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Neuropsychological assessment has to consider the subjective and objective functional deficits of help-seeking individuals in several cognitive domains. Due to time constraints in clinical practice, several web-based approaches have been developed. The current study examined whether functional deficits in the mnestic and attentive domain can be predicted based on an unsupervised self-administered online assessment neuropsychological online screening (NOS): This screening includes self-reports and psychometric memory tests (face-name association, visual short-term memory). Data of help-seeking individuals (n = 213, mean age: 48.2 years) running an extensive in-person assessment were analyzed. A functional deficit in at least one cognitive domain was detected in 48 individuals. This classification was supported by the preceding online screening (sensitivity = 0.75, specificity = 0.80), and a linear regression model identified two significant predictors (free recall performance, form discrimination in visual short-term memory). The predictive quality was enhanced for individuals with selective deficits in the mnestic domain (n = 23: sensitivity = 0.78 and specificity = 0.78) as compared to the attentive domain (n = 25: sensitivity = 0.68 and specificity = 0.75). Our results show that a neuropsychological in-person assessment cannot be replaced by an unsupervised self-administered online test. However, a specific pattern of results in the online test might indicate the necessity of an extensive assessment in help-seeking individuals., Competing Interests: Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2025. The Author(s).)

Distractor-induced blindness (DIB) describes a reduced access to a cued visual target-if multiple target-like distractors have been presented beforehand. Previous ERP data suggest a cumulative frontal inhibition triggered by distractors, which affects the updating process of the upcoming target. In the present study, we examine whether the modality of the cue-formerly defined in the visual domain-affects the expression of these neural signatures. 27 subjects were tested in a cross-modal DIB task: Distractors and targets were defined by a transient change of stimuli shape in a random-dot kinematogram. The onset of the target was announced by a rise in amplitude of a sinusoidal tone. Behavioral results confirmed that detection of the target relies on the number of preceding distractor episodes. Replicating previous unimodal results, ERP responses to distractors were characterized by a frontal negativity starting at 100 ms, which increases with an increasing number of distractor episodes. However, the processing-and detection-of the target was not characterized by a more-expressed P3 response, but by an occipital negativity. The current data confirm that the neural signatures of target awareness depend on the experimental setup used: In case of the DIB, the cross-modal setting might lead to a reduction of attentional resources in the visual domain., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Hanke, Niedeggen. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

A recent Cyberball study has indicated that the experience of loss of control can affect how people process subsequent social exclusion. This "preexposure effect" supports the idea of a common cognitive system involved in the processing of different types of social threats. To test the validity of this assumption in the current study, we reversed the sequence of the preexposure setup. We measured the effects of social exclusion on the subsequent processing of loss of control utilizing event-related brain potentials (ERPs) and self-reports. In the control group (CG, n = 26), the transition to loss of control elicited significant increases in both the P3 amplitude and the self-reported negative mood. Replicating the results of the previous preexposure study, these effects were significantly reduced by the preexposure to an independent social threat (here: social exclusion). In contrast to previous findings, these effects were not modulated by the discontinuation (EG1 disc , n = 25) or continuation (EG2 cont , n = 24) of the preexposure threat. Given that the P3 effect is related to the violation of subjective expectations, these results support the notion that preexposure to a specific social threat has widespread effects on the individuals' expectancy of upcoming social participation and control., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Temporary binding of visual features enables objects to be stored and maintained in the visual working memory as a singular structure, irrespective of its inherent complexity. Although working memory capacity is reduced in aging, previous behavioral studies suggest that binding is preserved. Using event-related brain potentials (ERPs), we tested whether stimulus encoding is different in younger (N = 26, mean age = 28.5) and older (N = 22; mean age = 67.4) participants in a change detection task. The processing costs of binding were defined by the difference between feature-alone (color or shape) and feature-binding (color-shape) conditions. The behavioral data revealed that discrimination ability was reduced in the feature-binding condition, and that this effect was more attenuated in older participants. A corresponding ERP effect was not found in early components related to visual feature detection and processing (posterior N1 and frontal P2). However, the late positive complex (LPC) was more often expressed in the feature-binding condition, and the increase in amplitude was more pronounced in older participants. The LPC can be related to attentional allocation processes which might support the maintenance of the more complex stimulus representation in the binding task. However, the selective neural overactivation in the encoding phase observed in older participants does not prevent swap errors in the subsequent retrieval phase.

