Monetary reward enhances response inhibition processes manifested in No-go P3.

This study investigated the impact of motivational valence on No-go P3 and N2 by incorporating monetary rewards based on response outcomes. We also investigated how personality differences in terms of the behavioral inhibition system (BIS) and behavioral approach system (BAS) influenced No-go N2 and No-go P3. Twenty-eight participants performed Go/No-go tasks (80 % Go and 20 % No-go) under two conditions. In the reward condition, each correct-rejection trial for the No-go stimulus was rewarded with 10 yen (∼6 cents), whereas in the neutral condition, neither monetary rewards nor punishments were contingent on response outcomes. Individual responsiveness to punishment and rewards was evaluated using the BIS and BAS scales. The error rate was significantly lower in the reward condition than in the neutral condition. P3 amplitude for correct-rejection trials (i.e., preceding erroneous muscular activity on the wrong hand) was larger in the reward condition than in the neutral condition; however, N2 amplitudes did not differ between the two conditions. These results suggest that monetary rewards may enhance motor inhibition control. Individuals with a higher BIS score exhibited a larger No-go N2 for correct-rejection in the neutral condition. We conclude that No-go N2 amplitude is modulated by avoidance motivation.

Effects of left-hand contraction on tennis serve performance.

Introduction: The tennis serve is commonly executed in high-pressure scenarios, often leading to performance decline; a condition commonly referred to as choking under pressure. One suggested effective method to avert choking involves contracting the left hand. We examined the effects of left-hand contraction on tennis serve performance using a wearable grasping material (polyurethane foam) which can be incorporated into sportswear. Materials and methods: We assigned 40 right-handed skilled tennis players to either the contraction group (n = 20) or the no-contraction group (n = 20). They were instructed to perform a second-serve task during the pre-test and pressure test. The participants in the contraction group squeezed the grasping material for 20 s before executing the task in the pressure test. We measured performance, including total scores, the number of maximum score achievements, landing positions, and kinematic indices (i.e., ball speed, racket speed, and impact height). Results: Although neither group demonstrated deteriorated performance on the pressure test, the contraction group experienced an increased number of maximum score achievements under the pressure situation compared with the pre-test (p = 0.021). Discussion: Our results suggest that when under pressure, left-hand contraction may improve performance during tennis serves.

A possibility of error-related processing contamination in the No-go N2: The effect of partial-error trials on response inhibition processing.

This study investigated whether error-related negativity (ERN) elicited by partial errors and No-go N2 represent distinct or similar components. We also investigated whether the error positivity (Pe) and No-go P3 represent distinct or similar components. Partial-error trials are behaviourally classified as correct trials but preceded by covert muscular activities. Recent studies have reported that analysing partial-error trials is useful for investigating the functional roles of ERN and No-go N2. In this study, 23 participants performed a Go/No-go flanker task. They performed nine blocks of 60 trials each. Stimulus-locked event-related potentials (ERPs) were averaged separately for Go-congruent pure-correct trials, Go-incongruent pure-correct trials and No-go pure-correct trials. In addition, we compared the stimulus-locked ERPs among No-go pure-correct trials, No-go partial-error trials, Go-incongruent pure-correct trials and Go-incongruent partial-error trials. Electromyogram (EMG)-locked ERPs were averaged separately for correct trials, overt errors in No-go trials, partial errors in No-go trials, overt errors in incongruent trials and partial errors in incongruent trials. N2 was remarkably larger in No-go partial-error trials than in No-go pure-correct trials. Consistent with previous findings, the No-go partial-error N2 might reflect error-related processing. P3 amplitudes were larger in the No-go trials than in both the Go-congruent and Go-incongruent trials. These results suggest that the No-go P3, but not the No-go N2, might reflect inhibition of overt movement. The present findings provide further evidence that the previously reported increase in No-go N2 may be due to an overlap of the ERN elicited by partial errors.

Measuring Task-Related Brain Activity With Event-Related Potentials in Dynamic Task Scenario With Immersive Virtual Reality Environment.

