Pub Date : 2025-11-01DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2025.109162
Chenyang Liu, Jinlong Su
Yawning is widely observed in daily life. But its function has largely remained less explored. In the current study, we examined how yawning exposure affected threat detection in human adults and its potential mechanisms. We recruited 96 participants and manipulated the yawning exposure by letting participants viewing yawn videos or listening to yawn audios. Then they were asked to complete a threat-detection task as well as measures of subjective sleepiness and theory of mind (ToM). Results revealed that yawning exposure significantly enhanced both the speed and accuracy of detecting snakes from frogs but not vice versa in the visual modality (yawning videos exposure). In contrast, within the auditory modality (yawning audios exposure), yawning exposure also improved detection accuracy (rather than reaction time) for non-threatening frogs, indicating a possible modality-dependent pattern rather than a universal threat-specific enhancement. Besides, individual differences in ToM capacity likely played a role in the relationship between yawning exposure and threat detection: participants with higher ToM scores exhibited greater sensitivity in identifying snakes under the yawning condition, suggesting that the ability to infer others’ mental states might be critical for interpreting the informational content of yawning. Furthermore, yawning exposure increased subjective sleepiness and the increase in subjective sleepiness did not correlate with threat detection performance, indicating that the observed effects likely arise from domain-specific cognitive processes rather than generalized arousal modulation. These findings provided support for the communicative function of yawning and underscored the interplay between evolved nonverbal signals and modern cognitive capacities like ToM.
{"title":"Yawning to communicate? Yawn exposure increases both threat detection and subjective sleepiness","authors":"Chenyang Liu, Jinlong Su","doi":"10.1016/j.biopsycho.2025.109162","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biopsycho.2025.109162","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Yawning is widely observed in daily life. But its function has largely remained less explored. In the current study, we examined how yawning exposure affected threat detection in human adults and its potential mechanisms. We recruited 96 participants and manipulated the yawning exposure by letting participants viewing yawn videos or listening to yawn audios. Then they were asked to complete a threat-detection task as well as measures of subjective sleepiness and theory of mind (ToM). Results revealed that yawning exposure significantly enhanced both the speed and accuracy of detecting snakes from frogs but not vice versa in the visual modality (yawning videos exposure). In contrast, within the auditory modality (yawning audios exposure), yawning exposure also improved detection accuracy (rather than reaction time) for non-threatening frogs, indicating a possible modality-dependent pattern rather than a universal threat-specific enhancement. Besides, individual differences in ToM capacity likely played a role in the relationship between yawning exposure and threat detection: participants with higher ToM scores exhibited greater sensitivity in identifying snakes under the yawning condition, suggesting that the ability to infer others’ mental states might be critical for interpreting the informational content of yawning. Furthermore, yawning exposure increased subjective sleepiness and the increase in subjective sleepiness did not correlate with threat detection performance, indicating that the observed effects likely arise from domain-specific cognitive processes rather than generalized arousal modulation. These findings provided support for the communicative function of yawning and underscored the interplay between evolved nonverbal signals and modern cognitive capacities like ToM.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55372,"journal":{"name":"Biological Psychology","volume":"202 ","pages":"Article 109162"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145520829","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-01DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2025.109171
Melisa Saygin , Martin Gevonden , Eco de Geus
Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) is the heart period variability observed in synchrony with respiration. RSA amplitude is widely used in psychophysiological research to non-invasively index cardiac vagal activity. However, RSA measures are significantly affected by respiratory behavior, even in the absence of changes in cardiac vagal activity. Fifty-to-sixty percent of the variation in RSA can be attributed to respiration rate and tidal volume. This poses a notable challenge for ambulatory RSA measurement where respiratory behavior cannot be experimentally controlled and can show substantial variation. This pre-registered two-day ambulatory study (https://osf.io/57es4) compared four approaches to control for respiratory influences on RSA, to make an empirical recommendation on how to best capture cardiac vagal activity in daily life. We evaluated how well the RSA metric of each approach predicted (1) Minute-to-minute heart period, assumed to be predominantly governed by cardiac vagal activity, and (2) Perceived stress, positive affect, negative affect, and safety—states expected to elicit fluctuations in cardiac vagal activity— at smartphone prompts. The tidal volume-normalized RSA approach was optimal, explaining 1.47 times as much within-individual variance in heart period as that explained by uncontrolled-RSA. The need to use respiratory-controlled RSA was further highlighted by results on safety. Perceived safety was associated with uncontrolled-RSA (p = .033) but not with any of the controlled-RSA metrics. This relationship was driven by higher respiration rate co-occurring with lower safety. We recommend using tidal volume-normalized RSA in ambulatory research to avoid reporting spurious within-individual correlations between psychological states and cardiac vagal activity.
