Neural correlates of acceptance and rejection in online speed dating: An electroencephalography study.

Pursuing dating relationships is important for many people's well-being, because it helps them fulfill the need for stable social relationships. However, the neural underpinnings of decision-making processes during the pursuit of dating interactions are unclear. In the present study, we used a novel online speed dating paradigm where participants (undergraduate students, N = 25, aged 18-25 years, 52% female) received direct information about acceptance or rejection of their various speed dates. We recorded EEG measurements during speed dating feedback anticipation and feedback processing stages to examine the stimulus preceding negativity (SPN) and feedback-related brain activity (Reward Positivity, RewP, and theta oscillatory power). The results indicated that the SPN was larger when participants anticipated interest versus disinterest from their speed dates. A larger RewP was observed when participants received interest from their speed dates. Theta power was increased when participants received rejection from their speed dates. This theta response could be source-localized to brain areas that overlap with the physical pain matrix (anterior cingulate cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and the supplementary motor area). This study demonstrates that decision-making processes-as evident in a speed date experiment-are characterized by distinct neurophysiological responses during anticipating an evaluation and processing thereof. Our results corroborate the involvement of the SPN in reward anticipation, RewP in reward processing and mid-frontal theta power in processing of negative social-evaluative feedback. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the neurocognitive mechanisms implicated in decision-making processes when pursuing dating relationships.

Probability learning and feedback processing in dyslexia: A performance and heart rate analysis.

Recent studies suggest that individuals with dyslexia may be impaired in probability learning and performance monitoring. These observations are consistent with findings indicating atypical neural activations in frontostriatal circuits in the brain, which are important for associative learning. The current study further examined probability learning and performance monitoring in adult individuals with dyslexia (n = 23) and typical readers (n = 31) using two varieties of a typical probabilistic learning task. In addition to performance measures, we measured heart rate, focusing on cardiac slowing with negative feedback as a manifestation of the automatic performance monitoring system. One task required participants to learn associations between artificial script and speech sounds and the other task required them to learn associations between geometric forms and bird sounds. Corrective feedback (informative or random) was provided in both tasks. Performance results indicated that individuals with dyslexia and typical readers learned the associations equally well in contrast to expectations. We found the typical cardiac response associated with feedback processing consisting of a heart rate slowing with the presentation of the feedback and a return to baseline thereafter. Interestingly, the heart rate slowing associated with feedback was less pronounced and the return to baseline was delayed in individuals with dyslexia relative to typical readers. These findings were interpreted in relation to current theorizing of performance monitoring linking the salience network in the brain to autonomic functioning.

Heart rate variability as candidate endophenotype of social anxiety: A two-generation family study.

BACKGROUND: Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is the extreme fear and avoidance of one or more social situations. The goal of the current study was to investigate whether heart rate variability (HRV) during resting state and a social performance task (SPT) is a candidate endophenotype of SAD. METHODS: In this two-generation family study, patients with SAD with their partner and children, and their siblings with partner and children took part in a SPT (total n = 121, 9 families, 3-30 persons per family, age range: 8-61 years, 17 patients with SAD). In this task, participants had to watch and evaluate the speech of a female peer, and had to give a similar speech. HRV was measured during two resting state phases, and during anticipation, speech and recovery phases of the SPT. We tested two criteria for endophenotypes: co-segregation with SAD within families and heritability. RESULTS: HRV did not co-segregate with SAD within families. Root mean square of successive differences during the first resting phase and recovery, and high frequency power during all phases of the task were heritable. LIMITATIONS: It should be noted that few participants were diagnosed with SAD. Results during the speech should be interpreted with caution, because the duration was short and there was a lot of movement. CONCLUSIONS: HRV during resting state and the SPT is a possible endophenotype, but not of SAD. As other studies have shown that HRV is related to different internalizing disorders, HRV might reflect a transdiagnostic genetic vulnerability for internalizing disorders. Future research should investigate which factors influence the development of psychopathology in persons with decreased HRV.

Why don't you like me? Midfrontal theta power in response to unexpected peer rejection feedback.