Measurement of event-related potentials (ERPs) in simulated and real environments is advantageous for understanding cognition and behavior during practice of goal-directed activities. Recently, instead of using task-irrelevant "probe stimuli" to elicit ERPs, extraction of ERPs directly from events that occur in simulated and real environments has drawn increased attention. Among the previous ERP studies using immersive virtual reality, only a few cases elicited ERPs from task-related events in dynamic task settings. Furthermore, as far as we surveyed, there were no studies that examined the source of ERPs or correlation between ERPs and behavioral performance in 360-degree immersive virtual reality using head-mounted display. In this study, EEG signals were recorded from 16 participants while they were playing the first-person shooter game with immersive virtual reality environment. Error related negativity (ERN) and correct-(response)-related negativity (CRN) elicited by shooting-related events were successfully extracted. We found the ERN amplitudes to be correlated with the individual shooting performance. Interestingly, the main source of the ERN was the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), which is different from previous studies where the signal source was often estimated to be the more caudal part of ACC. The obtained results are expected to contribute to the evaluation of cognitive functions and behavioral performance by ERPs in a simulated environment.

The Effects of Viewing Cute Pictures on Performance During a Basketball Free-Throw Task.

Previous studies have shown that viewing cute pictures leads to performance improvement in a subsequent fine motor task. We examined the beneficial effects of viewing cute pictures in a more complex sporting skill (i.e., basketball free throws) by comparing three conditions (viewing baby animal pictures, adult animal pictures, and no pictures) and two tests (no-pressure and pressure). The participants, all of whom were college basketball players, performed 16 free throws in each condition. In the no-pressure test, male participants improved performance after viewing pictures of baby animals but not after adult animals and no pictures. In the pressure test, no significant improvement was observed. For female participants, the cuteness-viewing effect was not observed in both tests. The results suggest that viewing cute pictures may improve performance during basketball free throws in a low-pressure situation by narrowing the breadth of attentional focus and inducing approach motivation and caregiving behaviors.

Neural correlates underpinning synchronized movement of double scull rowers.

We investigated the neural correlates underpinning synchronized movement in rowers using a neural index for social interaction termed the phi complex. Phi 1 and phi 2 indicate the enhancement and reduction of mirror neuron activation, respectively. We hypothesized that in a leader-follower relation, followers would exhibit a larger phi 2 power than leaders due to enhanced mirror neuron activation by the followers to accurately mimic their partner's movements. We also expected that brain activation underlying social interaction would be enhanced during synchronization. Although phi 2 was not modulated by role (leader vs. follower) or condition (usual-pair vs. unusual-pair), the statistical analysis suggested the relationship between the magnitude of phi 2 and empathetic ability in followers in the usual-pair condition. Given that the activation of the mirror neuron system underlies empathic ability, it is plausible that the participants used the mirror neuron system to follow the movement of a usual partner. In other words, the leader in the synchronization did not need to use the mirror neuron system, which was consistent with the result of a larger phi 1 for leading than following the movement. These results suggest that the neural correlates of empathy may be used to synchronize with partners as the follower.

Medial frontal negativities predict performance improvements during motor sequence but not motor adaptation learning.

Alterations in our environment require us to learn or alter motor skills to remain efficient. Also, damage or injury may require the relearning of motor skills. Two types have been identified: movement adaptation and motor sequence learning. Doyonet al. (2003, Distinct contribution of the cortico-striatal and cortico-cerebellar systems to motor skill learning. Neuropsychologia, 41(3), 252-262) proposed a model to explain the neural mechanisms related to adaptation (cortico-cerebellar) and motor sequence learning (cortico-striatum) tasks. We hypothesized that medial frontal negativities (MFNs), event-related electrocortical responses including the error-related negativity (ERN) and correct-response-related negativity (CRN), would be trait biomarkers for skill in motor sequence learning due to their relationship with striatal neural generators in a network involving the anterior cingulate and possibly the supplementary motor area. We examined 36 participants' improvement in a motor adaptation and a motor sequence learning task and measured MFNs elicited in a separate Spatial Stroop (conflict) task. We found both ERN and CRN strongly predicted performance improvement in the sequential motor task but not in the adaptation task, supporting this aspect of the Doyon model. Interestingly, the CRN accounted for additional unique variance over the variance shared with the ERN suggesting an expansion of the model.