Experiencing a social threat, such as social exclusion, is a painful event. In contrast to previous studies providing insight into the processing of a single short-termed threat, we exposed healthy individuals to the simultaneous onset of different social threats. This approach allowed us to track whether these threats are processed independently-or whether they interact in a common system. Using a virtual ball-throwing game (Cyberball), electrophysiological (event-related brain potentials, ERPs) and behavioral (self-reports) responses were collected. We assigned undergraduates to three experimental groups: single threat exclusion (n = 24), single threat loss of control (n = 26), and joint onset of both threats (dual-threat, n = 25). Self-reports indicated an increase in threats (i.e., in perceived exclusion and loss-of-control) in the latter group. The ERPs disentangled the neural responses to each threat: In the dual-threat group, the amplitudes of the P3 responses to exclusionary and intervention events were enhanced. This indicates that individuals are sensitized to each of the threats when the other threat is present simultaneously. Our findings support the theoretical notion of a common cognitive system responding to violations in subjective expectations., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

A target that shares features with preceding distractor stimuli is less likely to be detected due to a distractor-driven activation of a negative attentional set. This transient impairment in perceiving the target (distractor-induced blindness/deafness) can be found within vision and audition. Recently, the phenomenon was observed in a cross-modal setting involving an auditory target and additional task-relevant visual information (cross-modal distractor-induced deafness). In the current study, consisting of three behavioral experiments, a visual target, indicated by an auditory cue, had to be detected despite the presence of visual distractors. Multiple distractors consistently led to reduced target detection if cue and target appeared in close temporal proximity, confirming cross-modal distractor-induced blindness. However, the effect on target detection was reduced compared to the effect of cross-modal distractor-induced deafness previously observed for reversed modalities. The physical features defining cue and target could not account for the diminished distractor effect in the current cross-modal task. Instead, this finding may be attributed to the auditory cue acting as an especially efficient release signal of the distractor-induced inhibition. Additionally, a multisensory enhancement of visual target detection by the concurrent auditory signal might have contributed to the reduced distractor effect., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Deficits in spatial navigation in three-dimensional space are prevalent in various neurological disorders and are a sensitive cognitive marker for prodromal Alzheimer's disease, but are also associated with non-pathological aging. However, standard neuropsychological tests used in clinical settings lack ecological validity to adequately assess spatial navigation. Experimental paradigms, on the other hand, are often too difficult for seniors or patients with cognitive or motor impairments since most require operating a human interface device (HID) or use complex episodic memory tasks. Here, we introduce an intuitive navigation assessment, which is conceptualized using cognitive models of spatial navigation and designed to account for the limited technical experience and diverging impairments of elderly participants and neurological patients. The brief computer paradigm uses videos of hallways filmed with eye tracking glasses, without employing an episodic memory task or requiring participants to operate a HID. Proof of concept data from 34 healthy, middle-aged and elderly participants (56-78 years) provide evidence for the assessment's feasibility and construct validity as a navigation paradigm. Test performance showed normal distribution and was sensitive to age and education, which needs to be considered when investigating the assessment's psychometric properties in larger samples and clinical populations. Correlations of the navigation assessment with other neuropsychological tests confirmed its dependence on visuospatial skills rather than visual episodic memory, with age driving the association with working memory. The novel paradigm is suitable for a differentiated investigation of spatial navigation in elderly individuals and promising for experimental research in clinical settings., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Previous studies indicated that the onsets of different social threats, such as threats to "belonging" and "control", are inconsistent with the subjective beliefs of social participation and require readjustment of expectations. Because a common cognitive system is assumed to be involved, the adjustment triggered by the experience of a single social threat should affect the processing of subsequent social interactions. We examined how preexposure to a loss of control affected social exclusion processing by using the Cyberball paradigm. An event-related brain component (P3) served as a probe for the state of the expectancy system, and self-reports reflected the subjective evaluations of the social threats. In the control group ( n = 23), the transition to exclusion elicited a significant P3 effect and a high threat to belonging in the self-reports. Both effects were significantly reduced when the exclusion was preceded by preexposure to a loss of control (EG1 disc , n = 23). These effects, however, depend on the offset of the preexposure. In case of a continuation (EG2 cont , n = 24), the P3 effect was further reduced, but the threat to belonging was restored. We conclude that the P3 data are consistent with predictions of a common expectancy violation account, whereas self-reports are supposed to be affected by additional processes.

