Sequential representation of voluntary movement in cortical macropotentials: direct control of behavior by operant conditioning of wave amplitude

Response-Specific Scalp Distributions in Deception Detection and ERP Correlates of Psychopathic Personality Traits

Abstract University students were screened using items from the Psychopathic Personality Inventory and divided into high (n = 13) and low (n = 11) Psychopathic Personality Trait (PPT) groups. The P300 component of the event-related potential (ERP) was recorded as each group completed a two-block autobiographical oddball task, responding honestly during the first (Phone) block, in which oddball items were participants' home phone numbers, and then feigning amnesia in response to approximately 50% of items in the second (Birthday) block in which oddball items were participants' birthdates. Bootstrapping of peak-to-peak amplitudes correctly identified 100% of low PPT and 92% of high PPT participants as having intact recognition. Both groups demonstrated malingering-related P300 amplitude reduction. For the first time, P300 amplitude and topography differences were observed between honest and deceptive responses to Birthday items. No main between-group P300 effects resulted. Post-hoc analysis revealed between-group differences in a frontally located post-P300 component. Honest responses were associated with late frontal amplitudes larger than deceptive responses at frontal sites in the low PPT group only.

Applied psychophysiology and biofeedback of event-related potentials (brain waves): historical perspective, review, future directions

This paper reviews the efforts of workers in the 1960s-1980s to demonstrate voluntary control of exogenously evoked (event-related) potentials in visual, somatic sensory, and auditory systems in rats, cats, and humans. The first part of the paper reviews the conceptual foundation and development of the work--it actually arose from traditional sensory coding and neural correlates of behavior studies. The second part summarizes recent applications of the method in the area of pain control. In reviewing these matters, the major effort is directed at revealing how the ideas unfolded in very human, day-to-day, anecdotal terms. There is not much of an attempt to formally review the literature, which is cited for consultation elsewhere. In the same spirit, many possible future experiments are suggested by way of elucidating the key remaining questions in the area.

Operant conditioning of somatosensory evoked potential (SEP) amplitude in rats. II. Associated changes in reflex and continuous non-timelocked movements

Animals were rewarded for increasing (uptrain) or decreasing (downtrain) the amplitude of a 30 ms surface positive component of a somatosensory evoked potential (SEP) evoked by innocuous stimulation of the spinal trigeminal tract. The reflex movement produced by the evoking stimulus had a larger amplitude in uptraining than downtraining. This change in reflex amplitude suggests that operantly conditioning SEP amplitude was correlated with a change in innocuous somatosensory activity. There was no change in continuous non-timelocked movement associated with conditioning. This latter finding suggests that SEP conditioning is not necessarily mediated by such movement.

Operant conditioning of somatosensory evoked potential (SEP) amplitude in rats. I. Specific changes in SEP amplitude and a naloxone-reversible somatotopically specific change in facial nociception

The aim of this experiment was to investigate possible endogenous opioid modulation of innocuous somatosensory activity. Somatosensory activity was measured by recording cortical somatosensory evoked potential (SEP) and reflex movement amplitude evoked by innocuous electrical stimulation of the spinal trigeminal tract in awake rats. Putative endogenous opioid activity was blocked using the opiate antagonist naloxone (1 mg/kg). The amplitude of midlatency SEP components (14-50 ms latency) increased following administration of naloxone and repeated stimulus presentations. The amplitude of these components decreased following administration of the opiate agonist morphine (3 mg/kg). An early cortical component (10 ms latency) habituated following the administration of saline but did not habituate following naloxone. Naloxone also enhanced habituation of the late SEP components (60-120 ms latency) and reflex movement evoked at higher stimulus intensities. Morphine decreased the amplitude of the early cortical component but had no consistent effect on the amplitude of the late SEP components.

Operant conditioning of trigeminally-evoked cortical potentials: correlated effects on facial nociception

The effects of operant conditioning somatosensory evoked potential (SEP) amplitude on nociceptive sensitivity were studied in albino rats. SEPs were evoked by stimulation to the descending trigeminal tract. Rewarding medial forebrain bundle stimulation (at intensities predetermined to sustain bar pressing) was made contingent upon the animal making the amplitude of the SEP 0.5 standard deviation (S.D.) large (uptraining) or 0.5 S.D. smaller (downtraining) than the predetermined mean value. Nociceptive sensitivity was measured immediately following the conditioning session by heating the rat's face and noting the latency of a defensive face rubbing response directed at that area of the face. Increasing the amplitude of the SEP (uptraining) was associated with a decrease in noxious sensitivity. Decreasing the amplitude of the SEP (downtraining) was associated with an increase in noxious sensitivity.