The Effects of Computer-Based and Motor-Imagery Training on Scoring Ability in Lacrosse.

Previous studies have confirmed that the temporal attentional control created by the repetition of stimulus-response compatibility (SRC) tasks was transferred to shooting skills in lacrosse players. In the current study, we investigated whether combining motor imagery training with SRC tasks could enhance the scoring ability of lacrosse players. We grouped 33 male lacrosse players into three groups: an SRC task and motor imagery group (referred as to SRC + Image), an SRC task group, and a control group. Players in the first two groups underwent five sessions of 200 SRC task trials. In addition, the SRC + Image group completed five sessions of motor-imagery training. The control group underwent no training interventions. All three groups performed a lacrosse shooting test and a Simon task before and after training sessions to assess the magnitude of the interference effects of the various types of training they underwent. The results of the Simon task showed that repetition of 1,000 trials was enough to create a short-term representation with the incompatible special mapping being transferred to a dynamic activity like lacrosse shooting. Moreover, a combination of a computer-based Type 2 task and motor-imagery training could effectively increase players' scoring abilities in a field of large spatial conflict.

Effects of Viewing Cute Pictures on Quiet Eye Duration and Fine Motor Task Performance.

We investigated if viewing cute pictures could improve fine motor skills and prolong quiet eye (QE) duration. QE is a gaze phenomenon, and its duration (i.e., the period between fixation onset preceding a critical movement and fixation offset) is thought to represent attention control. As it has been reported that QE duration is longer for expert athletes than for novice athletes in various sports and becomes shorter even for experts who choke under pressure during games, resulting in performance deterioration, QE prolongation is important to prevent choking under pressure. Separately, several studies have confirmed that viewing cute pictures can induce focal attention, thus improving performance in fine motor tasks. We hypothesized that viewing cute pictures may modulate attention control and prolong QE duration. We also tested if the beneficial effects of viewing cute pictures could be obtained in a high-pressure situation in which participant performance was evaluated by an experimenter. We used a fine-motor task requiring participants to use a pair of tweezers to remove 12 small pieces from holes in a game board. We randomly assigned participants to either the baby-animal pictures group or the adult-animal pictures group, based on pictures viewed prior to the task. Participants executed the task in a pre-test, post-test, and pressure test. In both the post-test and the pressure test, participants viewed seven photographs of either baby animals or adult animals before execution of the task. In accordance with previous research, task precision increased after viewing pictures of baby animals in both the post-test and pressure test. Furthermore, QE duration was also prolonged after viewing cute pictures in the post-test, but not in the pressure test. Neither performance improvement nor QE prolongation was found after viewing pictures of adult animals. These results suggested that simply viewing cute pictures could prolong QE duration without pressure and might provide a beneficial effect on performance, even in a high-pressure situation.

Difference in Interoception between Long-Distance Runners and Sprinters: An Event-related Potential Study.

PURPOSE: Interoception is a sense of the physiological state of one's body. Interoception that is generated by processing physiological information in the insular cortex plays an important role in achieving optimal performance in competitive sports. This study aimed to reveal the difference in interoceptive ability between long-distance runners and sprinters and its neural correlates by recording the stimulus-preceding negativity (SPN) that is generated from the insular cortex. Based on previous findings, we predicted that long-distance runners would show better interoceptive ability and larger SPNs compared with sprinters. METHOD: We used a questionnaire and a heartbeat counting task to evaluate the interoceptive sensitivity and accuracy, respectively, of both long-distance runners and sprinters. We recorded SPNs during the execution of a time estimation task where participants estimate 3 s by pressing a button. RESULTS: Results of the questionnaire revealed that sprinters exhibited a higher interoceptive ability associated with attention control of their own bodies than did long-distance runners. Sprinters also showed a larger SPN over the left centroparietal regions compared with long-distance runners. CONCLUSION: In contrast to our prediction, sprinters exhibited a superior interoceptive ability and a greater activity of the insular cortex relative to long-distance runners. These results suggest that sprinters might be more susceptible to their internal bodily signals compared with long-distance runners, exhibiting greater activation of the anterior insula.

