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. 2021 Jan 25:14:570279.
doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.570279. eCollection 2020.

Event-Related Alpha-Band Power Changes During Self-reflection and Working Memory Tasks in Healthy Individuals

Takahiro Matsuoka  1 , Takaki Shimode  1 , Toshio Ota  1 , Koji Matsuo  1
Affiliations

Event-Related Alpha-Band Power Changes During Self-reflection and Working Memory Tasks in Healthy Individuals

Takahiro Matsuoka et al. Front Hum Neurosci. .

Abstract

Dysfunctional attentional control is observed in patients with mental disorders. However, there is no established neurophysiological method to assess attention in such patients. We showed a discrepancy in alpha-band power in the tasks that evoked internal and external attention event-related alpha-band power changes in healthy subjects during self-reflection (SR) and working memory (WM) tasks in a preliminary study. In this study, we aimed at elucidating event-related alpha-band power changes in healthy subjects during the tasks, addressing the shortcomings of the previous study. Sixteen healthy volunteers were examined for the event-related power (ERpow) change during the tasks. The results demonstrated the discrepancy of alpha-band ERpow at 8, 10, and 12 Hz in the parieto-occipital area between the WM and SR tasks for a period between a target stimulus and a command stimulus, where a participant switched to internal attention from external attention according to the SR task and remained at external attention according to the WM task. The results suggest that alpha-band ERpow in this area is associated with the direction of attention in response to cognitive stimuli, indicating that the findings of ERpow during the two tasks would potentially aid in the clarification of the pathophysiology of the dysfunctional change in attention in patients with psychiatric disorders.

Keywords: EEG; alpha-band; attention; event-related synchronization/desynchronization; self-reflection; working memory.

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Conflict of interest statement

TM has received speaker’s honoraria from Otsuka Pharmaceutical, Janssen Pharma, Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Meiji Seika Pharma, and Shinogi, and research donations of Novartis and Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma. TS has received speaker’s honoraria from Otsuka Pharmaceutical, Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma, Meiji Seika Pharma, and Janssen Pharma. TO has received honoraria from Meiji Seika Pharma, Eli Lilly, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma, Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma, Otsuka Pharmaceutical, Mochida Pharmaceutical, Kyowa Yakuhin Kogyo, Janssen Pharma, Pfizer, MSD, and Eisai. KM has received honoraria from Kyowa Yakuhin Kogyo, Yoshitomiyakuhin, Pfizer, Janssen Pharma, Otsuka Pharmaceutical, Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma, Mochida Pharmaceutical, MSD, and Eisai.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The procedure of the experiment consists of eight blocks in which four were working memory tasks and four were self-reflection tasks.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Task procedure in each trial for self-reflection task and working memory task.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The event-related potential at Oz during the SR and WM tasks. Redline, the “Match” condition during the SR task; navy line, the “Go” condition in the WM task.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Color maps of spatial distributions of alpha-band ERpow in PERIOD 5 and 6 during the SR and the WM tasks. SR, self-reflection; WM, working memory.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Time series of ERpow at PO3 and PO4 during the SR and WM tasks. Redline, the self-reflection (SR) task; Navy line, the working memory (WM) task.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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