Premium
Comparing P 300 modulations: Target‐to‐target interval versus infrequent nontarget‐to‐nontarget interval in a three‐stimulus task
Author(s) -
Steiner Genevieve Z.,
Brennan Michelle L.,
Gonsalvez Craig J.,
Barry Robert J.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
psychophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.661
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1469-8986
pISSN - 0048-5772
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-8986.2012.01491.x
Subject(s) - psychology , stimulus (psychology) , oddball paradigm , audiology , electroencephalography , event related potential , interval (graph theory) , developmental psychology , communication , neuroscience , cognitive psychology , medicine , mathematics , combinatorics
This study examined temporal determinants of the P 300 component of the ERP in a three‐stimulus visual oddball task. Frequent standards, with equiprobable targets and infrequent nontargets, were utilized. We tested whether the infrequent nontarget‐to‐nontarget interval (infrequent NNI ) influences P 300 amplitudes and latencies analogously to the target‐to‐target interval ( TTI ). EEG was recorded from 27 participants, and response time and P 300 effects of TTIs and infrequent NNIs were assessed. Increases in TTI augmented target P 300 amplitudes and decreased latencies and response times. However, this modulation of P 300 amplitude was weak for manipulations of infrequent NNI . P 300 latencies increased initially before decreasing across infrequent NNI levels. Together, these findings support the notion that the P 300 has an underlying temporal mechanism that is modulated by motivationally significant events. Theoretical implications are discussed.