TY - JOUR
T1 - EEG coherence during subjectively-rated psychological state variations
AU - McCabe, Laura
AU - Johnstone, Stuart J.
AU - Watts, Allira
AU - Jiang, Han
AU - Sun, Li
AU - Zhang, Dawei
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2020/12
Y1 - 2020/12
N2 - Background: Neurofeedback training aims to develop awareness and control of psychological states in order to self-regulate brain activity and while used widely therapeutically, important questions remain unanswered. Central to these aims is an assumed association between the live EEG-based feedback and the subjective experience of a psychological state. To date, there is little evidence to support this relationship. Previous studies examining the association between an EEG index and subjective experience have explored only the presence or absence of the state, or merely assumed state variations. The current study aims to examine this association by considering how different levels of a psychological state (i.e., attention) are reflected in EEG coherence. Methods: Our approach aims to allow comparisons of EEG coherence between psychological states (attention vs. rest), and also within subjectively-rated levels of a psychological state (attention) through a purpose-designed questionnaire. Thirty healthy adult participants performed a resting eyes-open (REO) and attention modulation task, while 28 channels of EEG were recorded. Levels within the psychological state were subjectively-attested by participants on a trial-by-trial basis. Results: The main analyses examined the effect of subjectively-rated attention levels (SRALs) on EEG coherence, with results suggesting that high and low SRALs may be represented by: 1) different levels of alpha and theta coherence at anterior and posterior electrodes of the frontal lobe bilaterally, and 2) different levels of alpha coherence between central and parietal lobes, also bilaterally. Discussion: These findings provide partial, preliminary evidence for EEG correlates of SRALs. These findings may have implications for understanding underlying mechanisms of NFT, which is an underdeveloped area.
AB - Background: Neurofeedback training aims to develop awareness and control of psychological states in order to self-regulate brain activity and while used widely therapeutically, important questions remain unanswered. Central to these aims is an assumed association between the live EEG-based feedback and the subjective experience of a psychological state. To date, there is little evidence to support this relationship. Previous studies examining the association between an EEG index and subjective experience have explored only the presence or absence of the state, or merely assumed state variations. The current study aims to examine this association by considering how different levels of a psychological state (i.e., attention) are reflected in EEG coherence. Methods: Our approach aims to allow comparisons of EEG coherence between psychological states (attention vs. rest), and also within subjectively-rated levels of a psychological state (attention) through a purpose-designed questionnaire. Thirty healthy adult participants performed a resting eyes-open (REO) and attention modulation task, while 28 channels of EEG were recorded. Levels within the psychological state were subjectively-attested by participants on a trial-by-trial basis. Results: The main analyses examined the effect of subjectively-rated attention levels (SRALs) on EEG coherence, with results suggesting that high and low SRALs may be represented by: 1) different levels of alpha and theta coherence at anterior and posterior electrodes of the frontal lobe bilaterally, and 2) different levels of alpha coherence between central and parietal lobes, also bilaterally. Discussion: These findings provide partial, preliminary evidence for EEG correlates of SRALs. These findings may have implications for understanding underlying mechanisms of NFT, which is an underdeveloped area.
KW - Attention
KW - Coherence
KW - EEG
KW - Neurofeedback
KW - State
KW - Subjectively-rated
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85095979826&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2020.11.004
DO - 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2020.11.004
M3 - Article
C2 - 33171138
AN - SCOPUS:85095979826
SN - 0167-8760
VL - 158
SP - 380
EP - 388
JO - International Journal of Psychophysiology
JF - International Journal of Psychophysiology
ER -