Relationship between early and late stages of information processing: an event-related potential study

Abstract

The brain is capable of elaborating and executing different stages of information processing. However, exactly how these stages are processed in the brain remains largely unknown. This study aimed to analyze the possible correlation between early and late stages of information processing by assessing the latency to, and amplitude of, early and late event-related potential (ERP) components, including P200, N200, premotor potential (PMP) and P300, in healthy participants in the context of a visual oddball paradigm. We found a moderate positive correlation among the latency of P200 (electrode O2), N200 (electrode O2), PMP (electrode C3), P300 (electrode PZ) and the reaction time (RT). In addition, moderate negative correlation between the amplitude of P200 and the latencies of N200 (electrode O2), PMP (electrode C3), P300 (electrode PZ) was found. Therefore, we propose that if the secondary processing of visual input (P200 latency) occurs faster, the following will also happen sooner: discrimination and classification process of this input (N200 latency), motor response processing (PMP latency), reorganization of attention and working memory update (P300 latency), and RT. N200, PMP, and P300 latencies are also anticipated when higher activation level of occipital areas involved in the secondary processing of visual input rise (P200 amplitude).

Brain Processing of Complex Geometric Forms in a Visual Memory Task Increases P2 Amplitude

“…In both cases, the ERP components reflect the encoding, maintenance and recognition of the working memory items. The topographic posterior components of ERP (P2) reflect the sensory early stages of process, and the medium and late stages, representing the anterior topographic ERP components (N2 and P3) indicate the recognition and closure of the process [40]. In the more recent investigation that the authors of this research article are aware of, Kessler & coworkers [24], have reported the effect of updating memoranda over the ERP components.…”

Cortical arousal in children and adolescents with functional neurological symptoms during the auditory oddball task

“…The P200 and N200 are understood to reflect basic sensory processing—termed lower-level processing—of the stimulus. The P200 is modulated by stimulus characteristics and by cognitive and task demands, and is generated in associative auditory temporal regions (Portella et al, 2012, Ferreira-Santos et al, 2012). The N200 is associated with discrimination and classification of the stimulus (Portella et al, 2012, Sumich et al, 2008) and has multiple subcomponents, with different generators (Patel and Azzam, 2005).…”

“…The P200 is modulated by stimulus characteristics and by cognitive and task demands, and is generated in associative auditory temporal regions (Portella et al, 2012, Ferreira-Santos et al, 2012). The N200 is associated with discrimination and classification of the stimulus (Portella et al, 2012, Sumich et al, 2008) and has multiple subcomponents, with different generators (Patel and Azzam, 2005). The P300 is made of two separate wave forms, the P3a and P3b, whose activity reflects coordinated activities in the prefrontal and posterior cortical areas during attention switching and updating of task sets in working memory (Meares et al, 2005).…”

“…P3a generators are localized in cingulate, frontal and right parietal areas, and temporo-occipital regions (Volpe et al, 2007). The posteriorly distributed P3b reflects effortful, higher-level processing involving attention orientation and working memory (updating changes in the environment and response modulation) (Sumich et al, 2014, Portella et al, 2012). P3b generators are localized in bilateral frontal, parietal, limbic, cingulate and temporo-occipital regions (Volpe et al, 2007).…”

Testing the Limits of Skill Transfer for Scrabble Experts in Behavior and Brain

“…The P300 typically peaks around 300 ms post-stimulus at centro-parietal electrodes with neural generators in temporal and parietal regions (Polich, 2007; Dong et al, 2015), consistent with the timing and location of our source locations. This component has been associated with working memory and attentional processing (Patel and Azzam, 2005; Polich, 2007; Portella et al, 2012), and greater P300 amplitudes have been found to correlate positively with working memory capacity (Dong et al, 2015). Interestingly, this finding suggests that regardless of group membership (i.e., expert or control), participants with greater anagramming scores may have greater long-term working memory capacity in the SDT, as evident by greater P300 amplitudes in the right medial temporal lobe.…”