Dissociation of reward anticipation and outcome with event-related fMRI.

Reward processing involves both appetitive and consummatory phases. We sought to examine whether reward anticipation vs outcomes would recruit different regions of ventral forebrain circuitry using event-related fMRI. Nine healthy volunteers participated in a monetary incentive delays task in which they either responded to a cued target for monetary reward, responded to a cued target for no reward, or did not respond to a cued target during scanning. Multiple regression analyses indicated that while anticipation of reward vs non-reward activated foci in the ventral striatum, reward vs non-reward outcomes activated foci in the ventromedial frontal cortex. These findings suggest that reward anticipation and outcomes may differentially recruit distinct regions that lie along the trajectory of ascending dopamine projections.

Relationship of genetically transmitted alpha EEG traits to anxiety disorders and alcoholism.

We tested the hypothesis that a heritable EEG trait, the low voltage alpha (LV), is associated with psychiatric disorders. Modest to moderate evidence for genetic linkage of both panic disorder and the low voltage alpha trait to the same region of chromosome 20q has recently been reported, raising the issue of whether there is a phenotypic correlation between these traits. A total of 124 subjects including 50 unrelated index subjects and 74 relatives were studied. Alpha EEG power was measured and EEG phenotypes were impressionistically classified. Subjects were psychiatrically interviewed using the SADS-L and blind-rated by RDC criteria. Alcoholics were four times more likely to be LV (including so-called borderline low voltage alpha) than were nonalcoholic, nonanxious subjects. Alcoholics with anxiety disorder are 10 times more likely to be LV. However, alcoholics without anxiety disorder were similar to nonalcoholics in alpha power. An anxiety disorder (panic disorder, phobia, or generalized anxiety) was found in 14/17 LV subjects as compared to 34/101 of the rest of the sample (P < 0.01). Support for these observations was found in the unrelated index subjects in whom no traits would be shared by familial clustering. Lower alpha power in anxiety disorders was not state-dependent, as indicated by the Spielberger Anxiety Scale. Familial covariance of alpha power was 0.25 (P < 0.01). These findings indicate there may be a shared factor underlying the transmissible low voltage alpha EEG variant and vulnerability to anxiety disorders with associated alcoholism. This factor is apparently not rare, because LV was found in approximately 10% of unrelated index subjects and 5% of subjects free of alcoholism and anxiety disorders.

Event related potentials using visual stimulation.

Visual patterns are used to elicit event related potentials. Equipment is available for generating visual geometric patterns such as checkerboards. Slides may be used for patterns which are more complex but preparation is costly and time consuming. A variety of programs exist on PC's for making very elaborate color pictures and in most cases the programs are easy to use making them ideal for generating visual patterns for event related potential experiments. A necessary requirement in event related potential experiments is the ability to control and/or determine precisely when the stimulus is presented to the subject. We have observed that timing is a problem with stimuli generated by the PC as a result of the raster scan and use in many cases of high level system calls in the software. This paper describes a technique which allows for precise control of the time of stimulus presentation using the video control signals to the monitor.

Stimulus presentation using a programmable signal generator.

Event related potential experiments frequently require the presentation of complicated stimulus patterns to the subject. As the complexity and number of different types of stimuli presented to the subject increase there is a corresponding increase in the amount and complexity of the equipment required to generate the stimuli. Software was developed for complex stimulus presentation which uses a programmable arbitrary/function generator. The various stimulus patterns are stored in digital form in the memory of the signal generator and can be recalled by number. Prior to presentation of a particular stimulus pattern the number of that pattern is sent by the control program to the generator for recall from memory. The signal generator is set to operate in external trigger mode and at the proper time for stimulus presentation the generator is triggered by the control program. The use of the programmable signal generator allows replacement of the typical stimulus presentation equipment such as gates, signal generators, and attenuators by this the programmable generator and provides getter flexibility as to the type and complexity of stimuli which can be generated.

Determination of average heart rate as a sign of the orienting response.

The "O wave" is one component of minute EEG signals recorded from the scalp in response to external stimuli and is one sign of the "orienting response". The orienting response is a fundamental response in which attention is turned to fresh or important sources of information. The orienting response has many signs in the autonomic nervous system including changes in heart rate. Software was developed to track changes in heart rate as an additional sign of the orienting response. Instantaneous heart rate was determined by detecting R waves and calculating the interval between successive R waves. Segments of the instantaneous heart rate, time located to the occurrence of the stimuli, were averaged to produce an average heart rate during the time interval in which the stimuli occurred. Changes in the average heart rate where found to occur in time correspondence to the "O wave" in the EEG signal and thus provide an additional measure of the orienting response.

