Estimating statistical power for event-related potential studies using the late positive potential

Abstract

3The late positive potential (LPP) is a common measurement used to study emotional 3 4 processes of subjects in event-related potential (ERP) paradigms. Despite its extensive 3 5 use in affective neuroscience, there is presently no gold standard for how to 3 6 appropriately power ERP studies using the LPP in within-subject and between-subjects 3 7 experimental designs. The present study investigates how the number of trials, number 3 8 of subjects, and magnitude of the effect size affect statistical power in analyses of the 3 9 LPP. Using Monte Carlo simulations of ERP experiments with varying numbers of trials, 4 0 subjects, and effect sizes, we measured the probability of obtaining a statistically 4 1 significant effect in 1,489 different experiments repeated 1,000 times each. Predictably, 4 2our results showed that statistical power increases with increasing numbers of trials and 4 3 subjects and at larger effect sizes. In addition, we found that higher levels of statistical 4 4 power can be achieved with lower numbers of subjects and trials and at lower effect 4 5 sizes in within-subject than in between-subjects designs. Furthermore, we found that, as 4 6 subjects are added to an experiment, the slope of the relationship between effect size 4 7 and statistical power increases and shifts to the left until the power asymptotes to nearly 4 8

Effects of Neurofeedback training on performance in laboratory tasks: A systematic review

“…Sample sizes were overall smaller than widely recommended in studies addressing cognitive neuroscience questions, with many studies featuring cell sizes of 15 and below. Given the intervention character of NFT studies, basing sample sizes on suitable power analyses, including simulations that include trial counts (Boudewyn et al, 2018; Gibney et al, 2020), may provide an avenue toward more robust, converging findings. Notably, there was a negative correlation between effect size and sample size, suggesting that small-sample studies overestimate effect sizes, a known issue that has been widely discussed in biobehavioral research (Begley, 2013; Halsey et al, 2015; Larson, 2020).…”

Effects of emotional study context on immediate and delayed recognition memory: Evidence from event-related potentials

“…Alternatively, Yonelinas and Ritchey (2015) postulated that "the amygdala may simply be more resistant to interference, because there are typically fewer competing emotional experiences outside of the experimental context, relative to neutral experiences" (p. 7). Long-term memory consolidation of emotional arousing events further commonly involves adrenal stress hormones, such as epinephrine and corticosterone, in interaction with the activation of the basolateral region of the amygdala (Buchanan & Adolphs, 2003;Gold & McGaugh, 1975;McGaugh, 2004McGaugh, , 2013. For example, long-term memory for emotional pictures was improved when cortisol levels were enhanced during encoding (Buchanan & Lovallo, 2001), implying that cortisol mediates the interaction between arousal and long-term storage.…”

“…As the present study was based on a within-subject design, which yields higher statistical power with low number of subjects and trials than betweensubject designs(Gibney et al, 2020), this trial cutoff was considered adequate for the present study. For final mean trial numbers in each condition, see pages 17-18.Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci…”