Anterior insula activity and the effect of agency on the Stimulus-Preceding Negativity.

If you know that you are the author of a freely chosen action and that you bear responsibility for its outcome, then you are said to have "a sense of agency." When there is a delay between action and outcome, this response must be remembered if you are to learn from the experience. Previous studies have shown that the Stimulus-Preceding Negativity (SPN) recorded during the delay interval is larger under conditions that foster a sense of agency. In an EEG experiment (N = 27), we confirmed that the SPN is larger when participants have a choice between two responses in a gambling task as compared to when there is only a single button and the computer determines the monetary outcome. This SPN agency effect was largest over right prefrontal cortex and it did not vary significantly between trial blocks in which only gains or only losses were possible. Participants in a second experiment (N = 26) performed the same task while activity in anterior insular cortex, a known SPN generator, was measured via functional magnetic resonance image (fMRI). An essentially identical pattern of results was obtained: Activity was greater on choice than no-choice trials, especially for the right hemisphere, and no effect of contextual valence was observed. Although parallel observations such as these cannot warrant causal inference, our findings are consistent with the assumption that anterior insular cortex contributes to the effect of agency on the SPN.

Effects of Acute Aerobic Exercise on Cognitive Flexibility Required During Task-Switching Paradigm.

The present study aimed to investigate the effects of acute aerobic exercise on underlying neuronal activities associated with task-switching processes including both mixing and switch effects. A total of 29 healthy young adults (21.4 ± 1.2 years) participated in this study. The experiment consisted of an exercise and a rest condition. In the exercise condition, participants completed 30 min of self-paced motor-driven treadmill exercise at 70% intensity of maximum heart rate (HRmax). In the rest condition, participants rested quietly for 30 min. Both conditions were conducted on different days, and the order was counterbalanced across participants. Participants performed the task-switching paradigm (switching between two different tasks), after both exercise and rest conditions respectively. The P3 amplitude was smaller in the non-switch trial than the single trial only in the rest condition, but not in the exercise condition. In other words, more attentional resources were allocated to the non-switch trial requiring greater amounts of working memory following the exercise condition. Mixing and switch effects on the P3 component were influenced by acute aerobic exercise. This result suggests that acute aerobic exercise may serve to facilitate the flexibility of task-set reconfiguration and maintain the task set in working memory. Furthermore, during the switch trials, the P3 latency was shorter in the exercise condition than in the rest condition. This result is consistent with the findings of previous studies, indicating that cognitive processing speed is increased only during task conditions requiring greater amounts of executive control. Our study clearly indicates that acute aerobic exercise may facilitate cognitive flexibility as well as other executive functions (i.e., inhibitory control and working memory).

Feedback-Related Electroencephalogram Oscillations of Athletes With High and Low Sports Anxiety.

We investigated the relationship between performance-related anxiety and the neural response to error feedback that was delivered during the execution of a time estimation task. Using the Sport Anxiety Scale (SAS-2), we selected university athletes high and low in sports anxiety. Participants executed a time estimation task where they were instructed to estimate 1 s by pressing a button after a sound cue. They performed this task while their performance was being evaluated by an experimenter (evaluation condition) and also while alone (in a no-evaluation condition). We tested whether feedback-related brain activities may increase in amplitude in the evaluation condition compared to the control condition - especially for athletes who report high performance-related anxiety. We focused on oscillations of sub-delta, delta, and theta frequency bands phase-locked to the feedback onset. Time-frequency analyses revealed that the magnitude of both the sub-delta component (0.3-1.2 Hz) and the theta component (4-8 Hz) were larger in incorrect than correct trials. In addition, the theta component was smaller for athletes high in sports anxiety than for athletes low in sports anxiety. The delta component was overall larger for correct than incorrect feedback. Further, athletes high in sports anxiety exhibited a larger delta component (1.5-3.5 Hz) for correct feedback in the evaluation condition than in the no-evaluation condition. Our results suggest that evaluation by others may increase the delta oscillation associated with correct feedback processing - especially among athletes high in sports anxiety.

Long-Distance Runners and Sprinters Show Different Performance Monitoring - An Event-Related Potential Study.