{"title":"Controlling heart rate variability for respiratory effects in ambulatory psychophysiological measurements","authors":"Melisa Saygin , Martin Gevonden , Eco de Geus","doi":"10.1016/j.biopsycho.2025.109171","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biopsycho.2025.109171","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) is the heart period variability observed in synchrony with respiration. RSA amplitude is widely used in psychophysiological research to non-invasively index cardiac vagal activity. However, RSA measures are significantly affected by respiratory behavior, even in the absence of changes in cardiac vagal activity. Fifty-to-sixty percent of the variation in RSA can be attributed to respiration rate and tidal volume. This poses a notable challenge for ambulatory RSA measurement where respiratory behavior cannot be experimentally controlled and can show substantial variation. This pre-registered two-day ambulatory study (<span><span>https://osf.io/57es4</span><svg><path></path></svg></span>) compared four approaches to control for respiratory influences on RSA, to make an empirical recommendation on how to best capture cardiac vagal activity in daily life. We evaluated how well the RSA metric of each approach predicted (1) Minute-to-minute heart period, assumed to be predominantly governed by cardiac vagal activity, and (2) Perceived stress, positive affect, negative affect, and safety—states expected to elicit fluctuations in cardiac vagal activity— at smartphone prompts. The tidal volume-normalized RSA approach was optimal, explaining 1.47 times as much within-individual variance in heart period as that explained by uncontrolled-RSA. The need to use respiratory-controlled RSA was further highlighted by results on safety. Perceived safety was associated with uncontrolled-RSA (<em>p</em> = .033) but not with any of the controlled-RSA metrics. This relationship was driven by higher respiration rate co-occurring with lower safety. We recommend using tidal volume-normalized RSA in ambulatory research to avoid reporting spurious within-individual correlations between psychological states and cardiac vagal activity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55372,"journal":{"name":"Biological Psychology","volume":"202 ","pages":"Article 109171"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145643112","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-01DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2025.109137
Eric Schade , P. Jason White , Peter Maramaldi
Social anxiety often emerges during adolescence, marked by heightened self-consciousness and sensitivity to social evaluation, then persists in adulthood. This systematic review synthesizes findings from studies using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG) to examine self-conscious processing in socially anxious adolescents and adults. Following PRISMA guidelines, we reviewed 47 studies (2008-July 2025) and conducted a narrative synthesis with a descriptive synthesis restricted to personally evaluative fear of negative evaluation tasks. fMRI studies most commonly reported heightened activation in brain regions associated with self-evaluation and social threat processing, including the medial prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and insula. EEG event-related potential (ERP) studies identified enhanced amplitudes in early (P2) and late (late positive potential) components in response to negative self-descriptors, suggesting increased attentional and emotional reactivity. Many findings came from studies using the self-referential encoding task (SRET), which prompts self-processing and social evaluation. While fMRI provides spatial precision, ERP methods capture the temporal dynamics of self-related threat sensitivity. Together, the findings support altered self-conscious processing as a neurobiological feature of social anxiety in adolescents and adults. fMRI and EEG offer complementary strengths for identifying potential diagnostic markers and treatment targets. Future research should integrate both methods and examine developmental trajectories to improve mechanistic understanding and inform personalized interventions.
