Distinct neural responses to social and semantic violations: An N400 study.

We investigated event-related brain potential correlates of encountering context-incongruent social information. Building on evidence that information semantically incongruent with its context elicits an N400 response (a prominent negative-going deflection in the ongoing electroencephalogram; EEG), we hypothesized that statements incongruent (relative to congruent) with basic standards of amicable treatment by others (e.g.

Psychosocial Pathways to STEM Engagement among Graduate Students in the Life Sciences.

Despite growing diversity among life sciences professionals, members of historically underrepresented groups (e.g., women) continue to encounter barriers to academic and career advancement, such as subtle messages and stereotypes that signal low value for women, and fewer opportunities for quality mentoring relationships.

Conflict adaptation within but not across NoGo decision criteria: Event-related-potential evidence of specificity in the contextual modulation of cognitive control.

From the standpoint of conflict-monitoring theory (Botvinick et al., 2001), detecting an incident of information-processing conflict should attenuate the disruptive influence of information-processing conflicts encountered subsequently, by which time cognitive-control operations will have been engaged. To examine the generality of this conflict-adaptation process across task dimensions, the present research analyzed event-related potentials in a Go/NoGo task that randomly varied the NoGo decision criterion applied across trials.

Generality and specificity in cognitive control: conflict adaptation within and across selective-attention tasks but not across selective-attention and Simon tasks.

To explain how cognitive control is modulated contextually, Botvinick, Braver, Barch, Carter, and Cohen (Psychol Rev 108:624-652, 2001) proposed that detecting information-processing conflict attenuates the disruptive influence of information-processing conflicts encountered subsequently, by which time appropriate cognitive-control mechanisms already will have been engaged. This conflict-adaptation hypothesis has motivated extensive programs of research while also attracting vigorous methodological critiques that highlight alternative accounts of trial n × trial n - 1 sequential effects in cognitive-control tasks. Addressing those alternatives through precluding analyzing stimulus repetitions without creating any sort of confounds among any stimulus or trial characteristics, the present research observed significant conflict-adaptation effects within and across several selective-attention tasks.

When cognitive control is calibrated: event-related potential correlates of adapting to information-processing conflict despite erroneous response preparation.

To examine when in the perception-action cycle resolving information-processing conflict modulates signals of the current need for cognitive control, the present work examined event-related potential correlates of response preparation (lateralized readiness potentials; LRPs) and of information-processing conflict (fronto-central N2 responses) on trial n flanker trials, as a function of whether trial n-1 entailed a congruent flanker, an incongruent flanker, or a NoGo cue. Although LRP-indexed erroneous response preparation was substantial on incongruent trials across all levels of trial n-1, N2 amplitudes and behavioral interference effects were attenuated on incongruent trials following NoGo and incongruent (relative to congruent) trials. Even after initial attentional and motor-preparation processes have transpired, then, relatively later control mechanisms appear sufficient to signal a reduced need to engage cognitive control anew.