言语和非言语信号加工的早期分离——来自ERP研究的证据

利用128导事件相关电位技术,对19名正常被试在言语、峰鸣声和音乐刺激上产生的脑电早期外源性成分N1进行了考察。实验结果发现,在音素条件和蜂鸣声条件下,左侧额叶N1波幅显著高于右侧。偶极子溯源分析发现音素条件和蜂鸣声条件下的偶极子都位于左脑额叶,而音乐条件下的两个偶极子位于右脑额叶。证明范畴属性对信号加工大脑半球优势的影响在加工的早期就开始发挥作用。     

听觉失匹配负波反映自动加工──感觉道间选择性注意时的新证据

为考察听觉失匹配负波是否反映自动加工,实验改进了视觉和听觉刺激同时呈现的感觉道间选择性注意实验模式,更好地控制了非注意听觉条件。结果发现,在注意与非注意听觉条件下,听觉偏离刺激均诱发出失匹配负波;注意听觉刺激时１４０－１８０ｍｓ的偏离相关负波与非注意时该时程负波的平均波幅之间无显著差异,而注意时１８０－２２０ｍｓ的偏离相关负波的平均波幅大于非注意时同一时程之负波;非注意听觉时失匹配负波的平均波幅和峰潜伏期不受视觉道任务难度的影响,该结果为听觉失匹配负波反映自动加工的观点提供了进一步证据。     

Individual differences in ERPs during mental rotation of characters: Lateralization,and performance level

The cognitive process of imaging an object turning around is called mental rotation. Many studies have been put forward analyzing mental rotation by means of event-related potentials (ERPs). Event-related potentials (ERPs) were measured during mental rotation of characters in a sample (N = 82) with a sufficient size to obtain even small effects. A bilateral ERP amplitude modulation as a function of angular displacement was observed at parietal leads without any lateralization. Sex had no effect on mental rotation of characters, neither with respect to performance nor with respect to brain potentials. When the sample was split into groups of high- and low-performers, however, the results indicated (a) in line with the idea of neural efficiency substantially larger amplitudes for low-performers; (b) that the smaller amplitudes of the high-performers involved larger parietal networks; and (c) a left-parietal disengagement of neural activity for high-performers but a right-parietal disengagement for low-performers. The latter finding became evident through an analysis of internal consistencies of ERP amplitudes across conditions and performance levels, showing that internal consistencies were reduced at all three leads in the high-performance group for the biggest rotation angle, relative the other conditions and the low-performing group.     

Electrophysiological correlates of processes supporting memory for faces

The retrieval processes supporting recognition memory for faces were investigated using event-related potentials (ERPs). The focus for analyses was ERP old/new effects, which are the differences between neural activities associated with correct judgments to old (studied) and new (unstudied) test stimuli. In two experiments it was possible to identify three old/new effects that behaved as neural indices of the process of recollection. In both experiments there was one old/new effect that behaved as an index of the process of familiarity. These outcomes are relevant to the ongoing debate about the functional significance of ERP old/new effects and the implications that scalp-recorded electrophysiological data have for theories of the processes supporting long-term memory judgments.     

Anticipatory attention during the sleep onset period

To examine whether anticipatory attention or expectancy is a cognitive process that is automatic or requires conscious control, we employed a paired-stimulus event-related potential (ERP) paradigm during the transition to sleep. The slow negative ERP wave observed between two successive stimuli, the Contingent Negative Variation (CNV), reflects attention and expectancy to the second stimulus. Thirteen good sleepers were instructed to respond to the second stimulus in a pair during waking sessions. In a non-response paradigm modified for sleep, participants then fell asleep while tones played. As expected, N1 decreased and P2 increased in amplitude systematically with the loss of consciousness at sleep onset; the CNV was increasingly more positive. Sleep onset latency was correlated with the amplitude of the CNV. The systematic attenuation of the CNV waveform at sleep onset and its absence in sleep indicates that anticipatory attention requires endogenous conscious control.     