We investigated how patients with social anxiety disorder (SAD) and patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) process an increase in the frequency of social interaction. We used an EEG-compatible version of the online ball-tossing game Cyberball to induce an increase in the frequency of social interaction. In the first condition, each player received the ball equally often (inclusion: 33% ball reception). In the following condition, the frequency of the ball reception was increased (overinclusion: 45% ball reception). The main outcome variable was the event-related potential P2, an indicator for social reward processing. Moreover, positive emotions were assessed. Twenty-eight patients with SAD, 29 patients with BPD and 28 healthy controls (HCs) participated. As expected, HCs and patients with BPD, but not patients with SAD, showed an increase in the P2 amplitude from the inclusion to the overinclusion condition. Contrary to our expectations, positive emotions did not change from the inclusion to the overinclusion condition. EEG results provide preliminary evidence that patients with BPD and HCs, but not patients with SAD, process an increase in the frequency of social interaction as rewarding.

Integrating information across different senses is a central feature of human perception. Previous research suggests that multisensory integration is shaped by a context-dependent and largely adaptive interplay between stimulus-driven bottom-up and top-down endogenous influences. One critical question concerns the extent to which this interplay is sensitive to the amount of available cognitive resources. In the present study, we investigated the influence of limited cognitive resources on audiovisual integration by measuring high-density electroencephalography (EEG) in healthy participants performing the sound-induced flash illusion (SIFI) and a verbal n -back task (0-back, low load and 2-back, high load) in a dual-task design. In the SIFI, the integration of a flash with two rapid beeps can induce the illusory perception of two flashes. We found that high compared with low load increased illusion susceptibility and modulated neural oscillations underlying illusion-related crossmodal interactions. Illusion perception under high load was associated with reduced early β power (18-26 Hz, ∼70 ms) in auditory and motor areas, presumably reflecting an early mismatch signal and subsequent top-down influences including increased frontal θ power (7-9 Hz, ∼120 ms) in mid-anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and a later β power suppression (13-22 Hz, ∼350 ms) in prefrontal and auditory cortex. Our study demonstrates that integrative crossmodal interactions underlying the SIFI are sensitive to the amount of available cognitive resources and that multisensory integration engages top-down θ and β oscillations when cognitive resources are scarce. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The integration of information across multiple senses, a remarkable ability of our perceptual system, is influenced by multiple context-related factors, the role of which is highly debated. It is, for instance, poorly understood how available cognitive resources influence crossmodal interactions during multisensory integration. We addressed this question using the sound-induced flash illusion (SIFI), a phenomenon in which the integration of two rapid beeps together with a flash induces the illusion of a second flash. Replicating our previous work, we demonstrate that depletion of cognitive resources through a working memory (WM) task increases the perception of the illusion. With respect to the underlying neural processes, we show that when available resources are limited, multisensory integration engages top-down θ and β oscillations., (Copyright © 2021 the authors.)

