International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology
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Int J Psychophysiol · Mar 2010
Regular physical activity improves executive function during task switching in young adults.
The relationship between physical activity levels and executive control functioning was examined in 40 young adults (mean age = 21.4 yrs; 19 females) who were grouped on the basis of their regular physical activity level. Participants performed a task switching paradigm with two conditions. The pure task condition required repeated performance on a single task (e.g., AAAAAA...); the mixed-task condition required participants to change rapidly between different tasks (e.g., AABBAA...). ⋯ Results show a smaller mixing cost on RTs and P3 amplitudes and a smaller switch cost on RTs for the active group relative to the sedentary group. These data suggest that when the task requires greater amounts of executive control, the physically active group demonstrates a more efficient executive functioning than the sedentary group. Thus, this research presents evidence that regular physical activity selectively improves executive function, as represented by the task switching paradigm, even during young adulthood.
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Int J Psychophysiol · Jan 2010
Brain activation patterns underlying fast habituation to painful laser stimuli.
A painful experience is modified by processes like habituation/antinociception or sensitization. Altered habituation may be one characteristic of chronic pain syndromes. In the present study we sought to investigate the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) correlate of rapid habituation to pain using simultaneous single trial electrodermal activity (EDA)/fMRI measurements. ⋯ Significant habituation of the BOLD signal was only found in subjects with 'faster' EDA habituation that was accompanied by a signal increase in the rostral ACC and the periaqueductal grey. Furthermore, subjects with faster EDA habituation provided lower pain ratings. Therefore the EDA habituation profile to painful stimulation may constitute a pain-related (endo)phenotype and may be an informative additional endpoint measure in fMR-imaging of pain, especially when people suffering from chronic pain states in which pain processing is often altered are studied.
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Int J Psychophysiol · Dec 2009
Comparative StudyAnhedonia and effort mobilization in dysphoria: reduced cardiovascular response to reward and punishment.
Instigated by evidence for reduced responsiveness to reward in depression, the present two studies addressed the question if such anhedonic behavior would also become evident in reduced mobilization of mental effort in terms of cardiovascular reactivity. Undergraduates completed the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D) and worked on mental tasks, expecting either no consequence, a performance-contingent reward, or a performance-contingent punishment. ⋯ Together, the studies demonstrate that reward insensitivity in (subclinical) depression is also found in cardiovascular reactivity. Furthermore, dysphoric individuals do not respond to punishment either, suggesting a general insensitivity to hedonic consequences.
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Int J Psychophysiol · Nov 2009
Randomized Controlled TrialDistinct EEG effects related to neurofeedback training in children with ADHD: a randomized controlled trial.
In a randomized controlled trial, neurofeedback (NF) training was found to be superior to a computerised attention skills training concerning the reduction of ADHD symptomatology (Gevensleben et al., 2009). The aims of this investigation were to assess the impact of different NF protocols (theta/beta training and training of slow cortical potentials, SCPs) on the resting EEG and the association between distinct EEG measures and behavioral improvements. In 72 (of initially 102) children with ADHD, aged 8-12, EEG changes after either a NF training (n=46) or the control training (n=26) could be studied. ⋯ Protocol-specific EEG changes (theta/beta training: decrease of posterior-midline theta activity; SCP training: increase of central-midline alpha activity) were associated with improvements in the German ADHD rating scale. Related EEG-based predictors were obtained. Thus, differential EEG patterns for theta/beta and SCP training provide further evidence that distinct neuronal mechanisms may contribute to similar behavioral improvements in children with ADHD.
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Int J Psychophysiol · Nov 2009
Effects of affective pictures on pain sensitivity and cortical responses induced by laser stimuli in healthy subjects and migraine patients.
Visually induced analgesia has been correlated with the affective content of pleasant, neutral or unpleasant pictures. The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of affective images vision on laser evoked potentials and pain perception, in a cohort of healthy subjects and migraine patients. Twenty-two healthy subjects and 24 migraine without aura patients (recorded during the inter-critical phase) participated in the study. ⋯ In migraineurs and controls the P2 wave was reduced during the vision of pleasant pictures, compared to basal condition. This indicates that stimulation by images with different affective content reduces subjective pain for a cognitive mechanism of attentive engagement, while a special inhibition of later LEPs is produced by a positive emotional impact. In migraine, affective images are able to modulate pain perception and LEPs, differently from other modalities of distraction, suggesting a possible emotive elaboration of painful stimuli.