{"title":"Self-consciousness in adolescent and adult social anxiety: A systematic review of fMRI and EEG findings","authors":"Eric Schade , P. Jason White , Peter Maramaldi","doi":"10.1016/j.biopsycho.2025.109137","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biopsycho.2025.109137","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Social anxiety often emerges during adolescence, marked by heightened self-consciousness and sensitivity to social evaluation, then persists in adulthood. This systematic review synthesizes findings from studies using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG) to examine self-conscious processing in socially anxious adolescents and adults. Following PRISMA guidelines, we reviewed 47 studies (2008-July 2025) and conducted a narrative synthesis with a descriptive synthesis restricted to personally evaluative fear of negative evaluation tasks. fMRI studies most commonly reported heightened activation in brain regions associated with self-evaluation and social threat processing, including the medial prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and insula. EEG event-related potential (ERP) studies identified enhanced amplitudes in early (P2) and late (late positive potential) components in response to negative self-descriptors, suggesting increased attentional and emotional reactivity. Many findings came from studies using the self-referential encoding task (SRET), which prompts self-processing and social evaluation. While fMRI provides spatial precision, ERP methods capture the temporal dynamics of self-related threat sensitivity. Together, the findings support altered self-conscious processing as a neurobiological feature of social anxiety in adolescents and adults. fMRI and EEG offer complementary strengths for identifying potential diagnostic markers and treatment targets. Future research should integrate both methods and examine developmental trajectories to improve mechanistic understanding and inform personalized interventions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55372,"journal":{"name":"Biological Psychology","volume":"202 ","pages":"Article 109137"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145310095","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-01DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2025.109159
Ferenc Köteles , Dóra Nagy , Bernadett Tőkés , Renáta Szemerszky
Response expectancies are expectations referring to changes in voluntarily not controllable internal states, such as mood, body sensations, and peripheral physiology. The current study investigated whether response expectancies can predict experiential and actual and perceived physiological responses to slow stroking of the hairy skin, also called affective touch. 94 young individuals participated in the preregistered within-subject experiment. Participants’ mood state and spontaneous expectations with respect to pleasantness of the skin sensation, change in mood state, heart rate, respiratory rate, and skin temperature were assessed before (1) paying attention to the skin, and receiving (2) fast (30 cm/sec) and (3) slow (3–4 cm/sec) stroking for two minutes in a randomized order. Experienced skin sensation, mood state, and perceived physiological changes were measured after the stimulation sessions; actual physiological changes were recorded throughout the experiment. Expectations predicted pleasantness of skin sensation, changes of mood state, and perceived changes for all three physiological modalities in the slow stroking condition. However, expected and perceived physiological changes were unrelated to actual changes. Pleasantness of skin sensation showed a positive association with improvement in mood state. In conclusion, response expectancies can predict experiential changes but not actual physiological changes evoked by slow stroking.
{"title":"Expectations predict the psychological but not the physiological effects of slow stroking","authors":"Ferenc Köteles , Dóra Nagy , Bernadett Tőkés , Renáta Szemerszky","doi":"10.1016/j.biopsycho.2025.109159","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biopsycho.2025.109159","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Response expectancies are expectations referring to changes in voluntarily not controllable internal states, such as mood, body sensations, and peripheral physiology. The current study investigated whether response expectancies can predict experiential and actual and perceived physiological responses to slow stroking of the hairy skin, also called affective touch. 94 young individuals participated in the preregistered within-subject experiment. Participants’ mood state and spontaneous expectations with respect to pleasantness of the skin sensation, change in mood state, heart rate, respiratory rate, and skin temperature were assessed before (1) paying attention to the skin, and receiving (2) fast (30 cm/sec) and (3) slow (3–4 cm/sec) stroking for two minutes in a randomized order. Experienced skin sensation, mood state, and perceived physiological changes were measured after the stimulation sessions; actual physiological changes were recorded throughout the experiment. Expectations predicted pleasantness of skin sensation, changes of mood state, and perceived changes for all three physiological modalities in the slow stroking condition. However, expected and perceived physiological changes were unrelated to actual changes. Pleasantness of skin sensation showed a positive association with improvement in mood state. In conclusion, response expectancies can predict experiential changes but not actual physiological changes evoked by slow stroking.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55372,"journal":{"name":"Biological Psychology","volume":"202 ","pages":"Article 109159"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145490941","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-01DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2025.109160
Rong Jiang , Laura Etzel , Lorrie Schmid , Victoria Lee , Sarah J. Short , William Roger Mills-Koonce , Cathi B. Propper , Patricia Garrett-Peters
Background
Psychosocial stress and sleep disturbances are common during pregnancy and can contribute to heightened hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity, potentially impacting maternal and fetal health. Hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) provide a measure of cumulative circulating cortisol over a period of months and serve as a marker of HPA-axis activity. Yet the interplay between psychosocial stress, sleep quality, and HCC during pregnancy remains unclear.