视觉空间工作记忆组间差异的神经机制

为考察视觉空间工作记忆（working memory, WM）维持和操作的组间差异及其神经机制,本研究记录了高、低WM组完成延迟再认（维持）任务和心理旋转（操作）任务时的行为和事件相关电位数据。结果发现,在操作任务中,高WM组比低WM组的反应时显著更短;高WM组的中前额叶慢波显著更正、双侧后顶区慢波显著更负,并且两者的波幅显著负相关。在维持任务中,两组被试的反应时无显著差异;高WM组的中前额叶慢波显著更正。结果表明,高WM组的执行注意能力可能更强,能通过有效调节和分配加工资源来表征视觉信息。     

Alterations in error-related brain activity and post-error behavior over time

This study examines the relation between the error-related negativity (ERN) and post-error behavior over time in healthy young adults (N=61). Event-related brain potentials were collected during two sessions of an identical flanker task. Results indicated changes in ERN and post-error accuracy were related across task sessions, with more negative ERN associated with greater improvements in post-error accuracy. This relationship was independent of any cross-sectional relationships between overall task performance, individual difference factors, including personality and self-efficacy, and indices of self-regulatory action monitoring. These results indicate that the relation between ERN and post-error accuracy remains intact and consistent regardless of variation in this set of individual difference factors previously associated with both of these indices of self-regulatory action monitoring, providing support for the strength, robustness, and persistence of this relationship in the process of adaptively controlling behavior to enhance task performance.     

听觉呈现条件下汉语双字词语义和语音启动的ERP研究

在词汇决定实验中研究语义启动和语音启动,材料为通过听觉呈现的汉语双字词组成的词对(间隔600ms),记录行为数据和ERP数据,结果发现：(1)启动词与目标词之间的语义联系可显著改善对目标词的加工,表现为错误率降低、反应时缩短,以及N400波幅降低;(2)启动词与目标词之间的语音一致对目标词的加工既有干扰作用,又有促进作用。表现为错误率提高,但反应时趋向缩短,N400波幅亦呈下降趋势;(3)启动词与目标词首音相同比尾音相同有更大的干扰作用。     

Assessment of driver’s attentional resource allocation to visual,cognitive, and action processing by brain and eye signals

Driving a vehicle is comprised of multiple tasks (e.g., monitoring the environment around the vehicle, planning the trajectory, and controlling the vehicle), and requires the allocation of capacity-limited attentional resources to visual, cognitive, and action processing; otherwise, the quality of task performance will deteriorate, increasing the risk of near-accidents or crashes. The present study proposes that variations in the total amount as well as the individual amounts of attentional resources allocated to visual, cognitive, and action processing depending on the driving situations could be objectively estimated by the combined use of three physiological measures: (1) the duration of eye blinks during driving, (2) the size of eye-fixation-related potentials (EFRPs), i.e., event-related potentials (ERPs) that are time-locked to the offset of saccadic eye-movements during driving, and (3) the size of auditory-evoked potentials (AEPs), i.e., ERPs time-locked to the onset of task-unrelated auditory stimuli discretely presented during driving. We implemented these measures when participants (N = 16) drove a vehicle on a slalom course under four driving conditions defined by a combination of two levels of speed requirement (fast and slow) and two levels of path width (narrow and wide). The findings suggested that, (1) when driving at fast compared to slow speeds, the total amount of resources allocated to overall processing increased, which consisted of an increase in the amount of resources allocated to cognitive (and possibly action) processing and a decrease in the amount of resources allocated to visual processing, and (2) when driving on narrow compared to wide paths, the total amount of resources allocated to overall processing remained almost the same (due to complementary speed reduction), which consisted of an increase in the amount of resources allocated to visual processing, a decrease in the amount of resources allocated to cognitive processing, and almost the same amount of resources allocated to action processing. The driver’s resource management strategies indicated by these results as well as the utility and limitations of the proposed method are discussed.     

跨感觉通路ERP注意成分的研究

采用提高了非注意纯度的“跨通路延迟反应”实验模式,研究跨通路注意的事件相关电位（ＥＲＰ）成分,以注意ＥＲＰ减去非注意ＥＲＰ的早期差异负波（Ｎｄ１）为主要分析对象。被试者为１２名青年正常人。结果发现：①听觉偏差刺激、视觉标准与偏差刺激皆在其特异性感觉区域的头皮部位,观察到注意引起Ｎ１波幅增大的现象。Ｎｄ１的起始时间与注意Ｎ１相同,而早于非注意Ｎ１,支持注意的早期选择学说;②听觉与视觉偏差刺激产生的Ｎｄ１最大峰分布在它们各自的初级感觉投射区,而标准刺激诱发的Ｎｄ１最大峰却分布于额部,表明跨通路选择性注意对偏差刺激的加工部位主要是通路特异性的,而对标准刺激的加工部位则主要是通路上的。作者据此针对选择性注意中长期争论问题进一步提出,注意的选择性发生时程的早晚可因刺激条件而异,信息过滤器的位置具有可塑性。     