Conscious access to a target stimulus embedded in a rapid serial visual presentation can be impaired by the preceding presentation of multiple task-irrelevant distractors. While this phenomenon - labeled distractor-induced blindness (DIB) - is established in vision, it is unknown whether a similar effect can be observed in the auditory modality. Considering the differences in the processing of visual and auditory stimuli, modality-specific effects in the inhibitory mechanisms triggered by distractors can be expected. First, we aimed to find evidence for a distractor-induced deafness (DID) for auditory targets in a behavioral experiment. The target was defined by a transient increase in amplitude in a continuous sinusoidal tone, which was to be detected if accompanied or preceded by a deviant tone (cue). Both events were embedded in separate streams in a binaural rapid serial auditory presentation. Distractors preceded the cue and shared the target's features. As previously observed for DIB, a failure to detect the auditory target critically relied on the presentation of multiple distractor episodes. This DID effect was followed up in a subsequent event-related brain potentials (ERP) study to identify the signature of target detection. In contrast to missed targets, hits were characterized by a larger frontal negativity and by a more pronounced centro-parietal P3b wave. Whereas the latter process was also observed in the visual domain, indicating a post-perceptual updating process, the frontal negativity was exclusively observed for auditory DID. This modality-specific process might signal that early attentional control processes support conscious access to relevant auditory events., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The clinical use of subjective cognitive complaints (SCCs) has been questioned, especially when considering the influence of depression. Further problems describe the registration of SCCs with a focus on memory and different sample selections, with only few studies that directly compare those who seek help because of SCCs and community-dwelling adults. The present study aimed to (1) evaluate differences in psychosocial variables in help-seeking adults and community-dwelling adults with a lower level of complaints and (2) to further explore the relationship between SCCs and cognitive performance in help-seekers. Fifty-five help-seeking adults (HS) were compared to 55 age-, sex-, and education-matched non-help-seeking adults (NHS). Multiple regression analyses revealed that depressive symptoms were linked to experiencing more SCCs mainly in NHS. Altogether, less variance was explained by psychosocial variables in HS, whereas adding cognitive variables-especially divided attention performance-led to a substantial increase in explained variance. Mediation analysis further revealed a possible mediation of depressive symptoms on SCC by divided attention performance. Taken together, our results underpin the importance of assessing SCCs comprehensively to detect a functional relationship between cognitive performance and complaints, especially in HS. In this group, it is likely that depression precedes problems in divided attention, which in turn lead to SCC. Therefore, future studies should further investigate the link between SCC and cognitive functions which rely on more cognitive resources, as these might be first to be affected by cognitive decline.

In order to study the changing relevance of stimulus features in time and space, we used a task with rapid serial presentation of two stimulus streams where two targets ("T1" and "T2") had to be distinguished from background stimuli and where the difficult T2 distinction was impeded by background stimuli presented before T1 that resemble T2 ("lures"). Such lures might actually have dual characteristics: Their capturing attention might interfere with target identification, whereas their similarity to T2 might result in positive priming. To test this idea here, T2 was a blue digit among black letters, and lures resembled T2 either by alphanumeric category (black digits) or by salience (blue letters). Same-category lures were expected to prime T2 identification whereas salient lures would impede T2 identification. Results confirmed these predictions, yet the precise pattern of results did not fit our conceptual framework. To account for this pattern, we speculate that lures serve to confuse participants about the order of events, and the major factor distinguishing color lures and digit lures is their confusability with T2. Mechanisms of effects were additionally explored by measuring event-related EEG potentials. Consistent with the assumption that they attract more attention, color lures evoked larger N2pc than digit lures and affected the ensuing T1-evoked N2pc. T2-evoked N2pc was indistinguishably reduced by all kinds of preceding lures, though. Lure-evoked mesio-frontal negativity increased from first to third lures both with digit and color lures and, thereby, might have reflected expectancy for T1.

