The rule expectancy effect on the electrophysiological correlates underlying numerical rule acquisition

Feng Xiao; Qing-Fei Chen; Chang-Quan Long; Hong Li

doi:10.1016/j.neulet.2017.09.052

The rule expectancy effect on the electrophysiological correlates underlying numerical rule acquisition

Neurosci Lett. 2018 Feb 5:665:252-256. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2017.09.052. Epub 2017 Nov 15.

Authors

Feng Xiao¹, Qing-Fei Chen², Chang-Quan Long³, Hong Li⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Education Science, Innovation Center for Fundamental Education Quality Enhancement of Shanxi Province, Shanxi Normal University, Linfen 041000, China. Electronic address: yixiang@email.swu.edu.cn.
² College of Psychology and Society, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China.
³ Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China.
⁴ College of Psychology and Society, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China; Center for Intelligence Development and Protection, Shenzhen Institute of Neuroscience, Shenzhen, 518057, China; Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China.

PMID: 29154975
DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2017.09.052

Abstract

The present study aimed to provide electrophysiological evidence about acquiring complex numerical rules when unexpected numbers were presented. Hence, we compared the neural correlates underlying the acquisition of unexpected complex rules (e.g., 12, 14, 18, 24) compared to expected simple rules (e.g., 12, 14, 16, 18). The event-related potential (ERP) results for the rule acquisition process for the third numbers showed that, in contrast to expected simple rules, unexpected complex rules elicited: an enhanced N200, reflecting the detection of a conflict between the expected numbers and the displayed numbers; a decreased P300, indicating a feeling of uncertainty accompanied by identifying numerical regularity; and an increased LPC, reflecting the working-memory updating caused by expectancy violation and rule acquisition. These results describe the precise time course of acquiring novel and complex rules when unexpected numbers were presented.

Keywords: Event-related potential; Expectancy violation; Late positive component; N200; P300; Rule acquisition.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Electroencephalography* / methods
Evoked Potentials / physiology*
Female
Humans
Language*
Male
Memory, Short-Term / physiology*
Time Factors
Uncertainty