Social connectedness theory posits that the brain processes social rejection as a threat to survival. Recent electrophysiological evidence suggests that midfrontal theta (4-8Hz) oscillations in the EEG provide a window on the processing of social rejection. Here we examined midfrontal theta dynamics (power and inter-trial phase synchrony) during the processing of social evaluative feedback. We employed the Social Judgment paradigm in which 56 undergraduate women (mean age=19.67 years) were asked to communicate their expectancies about being liked vs. disliked by unknown peers. Expectancies were followed by feedback indicating social acceptance vs. rejection. Results revealed a significant increase in EEG theta power to unexpected social rejection feedback. This EEG theta response could be source-localized to brain regions typically reported during activation of the saliency network (i.e., dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, insula, inferior frontal gyrus, frontal pole, and the supplementary motor area). Theta phase dynamics mimicked the behavior of the time-domain averaged feedback-related negativity (FRN) by showing stronger phase synchrony for feedback that was unexpected vs. expected. Theta phase, however, differed from the FRN by also displaying stronger phase synchrony in response to rejection vs. acceptance feedback. Together, this study highlights distinct roles for midfrontal theta power and phase synchrony in response to social evaluative feedback. Our findings contribute to the literature by showing that midfrontal theta oscillatory power is sensitive to social rejection but only when peer rejection is unexpected, and this theta response is governed by a widely distributed neural network implicated in saliency detection and conflict monitoring.

Putative EEG measures of social anxiety: Comparing frontal alpha asymmetry and delta-beta cross-frequency correlation.

The goal of the present study was to examine whether frontal alpha asymmetry and delta-beta cross-frequency correlation during resting state, anticipation, and recovery are electroencephalographic (EEG) measures of social anxiety. For the first time, we jointly examined frontal alpha asymmetry and delta-beta correlation during resting state and during a social performance task in high (HSA) versus low (LSA) socially anxious females. Participants performed a social performance task in which they first watched and evaluated a video of a peer, and then prepared their own speech. They believed that their speech would be videotaped and evaluated by a peer. We found that HSA participants showed significant negative delta-beta correlation as compared to LSA participants during both anticipation of and recovery from the stressful social situation. This negative delta-beta correlation might reflect increased activity in subcortical brain regions and decreased activity in cortical brain regions. As we hypothesized, no group differences in delta-beta correlation were found during the resting state. This could indicate that a certain level of stress is needed to find EEG measures of social anxiety. As for frontal alpha asymmetry, we did not find any group differences. The present frontal alpha asymmetry results are discussed in relation to the evident inconsistencies in the frontal alpha asymmetry literature. Together, our results suggest that delta-beta correlation is a putative EEG measure of social anxiety.

Graph analysis of EEG resting state functional networks in dyslexic readers.

OBJECTIVE: Neuroimaging research suggested a mixed pattern of functional connectivity abnormalities in developmental dyslexia. We examined differences in the topological properties of functional networks between 29 dyslexics and 15 typically reading controls in 3rd grade using graph analysis. Graph metrics characterize brain networks in terms of integration and segregation. METHOD: We used EEG resting-state data and calculated weighted connectivity matrices for multiple frequency bands using the phase lag index (PLI). From the connectivity matrices we derived minimum spanning tree (MST) graphs representing the sub-networks with maximum connectivity. Statistical analyses were performed on graph-derived metrics as well as on the averaged PLI connectivity values. RESULTS: We found group differences in the theta band for two graph metrics suggesting reduced network integration and communication between network nodes in dyslexics compared to controls. CONCLUSION: Collectively, our findings point to a less efficient network configuration in dyslexics relative to the more proficient configuration in the control group. SIGNIFICANCE: Graph metrics relate to the intrinsic organization of functional brain networks. These metrics provide additional insights on the cognitive deficits underlying dyslexia and, thus, may advance our knowledge on reading development. Our findings add to the growing body literature suggesting compromised networks rather than specific dysfunctional brain regions in dyslexia.

Thumbs up or thumbs down? Effects of neuroticism and depressive symptoms on psychophysiological responses to social evaluation in healthy students.

The effects of neuroticism and depressive symptoms on psychophysiological responses in a social judgment task were examined in a sample of 101 healthy young adults. Participants performed a social judgment task in which they had to predict whether or not a virtual peer presented on a computer screen liked them. After the prediction, the actual judgment was shown, and behavioral, electrocortical, and cardiac responses to this judgment were measured. The feedback-related negativity (FRN) was largest after unexpected feedback. The largest P3 was found after the expected "like" judgments, and cardiac deceleration was largest following unexpected "do not like" judgments. Both the P3 and cardiac deceleration were affected by gender-that is, only males showed differential P3 responses to social judgments, and males showed stronger cardiac decelerations. Time-frequency analyses were performed to explore theta and delta oscillations. Theta oscillations were largest following unexpected outcomes and correlated with FRN amplitudes. Delta oscillations were largest following expected "like" judgments and correlated with P3 amplitudes. Self-reported trait neuroticism was significantly related to social evaluative predictions and cardiac reactivity to social feedback, but not to the electrocortical responses. That is, higher neuroticism scores were associated with a more negative prediction bias and with smaller cardiac responses to judgments for which a positive outcome was predicted. Depressive symptoms did not affect the behavioral and psychophysiological responses in this study. The results confirmed the differential sensitivities of various outcome measures to different psychological processes, but the found individual differences could only partly be ascribed to the collected subjective measures.

