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Slow brain potentials after withdrawal of control
Archiv Fur Psychiatrie Und Nervenkrankheiten
|January 1, 1982
Summary
Healthy subjects showed a significant increase in the postimperative negative slow brain potential shift (PINV) when they unexpectedly lost control over aversive stimuli. This brain response, linked to loss of control, was observed over frontal areas.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Psychophysiology
Background:
- Previous research indicated an increased postimperative negative slow brain potential shift (PINV) in response to loss of control.
- The current study aimed to replicate and extend these findings in healthy subjects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the neural correlates of perceived loss of control over aversive stimuli.
- To examine the characteristics of the postimperative negative slow brain potential shift (PINV) under conditions of unexpected uncontrollability.
Main Methods:
- A reaction time paradigm was employed with healthy male students.
- Participants experienced periods of control and subsequent loss of control over aversive (loud noise) and neutral (soft tone) imperative stimuli.
- Electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded from frontal, central, and parietal scalp sites.
Main Results:
- Experimental subjects exhibited a pronounced PINV over frontal areas when faced with unexpectedly uncontrollable aversive stimuli.
- No significant PINV was observed in yoked control subjects who did not experience the contingency.
- PINV was not present during control conditions or in response to neutral uncontrollable stimuli.
Conclusions:
- The findings confirm that an unexpected loss of control over aversive stimuli elicits a distinct PINV.
- The PINV, particularly over frontal areas, appears to be a reliable electrophysiological marker of perceived uncontrollability.
- Statistical analyses suggest the PINV is an independent endogenous brain potential component.