USING ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHY TO ASSESS RISK TAKING BEHAVIOR IN VARYING LEVELS OF CONGRUENCY

Electroencephalography (EEG) is an often-used tool of assessment to measure the electrical activity of populations of neurons at the scalp. Here, we used EEG in conjunction with a computer-based amalgamation of two common behavioral assessments: The Eriksen Flanker Task and the Balloon Analogue Risk Task to assess how varying levels of congruency modulate risky behavior. We recruited 36 participants from the University of New Mexico Department of Psychology research pool (Female = 26; Mean Age = 21.28, SD = 4.54). In this task, participants indicated the direction of the arrow in the center\u27 from a line of five characters \u27\u3c \u3c \u3c \u3c \u3c or \u3e \u3e \u3e \u3e \u3e\u27 (congruent) and \u27\u3c \u3c \u3e \u3c \u3c or \u3e \u3e \u3c \u3e \u3e\u27 (incongruent). We presented these stimuli in trials of 10, 30, 50, 70, and 90% incongruency. By selecting the correct direction of the stimuli, participants inflated a virtual balloon by one pump for each selection until the balloon popped or they cashed out on the points earned in each trial. In this study, we aim to show how likely participants are to exhibit risky behavior (pumps) in varying levels of congruency, and to assess brain activity characteristics during this decision-making process. We found no significant relationship between pumps and increasing levels of incongruency (RHO = 0.09, p = 0.58). However, we did find a significant difference (p ≤ 0.01) in theta power between congruent and incongruent cues, and that this difference was significantly correlated with pumps (RHO = 0.34, p = 0.04). Together, these findings suggest while decreasing incongruency is not associated with increased risky behavior across all participants, individual differences in theta band power reflects differing tendencies towards risky behavior

Brain structural differences in children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder and its subtypes

IntroductionThe teratogenic effects of prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) have been examined in animal models and humans. The current study extends the prior literature by quantifying differences in brain structure for individuals with a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) compared to typically developing controls, as well as examining FASD subtypes. We hypothesized the FASD group would reveal smaller brain volume, reduced cortical thickness, and reduced surface area compared to controls, with the partial fetal alcohol syndrome (pFAS)/fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) subtypes showing the largest effects and the PAE/alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder (ARND) subtype revealing intermediate effects.MethodsThe sample consisted of 123 children and adolescents recruited from a single site including children with a diagnosis of FASD/PAE (26 males, 29 females) and controls (34 males, 34 females). Structural T1-weighted MRI scans were obtained on a 3T Trio TIM scanner and FreeSurfer v7.2 was used to quantify brain volume, cortical thickness, and surface area. Analyses examined effects by subgroup: pFAS/FAS (N = 32, Mage = 10.7 years, SEage = 0.79), PAE/ARND (N = 23, Mage = 10.8, SEage = 0.94), and controls (N = 68, Mage = 11.1, SEage = 0.54).ResultsTotal brain volume in children with an FASD was smaller relative to controls, but subtype analysis revealed only the pFAS/FAS group differed significantly from controls. Regional analyses similarly revealed reduced brain volume in frontal and temporal regions for children with pFAS/FAS, yet children diagnosed with PAE/ARND generally had similar volumes as controls. Notable differences to this pattern occurred in the cerebellum, caudate, and pallidum where children with pFAS/FAS and PAE/ARND revealed lower volume relative to controls. In the subset of participants who had neuropsychological testing, correlations between volume and IQ scores were observed. Goodness-of-Fit analysis by age revealed differences in developmental patterns (linear vs. quadratic) between groups in some cases.DiscussionThis study confirmed prior results indicating decreased brain volume in children with an FASD and extended the results by demonstrating differential effects by structure for FASD subtypes. It provides further evidence for a complex role of PAE in structural brain development that is likely related to the cognitive and behavioral effects experienced by children with an FASD

A Pilot Study Examining the Effects of Music Training on Attention in Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD)

Prior studies indicate differences in brain volume and neurophysiological responses of musicians relative to non-musicians. These differences are observed in the sensory, motor, parietal, and frontal cortex. Children with a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) experience deficits in auditory, motor, and executive function domains. Therefore, we hypothesized that short-term music training in children with an FASD due to prenatal alcohol exposure may improve brain function. Children (N = 20) with an FASD were randomized to participate in either five weeks of piano training or to a control group. Selective attention was evaluated approximately seven weeks apart (pre-/post-music training or control intervention), examining longitudinal effects using the Attention Networks Test (ANT), a well-established paradigm designed to evaluate attention and inhibitory control, while recording EEG. There was a significant group by pre-/post-intervention interaction for the P250 ms peak of the event-related potential and for theta (4–7 Hz) power in the 100–300 ms time window in response to the congruent condition when the flanking stimuli were oriented congruently with the central target stimulus in fronto-central midline channels from Cz to Fz. A trend for improved reaction time at the second assessment was observed for the music trained group only. These results support the hypothesis that music training changes the neural indices of attention as assessed by the ANT in children with an FASD. This study should be extended to evaluate the effects of music training relative to a more closely matched active control and determine whether additional improvements emerge with longer term music training