Previous findings have reported that track and field athletes may monitor and utilize internal information, including anxiety level, suggesting that the ability to inwardly monitor one's own functioning and utilize anxiety are required to achieve superior performance. Performance monitoring has been investigated using two event-related potential components; the error (-related) negativity (Ne/ERN) and error positivity (Pe). It is unknown whether performance monitoring differs among various types of athletes. It has also been reported that Ne/ERN amplitude is increased in individuals who are more anxious and the prevalence and effect of anxiety also differs among various types of athletes. In this study, we recorded both Ne/ERN and Pe from long-distance runners (n = 24) and sprinters (n = 24) while they were performing a spatial Stroop task under motivation and no motivation conditions. We also collected scores on the Sport Competitive Anxiety Test (SCAT). Mean error rate on incongruent trials was lower in the motivation condition than in the no motivation condition. There was neither group effect, nor condition effect found in Ne/ERN amplitude. However, for the long-distance runners, Pe amplitude was larger in the motivation condition than in the no motivation condition. We also investigated the relationships between Ne/ERNs and individual differences in performance anxiety using the SCAT. A multiple linear regression analysis in the motivation condition revealed an interaction between type of runner and SCAT scores, indicating that long-distance runners with higher SCAT scores showed larger Ne/ERN amplitudes whereas the sprinters with high SCAT scores tended to exhibit smaller Ne/ERN amplitudes. Our findings provide further evidence that performance monitoring differs across various types of athletes.

Aerobic Exercise During Encoding Impairs Hippocampus-Dependent Memory.

We investigated how aerobic exercise during encoding affects hippocampus-dependent memory through a source memory task that assessed hippocampus-independent familiarity and hippocampus-dependent recollection processes. Using a within-participants design, young adult participants performed a memory-encoding task while performing a cycling exercise or being seated. The subsequent retrieval phase was conducted while sitting on a chair. We assessed behavioral and event-related brain potential measures of familiarity and recollection processes during the retrieval phase. Results indicated that source accuracy was lower for encoding with exercise than for encoding in the resting condition. Event-related brain potential measures indicated that the parietal old/new effect, which has been linked to recollection processing, was observed in the exercise condition, whereas it was absent in the rest condition, which is indicative of exercise-induced hippocampal activation. These findings suggest that aerobic exercise during encoding impairs hippocampus-dependent memory, which may be attributed to inefficient source encoding during aerobic exercise.

The effect of monetary punishment on error evaluation in a Go/No-go task.

Little is known about the effects of the motivational significance of errors in Go/No-go tasks. We investigated the impact of monetary punishment on the error-related negativity (ERN) and error positivity (Pe) for both overt errors and partial errors, that is, no-go trials without overt responses but with covert muscle activities. We compared high and low punishment conditions where errors were penalized with 50 or 5 yen, respectively, and a control condition without monetary consequences for errors. Because we hypothesized that the partial-error ERN might overlap with the no-go N2, we compared ERPs between correct rejections (i.e., successful no-go trials) and partial errors in no-go trials. We also expected that Pe amplitudes should increase with the severity of the penalty for errors. Mean error rates were significantly lower in the high punishment than in the control condition. Monetary punishment did not influence the overt-error ERN and partial-error ERN in no-go trials. The ERN in no-go trials did not differ between partial errors and overt errors; in addition, ERPs for correct rejections in no-go trials without partial errors were of the same size as in go-trial. Therefore the overt-error ERN and the partial-error ERN may share similar error monitoring processes. Monetary punishment increased Pe amplitudes for overt errors, suggesting enhanced error evaluation processes. For partial errors an early Pe was observed, presumably representing inhibition processes. Interestingly, even partial errors elicited the Pe, suggesting that covert erroneous activities could be detected in Go/No-go tasks.

Brain activities associated with learning of the Monty Hall Dilemma task.

