The P300, the LPP, context updating, and memory: What is the functional significance of the emotion-related late positive potential?

Abstract

The emotion-related late positive potential (LPP) of the event-related potential (ERP) has been the topic of many studies over the previous two decades, but the function of this component (the cognitive process that it reflects) is very much an open question. In this paper, I build on frameworks that suggest a close relationship between the LPP and the P300 component of the ERP to argue that the classic context updating account of the P300 may provide insights into the function of the LPP. I then review broader connections between the LPP and memory, and I connect the LPP to research and theory in the area of emotional memory. I argue that while a relationship between the LPP and attention has been widely noted in the literature, connections to memory have been overlooked and that a memory-related process should be considered as one candidate for the function of the LPP.

The P300, the LPP, context updating, and memory: What is the functional significance of the emotion-related late positive potential?

“…Notably, if the P300 and LPP are the same or closely related components, theories of the function of the P300, which have received much more attention than theories of the LPP, can help us to understand the function of the LPP. The classic functional theory of P300 is Emanuel Donchin's context updating account, and I have previously argued that this may provide a framework for understanding the LPP (Fields, 2017;Fields & Kuperberg, 2016). Interestingly, despite our agreement on much of the background for a theory of the LPP, Hajcak and Foti (2020) reach the opposite conclusion: that integrating the LPP with the P300 poses problems for the context updating account.…”