Methods
We conducted a secondary analysis of 141 pregnant women from the Brain and Early Experiences (BEE) Study. Two types of psychosocial stressors - financial strain and pregnancy-related anxiety - were assessed using the Economic Strain Questionnaire and the Pregnancy-Related Anxiety Questionnaire, respectively. Sleep quality was measured via the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and HCC was analyzed from 3 cm of hair collected toward the end of the second trimester. Multivariable linear regression tested associations between psychosocial stressors, sleep quality, and HCC, adjusting for key covariates. Mediation analyses assessed whether sleep quality mediated associations between psychosocial stressors and HCC.
Results
Financial strain was significantly associated with both poorer sleep quality (β=0.22, P = .02) and higher HCC (β=0.26, P = .006). Pregnancy-related anxiety was not linked to poorer sleep quality P = .23) or HCC (P = .17). Sleep quality did not mediate psychosocial stressors and HCC associations.
Conclusion
Findings suggest that financial strain may contribute to poorer sleep quality during pregnancy. Financial strain may also contribute to higher cortisol levels, independent of its association with sleep quality. Understanding these associations is critical for identifying intervention targets to mitigate stress-related health risks during pregnancy.
{"title":"Psychosocial stressors, sleep quality, and hair cortisol concentrations among pregnant women","authors":"Rong Jiang , Laura Etzel , Lorrie Schmid , Victoria Lee , Sarah J. Short , William Roger Mills-Koonce , Cathi B. Propper , Patricia Garrett-Peters","doi":"10.1016/j.biopsycho.2025.109160","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biopsycho.2025.109160","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Psychosocial stress and sleep disturbances are common during pregnancy and can contribute to heightened hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity, potentially impacting maternal and fetal health. Hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) provide a measure of cumulative circulating cortisol over a period of months and serve as a marker of HPA-axis activity. Yet the interplay between psychosocial stress, sleep quality, and HCC during pregnancy remains unclear.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>We conducted a secondary analysis of 141 pregnant women from the Brain and Early Experiences (BEE) Study. Two types of psychosocial stressors - financial strain and pregnancy-related anxiety - were assessed using the Economic Strain Questionnaire and the Pregnancy-Related Anxiety Questionnaire, respectively. Sleep quality was measured via the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and HCC was analyzed from 3 cm of hair collected toward the end of the second trimester. Multivariable linear regression tested associations between psychosocial stressors, sleep quality, and HCC, adjusting for key covariates. Mediation analyses assessed whether sleep quality mediated associations between psychosocial stressors and HCC.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Financial strain was significantly associated with both poorer sleep quality (β=0.22, <em>P</em> = .02) and higher HCC (β=0.26, <em>P</em> = .006). Pregnancy-related anxiety was not linked to poorer sleep quality <em>P</em> = .23) or HCC (<em>P</em> = .17). Sleep quality did not mediate psychosocial stressors and HCC associations.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Findings suggest that financial strain may contribute to poorer sleep quality during pregnancy. Financial strain may also contribute to higher cortisol levels, independent of its association with sleep quality. Understanding these associations is critical for identifying intervention targets to mitigate stress-related health risks during pregnancy.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55372,"journal":{"name":"Biological Psychology","volume":"202 ","pages":"Article 109160"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145514758","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-01DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2025.109145
Jens Allaert , Djamilah Mohamed , Daniel Hellemons , Frederik M. van der Veen
<div><div>Individuals prone to rumination and depressive symptoms often experience maladaptive, repetitive regret when confronted with lost opportunities. Understanding underlying neurobehavioral mechanisms is crucial for clarifying how these vulnerabilities might foster affective disorders. This study used a sequential risk-taking task to investigate how these vulnerabilities modulate behavioral, neural (Late Positive Potential, LPP), and cardiac responses to outcomes. Ninety-two female subjects received trial-by-trial feedback, yielding optimal, suboptimal (mixed gain/loss), and nonoptimal (total loss) outcomes. Higher rumination and depressive symptoms predicted greater behavioral sensitivity to lost opportunities. For suboptimal outcomes, the positive association between sensitivity and LPP amplitude was stronger in individuals with higher vulnerability, whereas for nonoptimal outcomes, the positive association between sensitivity and LPP amplitude was only present in those with extremely high rumination. Together, these findings suggest that for vulnerable individuals, a heightened sensitivity to lost opportunities manifests as a neural signature of sustained, maladaptive elaboration on