No abstract

This study assessed whether individual differences in self-oriented neural processing were associated with performance perceptions of minority students under stereotype threat. Resting electroencephalographic activity recorded in white and minority participants was used to predict later estimates of task errors and self-doubt on a presumed measure of intelligence. We assessed spontaneous phase-locking between dipole sources in left lateral parietal cortex (LPC), precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex (P/PCC), and medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC); three regions of the default mode network (DMN) that are integral for self-oriented processing. Results revealed that minorities with greater LPC-P/PCC phase-locking in the theta band reported more accurate error estimations. All individuals experienced less self-doubt to the extent they exhibited greater LPC-MPFC phase-locking in the alpha band but this effect was driven by minorities. Minorities also reported more self-doubt to the extent they overestimated errors. Findings reveal novel neural moderators of stereotype threat effects on subjective experience. Spontaneous synchronization between DMN regions may play a role in anticipatory coping mechanisms that buffer individuals from stereotype threat.

Stress engendered by stereotype threatening situations may facilitate encoding of negative, stereotype confirming feedback received during a performance among women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). It is unclear, however, whether this process is comprised of the same neurophysiological mechanisms evident in any emotional memory encoding context, or if this encoding bias directly undermines positive self-perceptions in the stigmatized domain. A total of 160 men and women completed a math test that provided veridical positive and negative feedback, a memory test for feedback, and math self-enhancing and valuing measures in a stereotype threatening or neutral context while continuous electroencephalography activity and startle probe responses to positive and negative feedback was recorded. Indexing amygdala activity to feedback via startle responses and emotional memory network connectivity elicited during accurate recognition of positive and negative feedback via graph analyses, only stereotype threatened women encoded negative feedback better when they exhibited increased amygdala activity and emotional memory network connectivity in response to said feedback. Emotional memory biases, in turn, predicted decreases in women’s self-enhancing, math valuing and performance. Findings provide an emotional memory encoding-based mechanism for well-established findings indicating that women have more negative math self-perceptions compared with men regardless of actual performance.

Previous research suggests that people show increased self-referential processing when they provide criticism to others, and that this self-referential processing can have negative effects on interpersonal perceptions and behavior. The current research hypothesized that adopting a self-distanced perspective (i.e. thinking about a situation from a non-first person point of view), as compared with a typical self-immersed perspective (i.e. thinking about a situation from a first-person point of view), would reduce self-referential processing during the provision of criticism, and in turn improve interpersonal perceptions and behavior. We tested this hypothesis in an interracial context since research suggests that self-referential processing plays a role in damaging interracial relations. White participants prepared for mentorship from a self-immersed or self-distanced perspective. They then conveyed negative and positive evaluations to a Black mentee while electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded. Source analysis revealed that priming a self-distanced (vs self-immersed) perspective predicted decreased activity in regions linked to self-referential processing (medial prefrontal cortex; MPFC) when providing negative evaluations. This decreased MPFC activity during negative evaluations, in turn, predicted verbal feedback that was perceived to be more positive, warm and helpful. Results suggest that self-distancing can improve interpersonal perceptions and behavior by decreasing self-referential processing during the provision of criticism.

No abstract

No abstract

Extensive research has established a relationship between individual differences in brain activity in a resting state and individual differences in behavior. Conversely, when individuals are engaged in various tasks, certain task-evoked reorganization occurs in brain functional connectivity, which can consequently influence individuals’ performance as well. Here, we show that resting state and task-dependent state brain patterns interact as a function of contexts engendering stress. Findings revealed that when the resting state connectome was examined during performance, the relationship between connectome strength and performance only remained for participants under stress (who also performed worse than all other groups on the math task), suggesting that stress preserved brain patterns indicative of underperformance whereas non-stressed individuals spontaneously transitioned out of these patterns. Results imply that stress may impede the reorganization of a functional network in task-evoked brain states. This hypothesis was subsequently verified using graph theory measurements on a functional network, independent of behavior. For participants under stress, the functional network showed less topological alterations compared to non-stressed individuals during the transition from resting state to task-evoked state. Implications are discussed for network dynamics as a function of context.

The startle reflex is considered a sensitive defensive reaction to potential threats that manifests as a unique eye blink-like pattern in the EMG. Eye blink EMG has a bellshaped potential when startle probes are elicited, that strongly corresponds to amygdala activity. Considering how amygdala activity fluctuates over time in response to emotional and self-threatening stimuli, observing startle eyeblink size fluctuation over time could provide a cost-effective, convenient, and less resource intensive means for examining amygdala activity over time. Yet based on current standards in the literature, often startle evoked eye blink EMG values do not exhibit activity 3SDs from the mean eyeblink response, thus these trials are typically excluded from startle analyses. It stands to reason, however, that these trials may still index amygdala activity in a meaningful way. Through investigating the association between startle eyeblink amplitude, corresponding ERP amplitude, and underlying neural activity, the current study provides evidence that startle amplitudes exhibit a linear relationship with proxies for amygdala activity, e.g., N100 amplitudes and regions heavily interconnected with the amygdala. Specifically, the startle reflex correlates to large amount of brain regions in N100 time window in addition to the N100 amplitude. Thus, both valid and otherwise traditionally non-valid startle reflex responses appear to index amygdala activity and should be included accordingly. This approach could help salvage large amounts of meaningful data traditionally excluded from studies interested in amygdala responses to various stimuli over time.