Allen, J., Cavanagh, J. F., Frank, M. J., Klein, T. J., & Allen, J. J. (2010). Frontal theta links prediction errors to behavioral adaptation in reinforcement learning. NeuroImage, 49(4).
Investigations into action monitoring have consistently detailed a frontocentral voltage deflection in the event-related potential (ERP) following the presentation of negatively valenced feedback, sometimes termed the feedback-related negativity (FRN). The FRN has been proposed to reflect a neural response to prediction errors during reinforcement learning, yet the single-trial relationship between neural activity and the quanta of expectation violation remains untested. Although ERP methods are not well suited to single-trial analyses, the FRN has been associated with theta band oscillatory perturbations in the medial prefrontal cortex. Mediofrontal theta oscillations have been previously associated with expectation violation and behavioral adaptation and are well suited to single-trial analysis. Here, we recorded EEG activity during a probabilistic reinforcement learning task and fit the performance data to an abstract computational model (Q-learning) for calculation of single-trial reward prediction errors. Single-trial theta oscillatory activities following feedback were investigated within the context of expectation (prediction error) and adaptation (subsequent reaction time change). Results indicate that interactive medial and lateral frontal theta activities reflect the degree of negative and positive reward prediction error in the service of behavioral adaptation. These different brain areas use prediction error calculations for different behavioral adaptations, with medial frontal theta reflecting the utilization of prediction errors for reaction time slowing (specifically following errors), but lateral frontal theta reflecting prediction errors leading to working memory-related reaction time speeding for the correct choice.
Sanguinetti, J. L., Trujillo, L. T., Schnyer, D. M., Allen, J. J., & Peterson, M. A. (2015). Increased alpha band activity indexes inhibitory competition across a border during figure assignment. Vision research.
Rottenberg, J., Chambers, A. S., Allen, J. J., & Manber, R. (2007). Cardiac vagal control in the severity and course of depression: The importance of symptomatic heterogeneity. Journal of Affective Disorders, 103(1-3), 173-179.
PMID: 17320191;PMCID: PMC2212818;Abstract:
Background: Impaired cardiac vagal control (CVC), as indexed by respiratory sinus arrhythmia, has been investigated as a risk factor for major depressive disorder (MDD), but prior findings are mixed with respect to whether impaired CVC predicts greater global depression severity and/or a more severe course of disorder. One possible explanation for mixed findings is that CVC abnormalities in MDD are related more closely to specific depression symptoms than to the syndrome as a whole. Methods: Depression severity (both global and symptom-specific indices) and electrocardiogram measures of resting CVC were obtained from 151 diagnosed MDD participants at intake, before randomization to a novel treatment for depression (acupuncture), and again after 8 and 16 weeks. Results: Resting CVC did not predict global indices of depression in cross-sectional or longitudinal analyses. In symptom-specific analyses, resting CVC was positively related to sad mood and crying and inversely related to middle and late insomnia. Improvement in late insomnia was related to increases in CVC over time. Limitations: Relationships between CVC and MDD were studied only within the clinical range of severity. Symptom analyses were exploratory and hence did not correct for Type I error. Conclusions: Resting CVC did not exhibit concurrent or prospective relations with overall depression severity but a few specific symptoms did. Symptomatic heterogeneity across samples may account for mixed findings within the CVC-depression literature. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Allen, J., & Mertens, R. (2009). Limitations to the detection of deception: True and false recollections are poorly distinguished using an event-related potential procedure. Social Neuroscience, 4(6), 473-490.
PMID: 18633842;Abstract:
The utility of using indices of neural function to identify deception relies on finding highly reliable and valid approaches that adequately identify the guilty and exonerate the innocent. A class of approaches, based on the guilty knowledge technique (GKT), assume that guilty individuals will recognize specific crime-relevant details, whereas innocent individuals will not. Memory distortions, however, may limit the accuracy of such procedures. To investigate these limits, two studies were conducted to examine whether brain electrical activity could differentiate true from false recollections elicited by the Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm. The design of each study maximized the opportunity of finding electrocortical differences between true and false recognition. Each study found very high rates of false recognition, with little evidence that brain electrical activity could differentiate true from false memories. Results suggested that under certain conditions both true and false recollections can produce a pattern of brain activity indicative of recognition.
Manber, R., Schnyer, R. N., Allen, J. J., Rush, A. J., & Blasey, C. M. (2004). Acupuncture: A promising treatment for depression during pregnancy. Journal of Affective Disorders, 83(1), 89-95.
PMID: 15546651;Abstract:
Few medically acceptable treatments for depression during pregnancy are available. The aim of this randomized controlled pilot study was to determine whether acupuncture holds promise as a treatment for depression during pregnancy. Sixty-one pregnant women with major depressive disorder and a 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD 17) score ≥14 were randomly assigned to one of three treatments, delivered over 8 weeks: an active acupuncture (SPEC, N=20), an active control acupuncture (NSPEC, N=21), and massage (MSSG, N=20). Acupuncture treatments were standardized, but individually tailored, and were provided in a double-blind fashion. Responders to acute phase treatment (HRSD 17 score14 and ≥50% reduction from baseline) continued the treatment they were initially randomized to until 10 weeks postpartum. Response rates at the end of the acute phase were statistically significantly higher for SPEC (69%) than for MSSG (32%), with an intermediate NSPEC response rate (47%). The SPEC group also exhibited a significantly higher average rate of reduction in BDI scores from baseline to the end of the first month of treatment than the MSSG group. Responders to the acute phase of all treatments combined had significantly lower depression scores at 10 weeks postpartum than nonresponders. Generalizability is limited by the small sample and its relative homogeneity. Acupuncture holds promise for the treatment of depression during pregnancy. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