partially or fully negative choice outcomes. In contrast, for individuals with low vulnerabilities, greater sensitivity predicted a reduced LPP for nonoptimal outcomes, a possible signature of adaptive disengagement from failure. Physiologically, regardless of vulnerability, greater sensitivity predicted increased cardiac acceleration following suboptimal outcomes, suggesting heightened autonomic arousal, though this effect only survived multiple-comparison correction in the model with rumination. In conclusion, sensitivity to lost opportunities seems not inherently maladaptive; its link to neural processing is shaped by clinical vulnerabilities. This altered processing may explain how these vulnerabilities sustain biased thinking, offering a transdiagnostic marker and targets for intervention against maladaptive regret. In contrast, individuals with low vulnerability showed a reduced LPP for nonoptimal outcomes, a signature of adaptive disengagement from failure. (both rumination and depressive symptoms). For nonoptimal outcomes, sensitivity predicted an amplified LPP in those with extremely high rumination. For suboptimal outcomes, the positive association between sensitivity and LPP amplitude was stronger in individuals with higher vulnerability, suggesting intensified counterfactual elaboration. For nonoptimal outcomes, this sensitivity predicted a reduced LPP (suggesting adaptive disengagement) in individuals with low vulnerability but an amplified LPP (suggesting maladaptive perseveration) in those with extremely high rumination. Individuals prone to self-critical rumination and depressive symptoms often experience maladaptive, repetitive regret when confronted with lost opportunities. Understanding the underlying neurobehavioral mechanisms in those wit
{"title":"Neural and cardiac correlates of sensitivity to lost opportunities: The role of self-critical rumination and depressive symptoms","authors":"Jens Allaert , Djamilah Mohamed , Daniel Hellemons , Frederik M. van der Veen","doi":"10.1016/j.biopsycho.2025.109145","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biopsycho.2025.109145","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Individuals prone to rumination and depressive symptoms often experience maladaptive, repetitive regret when confronted with lost opportunities. Understanding underlying neurobehavioral mechanisms is crucial for clarifying how these vulnerabilities might foster affective disorders. This study used a sequential risk-taking task to investigate how these vulnerabilities modulate behavioral, neural (Late Positive Potential, LPP), and cardiac responses to outcomes. Ninety-two female subjects received trial-by-trial feedback, yielding optimal, suboptimal (mixed gain/loss), and nonoptimal (total loss) outcomes. Higher rumination and depressive symptoms predicted greater behavioral sensitivity to lost opportunities. For suboptimal outcomes, the positive association between sensitivity and LPP amplitude was stronger in individuals with higher vulnerability, whereas for nonoptimal outcomes, the positive association between sensitivity and LPP amplitude was only present in those with extremely high rumination. Together, these findings suggest that for vulnerable individuals, a heightened sensitivity to lost opportunities manifests as a neural signature of sustained, maladaptive elaboration on partially or fully negative choice outcomes. In contrast, for individuals with low vulnerabilities, greater sensitivity predicted a reduced LPP for nonoptimal outcomes, a possible signature of adaptive disengagement from failure. Physiologically, regardless of vulnerability, greater sensitivity predicted increased cardiac acceleration following suboptimal outcomes, suggesting heightened autonomic arousal, though this effect only survived multiple-comparison correction in the model with rumination. In conclusion, sensitivity to lost opportunities seems not inherently maladaptive; its link to neural processing is shaped by clinical vulnerabilities. This altered processing may explain how these vulnerabilities sustain biased thinking, offering a transdiagnostic marker and targets for intervention against maladaptive regret. In contrast, individuals with low vulnerability showed a reduced LPP for nonoptimal outcomes, a signature of adaptive disengagement from failure. (both rumination and depressive symptoms). For nonoptimal outcomes, sensitivity predicted an amplified LPP in those with extremely high rumination. For suboptimal outcomes, the positive association between sensitivity and LPP amplitude was stronger in individuals with higher vulnerability, suggesting intensified counterfactual elaboration. For nonoptimal outcomes, this sensitivity predicted a reduced LPP (suggesting adaptive disengagement) in individuals with low vulnerability but an amplified LPP (suggesting maladaptive perseveration) in those with extremely high rumination. Individuals prone to self-critical rumination and depressive symptoms often experience maladaptive, repetitive regret when confronted with lost opportunities. Understanding the underlying neurobehavioral mechanisms in those wit","PeriodicalId":55372,"journal":{"name":"Biological Psychology","volume":"202 ","pages":"Article 109145"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145410843","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-01DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2025.109158
Michiel Spapé, Aotong Li, Ran Guo