The Monty Hall Dilemma (MHD) poses a counterintuitive probabilistic problem to the players of this game. In the MHD task, a participant chooses one of three options where only one contains a reward. After one of the unchosen options (always no reward) is disclosed, the participant is asked to make a final decision: either change to the remaining option or stick with their first choice. Although the probability of winning if they change is higher (2/3) compared to sticking with their first choice (1/3), most people stick with their original selection and often lose. In accordance with previous research, repetitive exposure to the MHD task increases the change behavior without any obvious understanding of the mathematical reasons why changing increases their chance of being rewarded. We recorded the stimulus-preceding negativity (SPN), an ERP that might reflect the informative value of the feedback. In the second half of the task, feedback was predicted to be less informative because learning had taken place. Indeed, the SPN amplitude became smaller over the frontal region. Also, the SPN amplitude was larger for change than for stick trials. These results suggest that learning in the MHD might be manifest in affective-motivational anticipation as indicated by the SPN.

Neural Correlates of Choking Under Pressure: Athletes High in Sports Anxiety Monitor Errors More When Performance Is Being Evaluated.

We investigated the relationship between performance-related anxiety and the neural response to errors. Using the sport anxiety scale, we selected university athletes high in sports anxiety and low in sports anxiety. The two groups performed a spatial Stroop task while their performance was being evaluated by an experimenter and also during a control (i.e., no evaluation) condition. The error-related negativity was significantly larger during the evaluation than control condition among athletes who reported high performance-related anxiety. These results suggest that performance evaluation may make errors particularly aversive or salient for individuals who fail to perform well under pressure.

Modulation of Spatial Attentional Allocation by Computer-Based Cognitive Training during Lacrosse Shooting Performance.

It has been reported that repetitive execution of a stimulus-response compatibility (SRC) task attenuates the interference effect of a choice reaction time task, known as a Simon task. We investigated whether attentional control, enhanced by repetitive execution of an SRC task, would reduce the interference effect of a Simon task and could be transferred to lacrosse shooting skills, increasing the likelihood that players would shoot in the direction opposite to the goalie's initial movement. Female lacrosse players who were matched in terms of age, handedness score, competitive lacrosse playing experience, and playing position, were allocated to the SRC task group (n = 15) or the 2-back training group (n = 14). Participants underwent 10 sessions of 180 trials of a computer-based version of either a Type 2 SRC task or the 2-back task, within four consecutive weeks. Eight practice trials were completed prior to the execution of each task in every training session, during which feedback was provided to confirm accurate mapping between the stimulus and response. Before and after the training phase, both the magnitude of the Simon effect and the lacrosse shooting performance were assessed. After participating in computer-based cognitive training, players did indeed increase the number of shots toward the direction opposite to that of the movement of the goalie. In conclusion, these findings indicate that computer-based cognitive training is beneficial for improving the shooting ability of lacrosse players.

Fitness and ERP Indices of Cognitive Control Mode during Task Preparation in Preadolescent Children.

A growing number of studies conducted over the past decade have demonstrated that greater aerobic fitness is associated with superior cognitive control in preadolescent children. Several studies have suggested that the relationship between fitness and cognitive control may be attributed to differential reliance on proactive vs. reactive cognitive control modes. However, this contention has remained speculative, and further studies are needed to better elucidate this relationship. We designed the present study to test the hypothesis that use of cognitive control modes would differ as a function of childhood fitness. We compared performance of lower-fit and higher-fit children on a modified AX-continuous performance task, commonly used to examine shifts in the use of proactive and reactive control, along with cue-P3 and contingent negative variation (CNV) of event-related brain potentials (ERPs). Results indicated that higher-fit children exhibited greater response accuracy for BX (non-target cue - target probe) relative to AY (target cue - non-target probe) trials, whereas lower-fit children had comparable response accuracies for AY and BX trials. Because enhanced BX performance and impaired AY performance may be attributed to the proactive use of context information, these results suggest that greater childhood fitness is associated with more effective utilization of proactive control. Higher-fit children also exhibited larger cue-P3 amplitude and smaller CNV amplitude for BX relative to AY trials, with no such effect of trial type in lower-fit children. These ERP results suggest that greater fitness is associated with more effective utilization of cue information and response preparation more appropriate to trial type, supporting the behavioral findings. The present study provides novel insights into the relationship between fitness and cognition from the perspective of cognitive control mode during task preparation.