We report the observation of neural processing that occurs within 265 milliseconds after outcome stimuli that inform human participants about gains and losses in a gambling task. A negative-polarity event-related brain potential, probably generated by a medial-frontal region in or near the anterior cingulate cortex, was greater in amplitude when a participant's choice between two alternatives resulted in a loss than when it resulted in a gain. The sensitivity to losses was not simply a reflection of detecting an error; gains did not elicit the medial-frontal activity when the alternative choice would have yielded a greater gain, and losses elicited the activity even when the alternative choice would have yielded a greater loss. Choices made after losses were riskier and were associated with greater loss-related activity than choices made after gains. It follows that medial-frontal computations may contribute to mental states that participate in higher level decisions, including economic choices.

To validate measures of sleep and heart rate (HR) during sleep generated by a commercially-available activity tracker against those derived from polysomnography (PSG) in healthy adolescents. Sleep data were concurrently recorded using FitbitChargeHR™ and PSG, including electrocardiography (ECG), during an overnight laboratory sleep recording in 32 healthy adolescents (15 females; Age, mean±SD: 17.3±2.5 years). Sleep and HR measures were compared between FitbitChargeHR™ and PSG using paired t-tests and Bland-Altman plots. Epoch-by-epoch analysis showed that FitbitChargeHR™ had high overall accuracy (91%), high sensitivity (97%) in detecting sleep, and poor specificity (42%) in detecting wake on a min-to-min basis. On average, FitbitChargeHR™ significantly but negligibly overestimated total sleep time by 8min and sleep efficiency by 1.8%, and underestimated wake after sleep onset by 5.6min (p<0.05). Within FitbitChargeHR™ epochs of sleep, the average HR was 59.3±7.5 bpm, which was significantly but negligibly lower than that calculated from ECG (60.2±7.6 bpm, p<0.001), with no change in mean discrepancies throughout the night. FitbitChargeHR™ showed good agreement with PSG and ECG in measuring sleep and HR during sleep, supporting its use in assessing sleep and cardiac function in healthy adolescents. Further validation is needed to assess its reliability over prolonged periods of time in ecological settings and in clinical populations.

Knowledge of the psychophysiological responses that characterize optimal motor performance is required to inform biofeedback interventions. This experiment compared cortical, cardiac, muscular, and kinematic activity in 10 experts and 10 novices as they performed golf putts in low- and high-pressure conditions. Results revealed that in the final seconds preceding movement, experts displayed a greater reduction in heart rate and EEG theta, high-alpha, and beta power, when compared to novices. EEG high-alpha power also predicted success, with participants producing less high-alpha power in the seconds preceding putts that were holed compared to those that were missed. Increased pressure had little impact on psychophysiological activity. It was concluded that greater reductions in EEG high-alpha power during preparation for action reflect more resources being devoted to response programming, and could underlie successful accuracy-based performance.

Working memory and attention interact in a way that enables us to focus on relevant items and maintain current goals. The influence of working memory on attention has been noted in several studies using dual task designs. Multitasking increases the demands on working memory and reduces the amount of resources available for cognitive control functions such as resolving stimulus conflict. However, few studies have investigated the temporal activation of the cortex while multitasking. The present study addresses the extent to which working memory load influences early (P1) and late (P300) attention-sensitive event-related potential components using a dual task paradigm. Participants performed an arrow flanker task alone (single task condition) or concurrently with a Sternberg memory task (dual task condition). In the flanker task, participants responded to the direction of a central arrow surrounded by congruent or incongruent arrows. In the dual task condition, participants were presented with a Sternberg task that consisted of either four or seven consonants to remember prior to a short block of flanker trials. Participants were slower and less accurate on incongruent versus congruent trials. Furthermore, accuracy on incongruent trials was reduced in both dual task conditions. Likewise, P300 amplitude to incongruent flanker stimuli decreased when working memory load increased. These findings suggest that interference from incongruent flankers was more difficult to suppress when working memory was taxed. In addition, P1 amplitude was diminished on all flanker trials in the dual task condition. This result indicates that top-down attentional control over early visual processing is diminished by increasing demands on working memory. Both the behavioral and electrophysiological results suggest that working memory is critical in maintaining attentional focus and resolving conflict.

The menopause transition is marked by increased prevalence in disturbed sleep and insomnia, present in 40–60% of women, but evidence for a physiological basis for their sleep complaints is lacking. We aimed to quantify sleep disturbance and the underlying contribution of objective hot flashes in 72 women (age range: 43–57 years) who had (38 women), compared to those who had not (34 women), developed clinical insomnia in association with the menopause transition. Sleep quality was assessed with two weeks of sleep diaries and one laboratory polysomnographic (PSG) recording. In multiple regression models controlling for menopause transition stage, menstrual cycle phase, depression symptoms, and presence of objective hot flashes, a diagnosis of insomnia predicted PSG-measured total sleep time (p<0.01), sleep efficiency (p=0.01) and wakefulness after sleep onset (WASO) (p=0.01). Women with insomnia had, on average, 43.5 minutes less PSG-measured sleep time (p<0.001). There was little evidence of cortical EEG hyperarousal in insomniacs apart from elevated beta EEG power during REM sleep. Estradiol and follicle stimulating hormone levels were unrelated to beta EEG power but were associated with the frequency of hot flashes. Insomniacs were more likely to have physiological hot flashes, and the presence of hot flashes predicted the number of PSG-awakenings per hour of sleep (p=0.03). From diaries, women with insomnia reported more WASO (p=0.002), more night-to-night variability in WASO (p<0.002) and more hot flashes (p=0.012) compared with controls. Women who develop insomnia in the approach to menopause have a measurable sleep deficit, with almost 50% of the sample having less than 6 hours of sleep. Compromised sleep that develops in the context of the menopause transition should be addressed, taking into account unique aspects of menopause like hot flashes, to avoid the known negative health consequences associated with insufficient sleep and insomnia in midlife women.