Emotional expectancy: Brain electrical activity associated with an emotional bias in interpreting life events

Author(s): Tucker, D. M., West, P., Potts, G. F., Liotti, M., Luu, P., Hartry, A. L.

Journal/Book: Psychophysiology. 1996; 33: 1010 Vermont Ave NW, Suite 1100, Washington, DC 20005. Soc Psychophysiol Res. 218-233.

Abstract: University students in either an optimistic or pessimistic mood state read brief stories of daily life events as event-related brain potentials were collected during the final word of each story. For subjects in a pessimistic mood, a bias to expect negative outcomes was seen as an N400/P300 effect over posterior scalp regions. For subjects in an optimistic mood, a differentiation between good and bad outcomes was also observed, but it was specific to medial frontal areas. Analysis of single-trial P300 latencies suggested that semantically incongruent and mood-incongruent outcome words resulted in increased median latency of the late positive complex (LPC) and resulted in increased variability of LPC latency across trials.

Note: Article DM Tucker, Univ Oregon, Dept Psychol, Eugene, OR 97403 USA

Keyword(s): depression; semantic cognition; expectancy; N400; P300; DEPRESSION; POTENTIALS; MEMORY; SENTENCES; BEHAVIOR; HUMANS; WORDS; EEG

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