The P3 is a psychophysiological marker of visual recognition, being related to object detection, memory encoding, and action selection. Yet computing the similarity of a presented stimulus to a represented target is an ill-defined task for stimuli such as faces, given the plenitude of potentially relevant features. We previously proposed that current neural networks can define stimuli both at their objective, physical and subjective, cognitive levels, and thus compute similarity. This similarity – or perception/representation distance inverse - linearly predicted P3 amplitude in a face identity recognition task. However, this left open whether the distance-P3 relation reflected top-down task-related recognition or bottom-up family-resemblance repetition effects. We therefore revisited the paradigm but included precisely matched presentations of foils: task-irrelevant images sampled and presented at target-matched distances. The results showed that an early binary differentiation between targets and other images occurred at the N170 latency while for the P3, a clear effect of distance was found: the larger the distance, the smaller the P3. The effects of target-relevance were clearly dissociable from the effect of perceiving foils, which did not affect the N170 at all, and showed only a minor, binary effect on the P3, unrelated to the specific distance. Taken together, we argue that keeping a target in visual working memory involves an early, top-down mechanism, which evaluates the evidence for making a perceptual decision. This mechanism is followed soon after by a more passive, bottom-up process, which updates both the probability and representation of stimulus identities.
{"title":"Partial recognition: The P3 marks the top-down similarity between task-relevant targets and presented stimuli","authors":"Michiel Spapé, Aotong Li, Ran Guo","doi":"10.1016/j.biopsycho.2025.109158","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biopsycho.2025.109158","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The P3 is a psychophysiological marker of visual recognition, being related to object detection, memory encoding, and action selection. Yet computing the similarity of a presented stimulus to a represented target is an ill-defined task for stimuli such as faces, given the plenitude of potentially relevant features. We previously proposed that current neural networks can define stimuli both at their objective, physical and subjective, cognitive levels, and thus compute similarity. This similarity – or perception/representation distance inverse - linearly predicted P3 amplitude in a face identity recognition task. However, this left open whether the distance-P3 relation reflected top-down task-related recognition or bottom-up family-resemblance repetition effects. We therefore revisited the paradigm but included precisely matched presentations of foils: task-irrelevant images sampled and presented at target-matched distances. The results showed that an early binary differentiation between targets and other images occurred at the N170 latency while for the P3, a clear effect of distance was found: the larger the distance, the smaller the P3. The effects of target-relevance were clearly dissociable from the effect of perceiving foils, which did not affect the N170 at all, and showed only a minor, binary effect on the P3, unrelated to the specific distance. Taken together, we argue that keeping a target in visual working memory involves an early, top-down mechanism, which evaluates the evidence for making a perceptual decision. This mechanism is followed soon after by a more passive, bottom-up process, which updates both the probability and representation of stimulus identities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55372,"journal":{"name":"Biological Psychology","volume":"202 ","pages":"Article 109158"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145477229","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-01DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2025.109157
Jie Liu, Jiajun Li, Jun Yang, Qin Zhang
The neural power spectrum contains both periodic and aperiodic 1/f-like activity. Aperiodic activity is functionally significant, reflecting the excitation-inhibition balance within the nervous system. Without proper parameterization, aperiodic activity can confound oscillatory power, leading to misinterpretations of physiological phenomena. While target load's impact on aperiodic activity has been studied, its modulation by distractor load is less understood. Our study used a parameterization algorithm to separate periodic alpha oscillations from aperiodic activity, examining their relationship with target and distractor items during working memory. We found that periodic alpha activity increased with target load, a change not evident with traditional analysis. The aperiodic exponent was modulated by both target and distractor loads, but in opposite directions, highlighting their differential impact on excitation-inhibition balance. An exploratory analysis showed no modulatory role of working memory capacity on these neural indicators. Our findings emphasize the importance of distinguishing periodic and aperiodic activity in working memory research. They provide empirical support for the dynamic regulation of the neuronal excitation/inhibition balance by target and distractor items. Future research should focus on the functional significance of these individual components for a deeper understanding of brain function.