Event-related perturbations in an electrophysiological measure of auditory sensitivity: effects of probability, intensity and repeated sessions.

It is often held that novel or salient stimuli are followed by a brief period of orienting or alerting during which sensory processes are facilitated. Evidence for such a period of facilitation was sought in a paradigm in which evoked responses to weak auditory probe stimuli were examined when given in the presence of salient foreground stimuli, which were varied in probability and intensity, and which were given in two replicate sessions. The background probe stimuli consisted of a continuous train of auditory pip stimuli delivered at a rate of 40 pips per second. Under such conditions of repetitive stimulation a steady-state rhythm (SSR), which is believed to reflect summated early and middle latency evoked responses, is established in the EEG at a corresponding frequency of 40 Hz. The 40 Hz SSR was extracted using a digital averaging and filtering technique and examined continuously for changes in amplitude and latency. The rhythm showed a brief episode during which the latencies of response were decreased. The reduction in latency was greatest at 186 ms after the foreground stimulus, at which time the latencies of individual peaks in the rhythm were reduced by about 3.5 ms. The magnitude of the latency reduction response was larger for intense and for rare stimuli, and showed long-term decrement during the second session. Event-related potential and heart rate responses to the foreground stimulus were also affected by probability, intensity and session, but not in the same pattern. It was hypothesized that the latency shift in the 40 Hz SSR reflects a brief period of sensitization during alerting or orienting responses.

Auditory and visual event-related perturbations in the 40 Hz auditory steady-state response.

The effects of salient auditory and visual 'foreground' stimuli on responses to 'background' probe stimuli were investigated. The foreground stimuli were given at long and aperiodic intervals and required a discriminative judgment. Simultaneously, evoked potentials were obtained in response to background probe auditory stimuli presented in a continuous train at about 40/sec. The 40 Hz steady-state rhythm (SSR) evoked under such conditions was extracted using digital averaging and filtering techniques and examined continuously for evidence of change in latency or amplitude during the period surrounding the foreground stimulus. Within the first 200-300 msec after the onset of an acoustic foreground stimulus the latencies of individual peaks in the rhythm were momentarily reduced by a mean of 5.5 msec. A shift in the 40 Hz rhythm was also seen following visual foreground stimuli, although the shift was about one-third that following acoustic stimuli. A latency shift of comparable magnitude was not produced by deliberate manipulation of intensity or signal-to-noise ratio of the stimuli used to evoke the rhythm. The latency shift response is discussed in terms of a transient period of sensory facilitation during orienting or alerting associated with the foreground stimuli.

A software package for event related potential experiments.

All too frequently, researchers find that experimental designs are dictated by procedures implemented by the available equipment rather than by the questions to be answered. Event related potential experiments are limited by equipment which restricts the type and number of stimuli which can be presented and the length, number, and type of averages which can be computed. A software package was developed for event related potential experiments which provides a high degree of flexibility in designing the stimulus presentation protocol and the averages which can be computed. The package includes a set of user friendly programs for constructing complicated stimulus presentation sequences. In order not to restrict the researcher to a set of predetermined averages computed at the time the experiment is conducted, the EEG data is digitized and stored continuously without regard to times of stimulus presentation. Averages are computed from the continuous EEG data by a separate averaging program which takes as input a table of starting times of the segments to be averaged. The software package is currently in use at Dr. Rohrbaugh's laboratory for a series of complicated event related potential experiments.

Event-related perturbations in an electrophysiological measure of auditory function: a measure of sensitivity during orienting?

The effects of salient foreground stimuli in evoked potentials to weak background probe stimuli were examined in situations requiring passive observation or discriminative judgments of foreground tone stimuli. The background probe stimuli consisted of a continual train of weak acoustic stimuli presented at a rate of about 40 stimuli per second. Under such conditions, a 40-Hz steady-state rhythm (SSR) is established, which has been proposed to consist of the algebraic summation of individual middle-latency components evoked by stimuli in the train. The 40-Hz SSR was averaged over trials and extracted from the composite event-related potential signal using narrow-band digital filtering, for continuous examination of latency and amplitude during the course of the period immediately preceding and following the foreground stimulus. The foreground stimulus was followed by a brief period (peaking at about 200 ms) during which the latency of response to the background probe stimuli was reduced. The extent of this latency reduction was in proportion to the magnitude of the simultaneous slow-wave ERP responses and, to a lesser extent, heart rate responses. It is proposed that the results may reflect a transient period of sensitization during orienting, at a presumably early level in the auditory system, and that the method thus offers a means for determining the extent and temporal course of such effects.