Personal control relies on the expectation that events are contingent upon one's own behavior. A common 'inconsistency compensation approach' posits that a violation of expectancies in social interaction triggers aversive arousal and compensatory effort. Following this approach, we tested the hypothesis that interventions affecting participants' decisions violate the expected personal control. In a modified version of the established cyberball paradigm, participants were not excluded, but consistently included. However, their decisions regarding the recipient of a ball throw in the virtual game were occasionally overruled (expectancy violation). We hypothesized that this intervention will trigger a P3 response in event-related brain potentials (ERP). Since this component is related to subjective expectancies, its amplitude was assumed to depend on the frequency of interventions (independent factor: loss of control). Further, we manipulated the vertical position of the participants' avatar on the computer screen (independent factor: verticality). Building on research showing that verticality is related to the self-assigned power and influences the expected level of control, we hypothesized that the ERP effects of intervention should be more pronounced for participants with avatars in superior position. As predicted, both experimental factors interactively affected the expression of the ERP response: In case of low intervention frequency, P3 amplitudes were significantly pronounced if the participants' avatar was positioned above as compared to below co-players (high > low self-assigned power). The effect of verticality could be traced back to a lack of adaptation of P3 amplitudes to recurring aversive events. By demonstrating that loss of control triggers ERP effects corresponding to those triggered by social exclusion, this study provides further evidence for a common cognitive mechanism in reactions to aversive events based on an inconsistency in expectancy states., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Previous social exclusion experiments identified two factors affecting the participants' evaluation of participation in a virtual ball tossing game (cyberball): ball reception probability and vertical position of the participant's avatar on the screen. The P3 component in the event-related brain potentials (ERPs) indicated that both factors moderate subjective expectancies on social participation. The present research builds on an expectancy model explaining these effects and tests whether its predictions - established in a within-participant design - also hold in a between-participant design more common in behavioral cyberball studies. Participants were randomly assigned to four conditions which differed in ball reception probability (16% vs. 26%) and the avatar's vertical position (inferior vs. superior). To track the state of expectancy of involvement online, we recorded the ERP response evoked by ball receptions of the participant. Retrospectively, social involvement and social need threat were rated in a questionnaire. As hypothesized, low ball reception probability elicited enlarged P3 amplitudes in the ERPs, increased negative mood, and threatened social needs. For participants at inferior position, ERP and questionnaire effects were less expressed. This effect of verticality can be traced back to an adjustment in the expected involvement as signaled by a differential adaptation of the P3 amplitude within an experimental run. These results confirm that the predictions of an expectancy model also apply to cyberball studies using a between-participant design. However, the comparison with the results of previous within-participant design studies suggests that the sensitivity of the adjustment processes critically depends on the choice of the experimental design.

Background: Patients with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) feel ostracized even when they are included. This might be due to a biased processing of social participation in BPD. We examined whether patients with BPD also process social overinclusion in a biased manner, i.e., whether they feel ostracized even when the degree of social participation is increased., Methods: An EEG-compatible version of Cyberball was used to investigate the effects of inclusion and overinclusion (33% vs. 45% ball receipt) on perceived ostracism, need threat and P3 amplitude, an EEG indicator for expectancy violation. Twenty-nine patients with BPD, 28 patients with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) and 28 healthy controls (HC) participated., Results: The P3 amplitude was enhanced for patients with BPD and SAD compared to HCs independent of condition. Both patient groups reported more perceived ostracism relative to HCs in the inclusion but not in the overinclusion condition. Only patients with BPD reported stronger need threat in both conditions., Conclusions: The EEG results imply that being socially included violates the expectations of patients with BPD, irrespective of the actual degree of social participation. However, when overincluded, patients with BPD no longer feel ostracized. Except for need threat, patients with SAD might show a comparable bias in the processing of social participation as patients with BPD.

