Loss of control and negative emotions: a cortical slow potential topography study

Functional neuroanatomy of learned helplessness

“…Two of these three factors were nearly identical with the factors found in the Fretska et al (1999) study; the same labels shall therefore be used: demotivation due to (5) 31 (5)) paracent lob confrontation with unsolvable tasks (loading in the following items: Feelings of demotivation and Depressive feelings) and achievement motivation (loading in the following items: Importance of overall good performance, Perceived control during solvable items, and Importance of solving at least some of the difficult items). The third factor had high positive loadings in the items Difficulty of solvable items and Demotivation by the first unsolvable items, and a high negative loading in Feelings of being stimulated by the first unsolvable items, therefore it was labeled competence.…”

“…As the key deviation from the original study (Fretska et al, 1999), all EEG recordings were referenced to the noncephalic "sternovertebral" site, that is, to the common end of an adjustable voltage divider (5k⍀ potentiometer) that linked skin locations above the seventh vertebra and the right manilum sternum (Stephenson and Gibbs, 1951). These skin sites were prepared in the same manner as all the other electrode sites and the potentiometer was adjusted on the basis of visual inspection so that ECG amplitude components became minimized in the EEG channels.…”

“…Second, possible differences between the data of the Fretska et al (1999; Study 1) and our study (Study 2) were analyzed by means of repeated-measures ANOVAs. Third, the similarity of Study 1 and Study 2 concerning SCP differences between groups among conditions was assessed via a priori contrasts on Study 2 data.…”

“…1. Changes of the grand mean mappings from control (Induction 1 and Induction 2) to withdrawal of control (Withdrawal 1 and Withdrawal 2) (Fretska et al, 1999). Fig.…”

“…To our knowledge only one brain imaging study exists that has employed an experimental paradigm comparable that used in the Fretska et al (1999) work. Applying solvable and unsolvable anagrams and using PET, Schneider et al (1996) found neocortical rCBF increases in midfrontal, inferior frontal, and inferior temporal regions when subjects were presented with unsolvable items.…”