.     

Prior self-control exertion and perceptions of pain during a physically demanding task

ObjectivesExertion of self-control has been associated with impaired performance on subsequent physical tasks also requiring self-control, but it remains unknown why this occurs. This study, therefore, explored whether a) prior self-control exertion reduces subsequent persistence on a physically demanding task, and b) whether any observed performance decrements could be explained by changes in perceptions of pain.MethodIn a within-subject design, sixty-three individuals completed an easy (congruent) Stroop task or a difficult (incongruent) Stroop task that required self-control. Participants were then required to remain in a physically demanding posture (i.e., a ‘wall-sit’) until voluntary exhaustion and their perception of pain was recorded during the task.ResultsWhen participants completed the difficult Stroop task, they quit the wall-sit sooner. This decrement in performance was explained by greater perceptions of pain at the beginning of the wall-sit.ConclusionsPerceptions of pain may, therefore, be an important attentional mechanism explaining why self-control use interferes with subsequent persistence during physically effortful tasks.     

Frontal brain asymmetry and reward responsiveness: a source-localization study

The influence of approach and avoidance tendencies on affect, reasoning, and behavior has attracted substantial interest from researchers across various areas of psychology. Currently, frontal electroencephalographic (EEG) asymmetry in favor of left prefrontal regions is assumed to reflect the propensity to respond with approach-related tendencies. To test this hypothesis, we recorded resting EEG in 18 subjects, who separately performed a verbal memory task under three incentive conditions (neutral, reward, and punishment). Using a source-localization technique, we found that higher task-independent alpha2 (10.5-12 Hz) activity within left dorsolateral prefrontal and medial orbitofrontal regions was associated with stronger bias to respond to reward-related cues. Left prefrontal resting activity accounted for 54.8% of the variance in reward bias. These findings not only confirm that frontal EEG asymmetry modulates the propensity to engage in appetitively motivated behavior, but also provide anatomical details about the underlying brain systems.     

Facets of mindfulness mediate behavioral inhibition systems and emotion dysregulation

Behavioral motivation is regulated through the behavioral inhibition system (BIS) and the behavioral approach system (BAS), which underlie responses to emotional stimuli and are thought to influence emotion dysregulation. Research shows that mindfulness may increase the efficacy of emotion regulation among those with psychological symptoms, but the relationships between behavioral motivation and mindfulness have been only minimally explored. This study examines relationships between behavioral motivation systems and emotion dysregulation as mediated by mindfulness facets. Mediation was tested in a sample of 246 college students (M_age = 19.28, 61.8% female, 81.3% Caucasian) using a multiple mediator bootstrapping method. Results revealed an indirect relationship between BIS sensitivity and increased emotion dysregulation through underutilization of three distinct mindfulness skills: act with awareness, non-judging, and non-reactivity. Mindfulness facets did not mediate relationships between BAS sensitivity and emotion dysregulation, though BAS Reward Responsiveness directly predicted increased emotion dysregulation while BAS Drive was marginally associated with decreased emotion dysregulation. Findings delineate specific relationships between BIS/BAS, mindfulness skills, and emotion dysregulation while suggesting mindfulness training may be useful for BIS sensitive individuals.