Background: In rare cases, patients with Alzheimer disease (AD) present at an early age and with a family history suggestive of an autosomal dominant mode of inheritance. Mutations of the presenilin-1 (PSEN1) gene are the most common causes of dementia in these patients. Early-onset and particularly familial AD patients frequently present with variable non-amnestic cognitive symptoms such as visual, language or behavioural changes as well as non-cognitive, e.g. motor, symptoms., Objective: To investigate the phenotypic variability in carriers of the PSEN1 S170F mutation., Methods: We report a family with 4 patients carrying the S170F mutation of whom 2 underwent detailed clinical examinations. We discuss our current findings in the context of previously reported S170F cases., Results: The clinical phenotype was consistent regarding initial memory impairment and early onset in the late twenties found in all S170F patients. There were frequent non-amnestic cognitive changes and, at early stages of the disease, indications of a more pronounced disturbance of visuospatial abilities as compared to face and object recognition. Non-cognitive symptoms most often included myoclonus and cerebellar ataxia. A review of the available case reports indicates some phenotypic variability associated with the S170F mutation including different constellations of symptoms such as parkinsonism and delusions., Conclusion: The variable clinical findings associated with the S170F mutation highlight the relevance of atypical phenotypes in the context of research and under a clinical perspective. CSF sampling and detection of Aβ species may be essential to indicate AD pathology in unclear cases presenting with cognitive and motor symptoms at a younger age., (© 2018 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Subjective cognitive complaints (SCC) and their role as a possible indicator for subsequent dementia became of growing interest in recent research. In contrast to studies that focused primarily on memory complaints, we aimed to (a) evaluate a questionnaire to register SCC in multiple cognitive domains (Complainer Profile Identification, CPI), (b) assess the association between SCC and psychosocial variables, and (c) assess whether complainer types can be differentiated. Confirmatory factor analysis to evaluate construct validity was computed based on a sample of 734 healthy participants (mean [M] = 43.15 years). On a subsample of 644 participants, the relationship between the total level of SCC with age, depression, social integration, and aging stereotypes was assessed utilizing multiple regression analysis. Differences in complainer types were assessed by multivariate analysis of variance. The results indicate sound psychometric properties of the CPI. The overall level of SCC is largely influenced by depressiveness, whereas executive complainers show the highest level of depressive affect, being overall younger and less socially integrated.

In a rapid serial visual presentation task, inhibition processes cumulatively impair processing of a target possessing distractor properties. This phenomenon-known as distractor-induced blindness-has thus far only been elicited using dynamic visual features, such as motion and orientation changes. In three ERP experiments, we used a visual object feature-color-to test for the adaptability and specificity of the effect. In Experiment I, participants responded to a color change (target) in the periphery whose onset was signaled by a central cue. Presentation of irrelevant color changes prior to the cue (distractors) led to reduced target detection, accompanied by a frontal ERP negativity that increased with increasing number of distractors, similar to the effects previously found for dynamic targets. This suggests that distractor-induced blindness is adaptable to color features. In Experiment II, the target consisted of coherent motion contrasting the color distractors. Correlates of distractor-induced blindness were found neither in the behavioral nor in the ERP data, indicating a feature specificity of the process. Experiment III confirmed the strict distinction between congruent and incongruent distractors: A single color distractor was embedded in a stream of motion distractors with the target consisting of a coherent motion. While behavioral performance was affected by the distractors, the color distractor did not elicit a frontal negativity. The experiments show that distractor-induced blindness is also triggered by visual stimuli predominantly processed in the ventral stream. The strict specificity of the central inhibition process also applies to these stimulus features., (© 2017 Society for Psychophysiological Research.)

In this study we investigated age-related changes in WM capacity and their respective ERP correlates. We explicitly addressed the differentiation between high and low performing elderly to identify electrophysiological correlates of successful aging. Therefore, ERP and behavioral data was obtained from 45 young (mean = 22.73 years) and 35 older participants (mean = 68.49 years). Both groups performed a visual-spatial n-back task with two levels of difficulty. Additionally, related neuropsychological tests were administered. Older subjects performed less accurately in both conditions of the n-back task. Older age was additionally associated with a reduced fronto-central positivity (labeled as P200) in the 2-back task and an overall reduced amplitude of the parietal positivity (labeled as P300). The latter shifted to frontal leads in older subjects. Additionally, only in the group of the older participants, increased P200 and decreased parietal P300 amplitudes correlated with performance. Regarding older high and low performers, we observed a clear shift of frontal activity of both ERP components in the group of high performers. High performers additionally performed better in spatial working memory, verbal learning, and fluid intelligence tasks. We conclude, that increasing demands of working memory load are accompanied by a reallocation of resources in both young and older adults. With age, executive control and updating processes (indexed by both ERP components) are diminished or rely on more frontal processes for compensation. However, high performing older adults, who perform comparable to young adults, sustain comparable executive control processes, exceeding pure compensation., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Previous research suggests that the established link of vertical position and self-assignment of social power affects the processing of social exclusion. We hypothesized that verticality-induced self-assignment of social power moderates the evaluation of exclusion via a change in subjective expectancy of social participation. Following this idea, a superior position-associated with higher power-was supposed to increase the sensitivity for a transition to social exclusion. The transition was simulated in a virtual ball tossing game (cyberball): an inclusionary block was followed by partial exclusion of the participant. The participants' vertical position relative to the co-players was varied in three experimental groups (superior vs. even vs. inferior). From inclusion to partial exclusion, we observed an increase of an event-related brain potential related to the violation of subjective expectancy (P3), and participants reported a corresponding increase in threat to social needs and negative mood. For participants at inferior position exclusionary effects on both, P3 and need threat, were less pronounced as compared to participants at even or superior position. These results indicate that verticality impacts basic cognitive processes of subjective expectancy formation. An inferior position already provides a bias for the loss of social power, and the transition to social exclusion is less unexpected.

