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Abstract:
Previous research with dense array ERP measures has shown
that midline frontal cortex appears important in processes of
cognitive and emotional evaluation. In the Error-Related
Negativity, mistakes produce a distinct medial frontal wave that
begins to develop before the response is completed. In research on
memory for good (win points) and bad (loose points) visual targets,
greater medial frontal negativity for the bad targets was seen at
about 500 ms. In the present research, undergraduate students
generated trait words describing people they like and those they do
not like. Each of 60 students then viewed adjectives that described
pleasant or unpleasant traits and responded whether each word
applied or not. The scalp electric fields were recorded with the
128-channel Geodesic Sensor Net. Exploratory contrasts of the ERP
differences between good and bad words (t-test normalization of the
difference waves) showed a significantly greater medial frontal
negativity for the bad words, developing about 500 ms. Ongoing
analyses examine averages for endorsed versus non-endorsed words,
endorsements for self versus endorsements for traits of a friend,
and contrasts of evaluative judgments (self or friend) with
read-only instructions. Electrical source analyses are examining
the plausible neural generators of the midline scalp effects,
particularly the suggestion from the scalp topography that there
may be separable sources in posterior and anterior cingulate
gyrus.
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