Acute effects of ethanol on motor performance and movement-related brain potentials.

The acute effects of ethanol on skilled motor functions were examined in male social drinkers, under four doses ranging from 0 (placebo) to 1.05 g/kg lean body weight. The movement entailed a forewarned choice transitive motion of the arm and hand, aimed at a flanking target. Performance measures disclosed only small effects of ethanol on speed and accuracy of movement. The simultaneously-recorded movement-related brain potentials disclosed decreased involvement of frontal and posterior brain areas, suggesting that ethanol disrupted the planning and regulation of movement despite the overall preservation of reaction speed.

Alcohol intoxication reduces visual sustained attention.

Effects of alcohol intoxication on visual sustained attention were studied using a vigilance task entailing detection of degraded target stimuli. Data were obtained in separate sessions under four ethanol doses, ranging from 0 (placebo) to 1.05 g/kg lean body weight, with periodic maintenance dosing of 0.12 g/kg. Intoxication lowered the overall level of detection performance, and in addition produced dose-related increases in the rate of performance decrement over time. Analysis of performance data using techniques derived from Signal Detection Theory indicated that the decrements were due specifically to alterations in perceptual sensitivity. Examination of eye movements and blinks indicated that the effects of ethanol were not mediated peripherally. Rather, alcohol appears to have deleterious effects on central processing capacity and the availability of capacity over time. The alcohol-related failure of sustained attention may contribute to increased accident risk in tasks requiring continuous performance.

Dose-related effects of ethanol on visual sustained attention and event-related potentials.

The effects of acute ethanol intoxication on visual sustained attention were investigated in male social drinkers. Four doses ranging from 0 (placebo) to 1.05 g/kg lean body weight, with periodic maintenance dosing of 0.12 g/kg, were given in separate sessions. The task required subjects to monitor a series of blurred digits presented singly at a rate of one per sec and to respond to occasional (p = 0.25) target digits with a speeded button press. Detection performance deteriorated as a function of both dose and time on task. In addition, the factors of dose and time on task interacted to produce a more rapid performance decrement under the higher doses. Early event-related potential (ERP) components (N1 and P2) were not greatly affected, suggesting that the performance decrement reflects central rather than peripheral factors. Later components related to cognitive appraisal processes (N2, P3), in contrast, varied in both amplitude and latency. Ethanol yielded dose-related delays in N2 and P3 latencies, which paralleled reaction time increases. The amplitude of N2 also decreased over time on task, and P3 amplitude decreased both as a function of dose and time on task. ERP and performance data were interpreted as demonstrating an adverse effect of ethanol on central processing capacity.

EEG during masturbation and ejaculation.

The occurrence of a distinctive EEG pattern specifically related to sexual arousal and orgasm would provide a reliable and convenient means of identifying such events in the laboratory and would also provide clues to cerebral structures involved in the processes. EEG-polygraph recordings were obtained under rigorously controlled conditions in four normal male subjects during masturbation and ejaculation. The EEG data were subjected to both impressionistic and quantitative analyses. They showed no remarkable changes during the sequence of relevant physiological responses. The sole effect was a slight depression of alpha activity, a well-known nonspecific effect associated with changes in attention and arousal. Examination of the literature shows little agreement among reported results of studies of EEG changes during orgasm. It is likely that at least some reported changes were artifactual. It is concluded that the case for the existence of EEG changes specifically related to sexual arousal and orgasm remains unproven.

Interhemispheric amplitude symmetry in the EEGs of normal full term, low risk premature, and trisomy-21 infants.

RMS measurements of amplitude symmetry were calculated for samples of typical active and quiet sleep periods in 12 normal full term, 5 premature and 7 Trisomy-21 infants from recordings obtained at 1, 4, 12 26 and 52 weeks post term. The frequency distributions of the symmetry data for each group did not deviate significantly from the expected normal distributions. The mean symmetry ratios were not significantly different among the 3 groups. It was concluded that the EEGs of the 3 groups are characterized by amplitude symmetry in the first year of life. The possibility that symmetry data may be used for classification of abnormal EEGs was discussed.