The detection of a salient visual target embedded in a rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) can be severely affected if target-like distractors are presented previously. This phenomenon, known as distractor-induced blindness (DIB), shares the prerequisites of contingent attentional capture (Folk, Remington, & Johnston, 1992). In both, target processing is transiently impaired by the presentation of distractors defined by similar features. In the present study, we investigated whether the speeded response to a target in the DIB paradigm can be described in terms of a contingent attentional capture process. In the first experiments, multiple distractors were embedded in the RSVP stream. Distractors either shared the target's visual features (Experiment 1A) or differed from them (Experiment 1B). Congruent with hypotheses drawn from contingent attentional capture theory, response times (RTs) were exclusively impaired in conditions with target-like distractors. However, RTs were not impaired if only one single target-like distractor was presented (Experiment 2). If attentional capture directly contributed to DIB, the single distractor should be sufficient to impair target processing. In conclusion, DIB is not due to contingent attentional capture, but may rely on a central suppression process triggered by multiple distractors.

Recent behavioral and neuroimaging studies have suggested multisensory processing deficits in patients with schizophrenia (SCZ). Thus far, the neural mechanisms underlying these deficits are not well understood. Previous studies with unisensory stimulation have shown altered neural oscillations in SCZ. As such, altered oscillations could contribute to aberrant multisensory processing in this patient group. To test this assumption, we conducted an electroencephalography (EEG) study in 15 SCZ and 15 control participants in whom we examined neural oscillations and event-related potentials (ERPs) in the sound-induced flash illusion (SIFI). In the SIFI multiple auditory stimuli that are presented alongside a single visual stimulus can induce the illusory percept of multiple visual stimuli. In SCZ and control participants we compared ERPs and neural oscillations between trials that induced an illusion and trials that did not induce an illusion. On the behavioral level, SCZ (55.7%) and control participants (55.4%) did not significantly differ in illusion rates. The analysis of ERPs revealed diminished amplitudes and altered multisensory processing in SCZ compared to controls around 135 ms after stimulus onset. Moreover, the analysis of neural oscillations revealed altered 25-35 Hz power after 100 to 150 ms over occipital scalp for SCZ compared to controls. Our findings extend previous observations of aberrant neural oscillations in unisensory perception paradigms. They suggest that altered ERPs and altered occipital beta/gamma band power reflect aberrant multisensory processing in SCZ.

The phenomenon of social exclusion can be investigated by using a virtual ball-tossing game called Cyberball. In neuroimaging studies, structures have been identified which are activated during social exclusion. But to date the underlying mechanisms are not fully disclosed. In previous electrophysiological studies it was shown that the P3 complex is sensitive to exclusion manipulations in the Cyberball paradigm and that there is a correlation between P3 amplitude and self-reported social pain. Since this posterior event-related potential (ERP) was widely investigated using the oddball paradigm, we directly compared the ERP effects elicited by the target (Cyberball: "ball possession") and non-target (Cyberball: "ball possession of a co-player) events in both paradigms. Analyses mainly focused on the effect of altered stimulus probabilities of the target and non-target events between two consecutive blocks of the tasks. In the first block, the probability of the target and non-target event was 33% (Cyberball: inclusion), in the second block target probability was reduced to 17%, and accordingly, non-target probability was increased to 66% (Cyberball: exclusion). Our results indicate that ERP amplitude differences between inclusion and exclusion are comparable to ERP amplitude effects in a visual oddball task. We therefore suggest that ERP effects--especially in the P3 range--in the Oddball and Cyberball paradigm rely on similar mechanisms, namely the probability of target and non-target events. Since the simulation of social exclusion (Cyberball) did not trigger a unique ERP response, the idea of an exclusion-specific neural alarm system is not supported. The limitations of an ERP-based approach will be discussed.