{"title":"Modulation of the aperiodic exponent by target and distractor load during working memory delay","authors":"Jie Liu, Jiajun Li, Jun Yang, Qin Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.biopsycho.2025.109157","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biopsycho.2025.109157","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The neural power spectrum contains both periodic and aperiodic 1/f-like activity. Aperiodic activity is functionally significant, reflecting the excitation-inhibition balance within the nervous system. Without proper parameterization, aperiodic activity can confound oscillatory power, leading to misinterpretations of physiological phenomena. While target load's impact on aperiodic activity has been studied, its modulation by distractor load is less understood. Our study used a parameterization algorithm to separate periodic alpha oscillations from aperiodic activity, examining their relationship with target and distractor items during working memory. We found that periodic alpha activity increased with target load, a change not evident with traditional analysis. The aperiodic exponent was modulated by both target and distractor loads, but in opposite directions, highlighting their differential impact on excitation-inhibition balance. An exploratory analysis showed no modulatory role of working memory capacity on these neural indicators. Our findings emphasize the importance of distinguishing periodic and aperiodic activity in working memory research. They provide empirical support for the dynamic regulation of the neuronal excitation/inhibition balance by target and distractor items. Future research should focus on the functional significance of these individual components for a deeper understanding of brain function.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55372,"journal":{"name":"Biological Psychology","volume":"202 ","pages":"Article 109157"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145440043","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-01DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2025.109170
Jimin Yan , Tanja Könen , Hongchi Zhang , Lorenza Colzato , Bernhard Hommel
Cognitive adaptivity—the capacity to adjust behavior in response to changing demands—is central to human functioning. The metacontrol framework describes this adaptivity as a dynamic balance between persistence (goal-directed stability) and flexibility (openness to change). Recent research links individual metacontrol biases to the aperiodic exponent of EEG activity, which reflects the brain's excitation/inhibition balance. Higher exponents indicate persistence-related control, while lower exponents reflect flexibility-oriented processing. This study investigated whether aperiodic EEG markers predict coping preferences—assimilative (persistence-based) vs. accommodative (flexibility-based)—in a large sample of Chinese university students. We used structural equation modeling to compare a trait-based model based on resting-state EEG with a task-based model that included dynamic EEG indices reflecting situational challenge. The task-based model offered stronger predictive power. Two EEG markers—rest-to-task exponent change and within-trial exponent change—formed a latent metacontrol factor. This factor negatively predicted assimilative coping (measured via a resilience scale) and positively predicted accommodative coping (measured via a culturally validated dialectical thinking scale). These opposite effects align with the theoretical distinction between the two coping styles. These findings suggest that dynamic shifts in aperiodic activity provide a sensitive neural marker of the control states that shape coping behavior and resilience.