Cognitive control of language production in bilinguals involves a partly independent process within the domain-general cognitive control network: evidence from task-switching and electrical brain activity

In highly proficient, early bilinguals, behavioural studies of the cost of switching language or task suggest qualitative differences between language control and domain-general cognitive control. By contrast, several neuroimaging studies have shown an overlap of the brain areas involved in language control and domain-general cognitive control. The current study measured both behavioural responses and event-related potentials (ERPs) from bilinguals who performed picture naming in single- or mixed-language contexts, as well as an alphanumeric categorisation task in single- or mixed-task context. Analysis of switch costs during the mixed-context conditions showed qualitative differences between language control and domain-general cognitive control. A 2 × 2 ANOVA of the ERPs, with domain (linguistic, alphanumeric) and context (single, mixed) as within-participant factors, revealed a significant interaction, which also suggests a partly independent language-control mechanism. Source estimations revealed the neural basis of this mechanism to be in bilateral frontal-temporal areas.     

An ERP study of sensory mismatch expressions in Japanese

Combinations of different sensory words produce mismatch expressions like smooth color and red touch in contrast to normal expressions like red color and smooth touch. Concerning these sensory mismatch expressions, results of three experiments are reported. Experiment 1 revealed that (i) mismatch expressions were less comprehensible than normal expressions, and that (ii) there were two patterns among mismatch expressions: the high-comprehensible mismatch expression (HighCME, e.g., smooth color) and the low-comprehensible mismatch expression (LowCME, e.g., red touch). Experiment 2 revealed that the mismatch expressions produced a significantly greater N400 amplitude than the normal expressions. Experiment 3 implied that the difference between High/LowCME was reflected in a later latency band or in a topographical difference of N400, although the statistical significance was marginal. It is argued that the processes to integrate linguistic elements (e.g., combining adjectives and nouns) are not homogeneous.     

Early processing of emotional faces in children with autism: An event-related potential study

Social deficits are one of the most striking manifestations of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Among these social deficits, the recognition and understanding of emotional facial expressions has been widely reported to be affected in ASDs. We investigated emotional face processing in children with and without autism using event-related potentials (ERPs). High-functioning children with autism (n = 15, mean age = 10.5 ± 3.3 years) completed an implicit emotional task while visual ERPs were recorded. Two groups of typically developing children (chronological age-matched and verbal equivalent age-matched [both ns = 15, mean age = 7.7 ± 3.8 years]) also participated in this study. The early ERP responses to faces (P1 and N170) were delayed, and the P1 was smaller in children with autism than in typically developing children of the same chronological age, revealing that the first stages of emotional face processing are affected in autism. However, when matched by verbal equivalent age, only P1 amplitude remained affected in autism. Our results suggest that the emotional and facial processing difficulties in autism could start from atypicalities in visual perceptual processes involving rapid feedback to primary visual areas and subsequent holistic processing.     

Three kinds of rhymes: An ERP study

In a simple prime-target visual rhyming paradigm, pairs of words, nonwords, and single letters elicited similar event-related potential (ERP) rhyming effects in young adults. Within each condition, primes elicited contingent negative variation (CNV) while nonrhyming targets elicited more negative waveforms than rhyming targets within the 320-500ms (N400/N450) time window. The target rhyming effect, apparently primarily an index of phonological processing, was similar across conditions but tended to be smaller in mean amplitude for letters. One of the first reports of such a letter rhyming effect in the ERP literature, these findings could be important developmentally because letter rhyme tasks simultaneously index the two best predictors of ease of learning to read: letter name knowledge and phonological awareness.     

On the early left-anterior negativity (ELAN) in syntax studies

Within the framework of Friederici’s (2002) neurocognitive model of sentence processing, the early left anterior negativity (ELAN) in event-related potentials (ERPs) has been claimed to be a brain marker of syntactic first-pass parsing. As ELAN components seem to be exclusively elicited by word category violations (phrase structure violations), they have been taken as strong empirical support for syntax-first models of sentence processing and have gained considerable impact on psycholinguistic theory in a variety of domains. The present article reviews relevant ELAN studies and raises a number of serious issues concerning the reliability and validity of the findings. We also discuss how baseline problems and contextual factors can contribute to early ERP effects in studies examining word category violations. We conclude that - despite the apparent wealth of ELAN data - the functional significance of these findings remains largely unclear. The present paper does not claim to have falsified the existence of ELANs or syntax-related early frontal negativities. However, by separating facts from myths, the paper attempts to make a constructive contribution to how future ERP research in the area of syntax processing may better advance our understanding of online sentence comprehension.