Working memory development in children with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of the current cross-sectional study was to examine the developmental progression in working memory (WM) between the ages of 9 and 16 years in a large sample of children with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities (MBID). Baddeley's influential WM model was used as a theoretical framework. Furthermore, the relations between WM on the one hand, and scholastic skills (arithmetic and reading) on the other were examined. METHOD: One hundred and ninety-seven children with MBID between 9 and 16 years old participated in this study. All children completed several tests measuring short-term memory, WM, inhibition, arithmetic and single word reading. RESULTS: WM, visuospatial short-term memory and inhibition continued to develop until around age 15 years. However verbal short-term memory showed no further developmental increases after the age of 10 years. Verbal short-term memory was associated with single word reading, whereas inhibition was associated with arithmetic. DISCUSSION: The finding that verbal short-term memory ceases to develop beyond the age of 10 years in children with MBID contrasts with results of studies involving typically developing children, where verbal short-term memory develops until around age 15 years. This relative early developmental plateau might explain why verbal short-term memory is consistently considered weak in children with MBID.

Attentional set-shifting in fragile X syndrome.

The ability to flexibly adapt to the changing demands of the environment is often reported as a core deficit in fragile X syndrome (FXS). However, the cognitive processes that determine this attentional set-shifting deficit remain elusive. The present study investigated attentional set-shifting ability in fragile X syndrome males with the well-validated intra/extra dimensional set-shifting paradigm (IED) which offers detailed assessment of rule learning, reversal learning, and attentional set-shifting ability within and between stimulus dimensions. A novel scoring method for IED stage errors was employed to interpret set-shifting failure in terms of repetitive decision-making, distraction to irrelevance, and set-maintenance failure. Performance of FXS males was compared to typically developing children matched on mental age, adults matched on chronological age, and individuals with Down syndrome matched on both mental and chronological age. Results revealed that a significant proportion of FXS males already failed prior to the intra-dimensional set-shift stage, whereas all control participants successfully completed the stages up to the crucial extra-dimensional set-shift. FXS males showed a specific weakness in reversal learning, which was characterized by repetitive decision-making during the reversal of newly acquired stimulus-response associations in the face of simple stimulus configurations. In contrast, when stimulus configurations became more complex, FXS males displayed increased distraction to irrelevant stimuli. These findings are interpreted in terms of the cognitive demands imposed by the stages of the IED in relation to the alleged neural deficits in FXS.

Auditory and visual cortical activity during selective attention in fragile X syndrome: a cascade of processing deficiencies.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined whether attention deficits in fragile X syndrome (FXS) can be traced back to abnormalities in basic information processing. METHOD: Sixteen males with FXS and 22 age-matched control participants (mean age 29 years) performed a standard oddball task to examine selective attention in both auditory and visual modalities. Five FXS males were excluded from analysis because they performed below chance level on the auditory task. ERPs were recorded to investigate the N1, P2, N2b, and P3b components. RESULTS: N1 and N2b components were significantly enhanced in FXS males to both auditory and visual stimuli. Interestingly, in FXS males, the P3b to auditory stimuli was significantly reduced relative to visual stimuli. These modality differences in information processing corresponded to behavioral results, showing more errors on the auditory than on the visual task. CONCLUSIONS: The current findings suggest that attentional impairments in FXS at the behavioral level can be traced back to abnormalities in event-related cortical activity. These information processing abnormalities in FXS may hinder the allocation of attentional resources needed for optimal processing at higher-levels. SIGNIFICANCE: These findings demonstrate that auditory information processing in FXS males is critically impaired relative to visual information processing.

Auditory change detection in fragile X syndrome males: a brain potential study.