The formation of coherent multisensory percepts requires integration of stimuli across the multiple senses. Patients with schizophrenia (ScZ) often experience a loss of coherent perception and hence, they might also show dysfunctional multisensory processing. In this high-density electroencephalography study, we investigated the neural signatures of the McGurk illusion, as a phenomenon of speech-specific multisensory processing. In the McGurk illusion lip movements are paired with incongruent auditory syllables, which can induce a fused percept. In ScZ patients and healthy controls we compared neural oscillations and event-related potentials (ERPs) to congruent audiovisual speech stimuli and McGurk illusion trials, where a visual /ga/ and an auditory /pa/ was often perceived as /ka/. There were no significant group differences in illusion rates. The EEG data analysis revealed larger short latency ERPs to McGurk illusion compared with congruent trials in controls. The reversed effect pattern was found in ScZ patients, indicating an early audiovisual processing deficit. Moreover, we observed stronger suppression of medio-central alpha-band power (8-10 Hz, 550-700 ms) in response to McGurk illusion compared with control trials in the control group. Again, the reversed pattern was found in SCZ patients. Moreover, within groups, alpha-band suppression was negatively correlated with the McGurk illusion rate in ScZ patients, while the correlation tended to be positive in controls. The topography of alpha-band effects indicated an involvement of auditory and/or frontal structures. Our study suggests that short latency ERPs and long latency alpha-band oscillations reflect abnormal multisensory processing of the McGurk illusion in ScZ.

A virtual ball-tossing game called Cyberball has allowed the identification of neural structures involved in the processing of social exclusion by using neurocognitive methods. However, there is still an ongoing debate if structures involved are either pain- or exclusion-specific or part of a broader network. In electrophysiological Cyberball studies we have shown that the P3b component is sensitive to exclusion manipulations, possibly modulated by the probability of ball possession of the participant (event "self") or the presumed co-players (event "other"). Since it is known from oddball studies that the P3b is not only modulated by the objective probability of an event, but also by subjective expectancy, we independently manipulated the probability of the events "self" and "other" and the expectancy for these events. Questionnaire data indicate that social need threat is only induced when the expectancy for involvement in the ball-tossing game is violated. Similarly, the P3b amplitude of both "self" and "other" events was a correlate of expectancy violation. We conclude that both the subjective report of exclusion and the P3b effect induced in the Cyberball paradigm are primarily based on a cognitive process sensitive to expectancy violations, and that the P3b is not related to the activation of an exclusion-specific neural alarm system., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Distractor-induced blindness (DIB) is elicited in a temporal selection task based on rapid serial visual presentation: Following the onset of a central cue (color change of fixation), a target in a global stream has to be detected (orientation change of tilted bars). Distractors are occasional target-like events presented prior to the onset of the cue. Depending on the number of distractor episodes, a frontal ERP negativity (FN) is evoked, and the detection rate of the forthcoming target is reduced. Here, we provide a concise review of the DIBs' functional characteristics, and examine the relationship between FN activation on target processing and detectability. To this end, ERP responses collected in a set of participants (n=14) were analysed separately with respect to detection performance (hits vs. misses). A gradual increase in the amplitude of the FN with increasing number of distractor events was only observed for forthcoming misses, but not for hits. The FN activation can be linked to a target-related ERP component: The amplitude of a late centro-parietal positivity (LPC) was significantly diminished for misses. In sum, the data support the notion that the DIB reflects the controlled activation of a central inhibition system. Depending on its state of activation, conscious access to stimuli defined by distinctive visual features is restricted., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)