{"title":"Aperiodic EEG activity as metacontrol marker predicts assimilative and accommodative coping strategies","authors":"Jimin Yan , Tanja Könen , Hongchi Zhang , Lorenza Colzato , Bernhard Hommel","doi":"10.1016/j.biopsycho.2025.109170","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biopsycho.2025.109170","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cognitive adaptivity—the capacity to adjust behavior in response to changing demands—is central to human functioning. The metacontrol framework describes this adaptivity as a dynamic balance between persistence (goal-directed stability) and flexibility (openness to change). Recent research links individual metacontrol biases to the aperiodic exponent of EEG activity, which reflects the brain's excitation/inhibition balance. Higher exponents indicate persistence-related control, while lower exponents reflect flexibility-oriented processing. This study investigated whether aperiodic EEG markers predict coping preferences—assimilative (persistence-based) vs. accommodative (flexibility-based)—in a large sample of Chinese university students. We used structural equation modeling to compare a trait-based model based on resting-state EEG with a task-based model that included dynamic EEG indices reflecting situational challenge. The task-based model offered stronger predictive power. Two EEG markers—rest-to-task exponent change and within-trial exponent change—formed a latent metacontrol factor. This factor negatively predicted assimilative coping (measured via a resilience scale) and positively predicted accommodative coping (measured via a culturally validated dialectical thinking scale). These opposite effects align with the theoretical distinction between the two coping styles. These findings suggest that dynamic shifts in aperiodic activity provide a sensitive neural marker of the control states that shape coping behavior and resilience.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55372,"journal":{"name":"Biological Psychology","volume":"202 ","pages":"Article 109170"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145617818","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-01DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2025.109161
Burcu Göz Tebrizcik , Alexandra L. Georgescu, Susannah Pick, Eleanor J. Dommett
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder, marked by inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. Its symptoms in adulthood may be predominantly inattentive, and attention deficiency can impact external and internal attentional processes. Despite evidence indicating that processing of internal sensory information, interoception, may be impacted in ADHD, this has yet to be fully assessed. Fifty-seven typically developed adults and 30 with an ADHD diagnosis underwent assessment of interoceptive abilities incorporating behavioural and self-reported measures of interoception accuracy (i.e., how accurately body signals can be perceived) and attention (attention focused on interoception). Psychophysiological measurements using the heartbeat counting task (HCT) were used to assess behavioural accuracy, confidence ratings, and interoceptive insight (the relationship between behavioural accuracy and confidence ratings). Additionally, questionnaires assessed self-report accuracy and self-report attention. An analysis of covariance for each component of interoceptive abilities was performed to examine group differences. Individuals with ADHD displayed lower behavioural accuracy, confidence ratings, and self-report accuracy than those without ADHD after controlling for ethnicity, age, autistic traits, alexithymia, depression, or social functioning. Ethnicity, age, and depression also had significant effects on distinct interoceptive abilities. These findings suggest interoceptive impairment maybe a feature of ADHD even after controlling for potentially confounding variables. However, these results should be interpreted cautiously due to the limitations of the study, such as the narrow age group and small sample size. More research is needed, utilising a broad range of techniques to confirm differences in interoceptive dimensions in ADHD and their potential impact.
{"title":"Interoceptive abilities in adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder","authors":"Burcu Göz Tebrizcik , Alexandra L. Georgescu, Susannah Pick, Eleanor J. Dommett","doi":"10.1016/j.biopsycho.2025.109161","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biopsycho.2025.109161","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder, marked by inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. Its symptoms in adulthood may be predominantly inattentive, and attention deficiency can impact external and internal attentional processes. Despite evidence indicating that processing of internal sensory information, interoception, may be impacted in ADHD, this has yet to be fully assessed. Fifty-seven typically developed adults and 30 with an ADHD diagnosis underwent assessment of interoceptive abilities incorporating behavioural and self-reported measures of interoception accuracy (i.e., how accurately body signals can be perceived) and attention (attention focused on interoception). Psychophysiological measurements using the heartbeat counting task (HCT) were used to assess behavioural accuracy, confidence ratings, and interoceptive insight (the relationship between behavioural accuracy and confidence ratings). Additionally, questionnaires assessed self-report accuracy and self-report attention. An analysis of covariance for each component of interoceptive abilities was performed to examine group differences. Individuals with ADHD displayed lower behavioural accuracy, confidence ratings, and self-report accuracy than those without ADHD after controlling for ethnicity, age, autistic traits, alexithymia, depression, or social functioning. Ethnicity, age, and depression also had significant effects on distinct interoceptive abilities. These findings suggest interoceptive impairment maybe a feature of ADHD even after controlling for potentially confounding variables. However, these results should be interpreted cautiously due to the limitations of the study, such as the narrow age group and small sample size. More research is needed, utilising a broad range of techniques to confirm differences in interoceptive dimensions in ADHD and their potential impact.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55372,"journal":{"name":"Biological Psychology","volume":"202 ","pages":"Article 109161"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145524943","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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