OBJECTIVE: The present study investigated involuntary change detection in a two-tone pre-attentive auditory discrimination paradigm in order to better understand the information processing mechanisms underlying attention deficits in fragile X syndrome (FXS) males. METHODS: Sixteen males with the FXS full mutation and 20 age-matched control participants (mean age 29 years) were presented with series of auditory stimuli consisting of standard and deviant tones while watching a silent movie. RESULTS: Brain potentials recorded to the tones showed that N1 and P2, sensory evoked potentials, were significantly enhanced in FXS compared to age-matched control participants. In contrast to controls, the N1 to standard tones failed to show long-term habituation to stimulus repetition in FXS. Additionally, both mismatch negativity and P3a generation, reflecting automatic change detection and the involuntary switch of attention, respectively, were significantly attenuated in FXS males. CONCLUSIONS: The current study demonstrates that auditory stimulus discrimination in the FXS brain is already compromised during the pre-attentive stages of information processing. Furthermore, the apparent pre-attentive information processing deficiencies in FXS coincide with a weakness in the involuntary engagement of attentional resources. SIGNIFICANCE: The stimulus-driven information processing deficiencies in FXS might compromise information processing in several domains and, thus, present a key-deficit in FXS neurocognition.

Effectiveness of a computerised working memory training in adolescents with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities.

BACKGROUND: The goal of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a computerised working memory (WM) training on memory, response inhibition, fluid intelligence, scholastic abilities and the recall of stories in adolescents with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities attending special education. METHOD: A total of 95 adolescents with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities were randomly assigned to either a training adaptive to each child's progress in WM, a non-adaptive WM training, or to a control group. RESULTS: Verbal short-term memory (STM) improved significantly from pre- to post-testing in the group who received the adaptive training compared with the control group. The beneficial effect on verbal STM was maintained at follow-up and other effects became clear at that time as well. Both the adaptive and non-adaptive WM training led to higher scores at follow-up than at post-intervention on visual STM, arithmetic and story recall compared with the control condition. In addition, the non-adaptive training group showed a significant increase in visuo-spatial WM capacity. CONCLUSION: The current study provides the first demonstration that WM can be effectively trained in adolescents with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities.

Everyday memory and working memory in adolescents with mild intellectual disability.

Everyday memory and its relationship to working memory was investigated in adolescents with mild intellectual disability and compared to typically developing adolescents of the same age (CA) and younger children matched on mental age (MA). Results showed a delay on almost all memory measures for the adolescents with mild intellectual disability compared to the CA control adolescents. Compared to the MA control children, the adolescents with mild intellectual disability performed less well on a general everyday memory index. Only some significant associations were found between everyday memory and working memory for the mild intellectual disability group. These findings were interpreted to suggest that adolescents with mild intellectual disability have difficulty in making optimal use of their working memory when new or complex situations tax their abilities.

Profiling Fragile X Syndrome in males: strengths and weaknesses in cognitive abilities.

The present study examined the cognitive profile in Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) males, and investigated whether cognitive profiles are similar for FXS males at different levels of intellectual functioning. Cognitive abilities in non-verbal, verbal, memory and executive functioning domains were contrasted to both a non-verbal and verbal mental age reference. Model-based cluster analyses revealed three distinct subgroups which differed in level of functioning, but showed similar cognitive profiles. Results showed that cognitive performance is particularly weak on measures of reasoning- and performal abilities confined to abstract item content, but relatively strong on measures of visuo-perceptual recognition and vocabulary. Further, a significant weakness was found for verbal short-term memory. Finally, these results indicated that the choice of an appropriate reference is critically important in examining cognitive profiles. The pattern of findings that emerged from the current cognitive profiling of FXS males was interpreted to suggest a fundamental deficit in executive control.

Verbal working memory in children with mild intellectual disabilities.

BACKGROUND: Previous research into working memory of individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) has established clear deficits. The current study examined working memory in children with mild ID (IQ 55-85) within the framework of the Baddeley model, fractionating working memory into a central executive and two slave systems, the phonological loop and visuo-spatial sketchpad. METHOD: Working memory was investigated in three groups: 50 children with mild ID (mean age 15 years 3 months), 25 chronological age-matched control children (mean age 15 years 3 months) and 25 mental age-matched control children (mean age 10 years 10 months). The groups were given multiple assessments of the phonological-loop and central-executive components. RESULTS: The results showed that the children with mild ID had an intact automatic rehearsal, but performed poorly on phonological-loop capacity and central-executive tests when compared with children matched for chronological age, while there were only minimal differences relative to the performance of the children matched for mental age. CONCLUSIONS: This overall pattern of results is consistent with a developmental delay account of mild ID. The finding of a phonological-loop capacity deficit has important implications for the remedial training of children with mild ID.