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EEG and Event-Related Potentials

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Dear Colleagues,

Electroencephalography (EEG) allows us to observe the brain at work, which enables us to tap into the non-conscious world of human brain functions with a millisecond time resolution. The true functioning of the brain is not entirely revealed to consciousness, and in order to get access to this knowledge, the design of an event-related experiment is most promising in terms of results. Well-selected stimuli are presented to study participants as independent variables, and as participants follow certain task instructions, their brain potentials are recorded and later calculated into even-related potentials (ERPs). Crucially, the non-conscious mind can think differently compared to the conscious mind. This is particularly so in the case of affective processing, which was never meant to be verbalized and is thus prone to misleading explicit responses (i.e. cognitive pollution of affective content). This Special Issue aims to collect papers that demonstrate how well ERPs show non-conscious cognitive and affective processing in the human brain.

Dr. Peter Walla
Guest Editor

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Keywords

EEG
ERP
cognitive processing
affective processing
non-conscious
brain potentials
brain imaging

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17 pages, 3049 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sonic Influence on Initially Neutral Brands: Using EEG to Unveil the Secrets of Audio Evaluative Conditioning

by Shannon Bosshard and Peter Walla

Brain Sci. 2023, 13(10), 1393; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13101393 - 29 Sep 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 987

Abstract

The present study addresses the question of whether explicit, survey-type measures of attitude differ in sensitivity when compared to implicit, non-conscious measures of attitude in the context of attitude changes in response to evaluative conditioning (EC). In the frame of a pre-test, participants rated 300 brand names on a Likert-type scale, the results of which were then used to create personalised lists of neutral brands. After this initial online component, the participants were exposed to one, five, and ten rounds of EC (during three separate sessions), during which half of the brands were paired with pleasant audio excerpts (positive EC) and the remainder were paired with unpleasant audio excerpts (negative EC). Following each conditioning round, the participants rated the brand names again, whilst changes in the brain’s electrical activity in response to the brands were recorded via electroencephalography (EEG). After having rated the brand names, the participants also completed two implicit association tests (IAT; one for each of the neutral conditions). The results revealed that self-reported, explicit responses of brand names remained unchanged despite having been conditioned. Similarly, the IAT did not reveal any declines in reaction time. In contrast, the EEG data appeared to not only be sensitive to initial brand ratings, but also the conditioning effects of initially neutral brands. Respective neurophysiological effects were found at frontal electrode locations AF3 and AF4 for a 1 s-long time window starting at 400 ms after stimulus onset. Furthermore, the EEG revealed that changes in brand attitude are more susceptible to the effects of negative conditioning than positive conditioning. Given the rather small sample size, any generalizability seems vague, but the present results provide scientific evidence that EEG could indeed be a valuable additional method to investigate EC effects. The results of this study support the notion of utilising a multidimensional approach, inclusive of neuroscience, to understanding consumer attitudes instead of solely relying on self-report measures. In the end, the brain knows more than it admits to consciousness and language, which is why objective methods should always be included in any study. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue EEG and Event-Related Potentials)

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19 pages, 1090 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Use of Quantitative Electroencephalography (QEEG) to Assess Post-COVID-19 Concentration Disorders in Professional Pilots: An Initial Concept

by Marta Kopańska, Łukasz Rydzik, Joanna Błajda, Izabela Sarzyńska, Katarzyna Jachymek, Tomasz Pałka, Tadeusz Ambroży and Jacek Szczygielski

Brain Sci. 2023, 13(9), 1264; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13091264 - 30 Aug 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1654

Abstract

Announced by WHO in 2020, the global COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 has affected many people, leading to serious health consequences. These consequences are observed in the daily lives of infected patients as various dysfunctions and limitations. More and more people are suffering post-COVID-19 complications that interfere with or completely prevent them from working or even functioning independently on a daily basis. The aim of our study was to demonstrate that innovative quantitative electroencephalography (QEEG) can be used to assess cognitive function disorders reported after the COVID-19 pandemic. It is worth noting that no similar study has been conducted to date in a group of pilots. The QEEG method we used is currently one of the basic neurological examinations, enabling easy observation of post-COVID-19 changes in the nervous system. With the innovativeness of this technique, our study shows that the use of quantitative electroencephalography can be a precursor in identifying complications associated with cognitive function disorders after COVID-19. Our study was conducted on twelve 26-year-old pilots. All participants had attended the same flight academy and had contracted SARS-CoV-2 infection. The pilots began to suspect COVID-19 infection when they developed typical symptoms such as loss of smell and taste, respiratory problems, and rapid fatigue. Quantitative electroencephalography (QEEG), which is one of the most innovative forms of diagnostics, was used to diagnose the patients. Comparison of the results between the study and control groups showed significantly higher values of all measurements of alpha, theta, and beta2 waves in the study group. In the case of the sensorimotor rhythm (SMR), the measurement results were significantly higher in the control group compared to the study group. Our study, conducted on pilots who had recovered from COVID-19, showed changes in the amplitudes of brain waves associated with relaxation and concentration. The results confirmed the issues reported by pilots as evidenced by the increased amplitudes of alfa, theta, and beta2 waves. It should be emphasized that the modern diagnostic method (QEEG) presented here has significant importance in the medical diagnosis of various symptoms and observation of treatment effects in individuals who have contracted the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The present study demonstrated an innovative approach to the diagnosis of neurological complications after COVID-19. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue EEG and Event-Related Potentials)

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