Psychophysiology最新文献

{"title":"Pulsed taVNS-Elicited Pupil Dilation: Effects of Intermixed Stimulation, Sham Location, and Respiratory Phase.","authors":"Martin Kolnes, Sander Nieuwenhuis","doi":"10.1111/psyp.70302","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.70302","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) may offer a powerful, noninvasive way to stimulate activity of brainstem arousal systems, including the locus coeruleus-norepinephrine (LC-NE) system. Pulsed taVNS is known to elicit pupil dilation, a marker of LC activity. However, studies reporting taVNS effects on pupil dilation have delivered taVNS and sham stimulation in separate blocks of trials or in separate sessions, hindering the integration of taVNS into rapid, event-related task designs of cognitive neuroscientists. In two experiments, we examined the effectiveness of pulsed taVNS in eliciting pupil dilation when active and sham stimulation were intermixed within the same blocks of trials and whether these effects depend on sham location and respiratory phase. In Experiment 1 (N = 40), intermixed taVNS and (earlobe) sham pulses of 3.4 s produced inconclusive evidence for increased taVNS-evoked pupil dilation. In contrast, in Experiment 2 (N = 60), taVNS pulses of 1.0 s had a strong effect on pupil dilation, but only in a group of participants that received sham stimulation at the earlobe; this effect was abolished in a group that received sham stimulation at the upper scapha, a non-vagal control area with a similar density of sympathetic nerve fibers as the cymba concha. Furthermore, taVNS-evoked pupil dilation was not enhanced when stimulation was delivered during exhalation, as would be expected if pupil effects were mediated by the vagus nerve-nucleus tractus solitarius-LC pathway. Together, these findings show that the effect of pulsed taVNS on pupil dilation can be preserved when taVNS and (earlobe) sham are delivered in the same blocks of trials. However, the null finding with the scapha as a sham location and the absence of an enhanced taVNS effect during exhalation call into question the assumption that taVNS-induced pupil dilation is mediated by activation of the vagal afferent pathway.</p>","PeriodicalId":20913,"journal":{"name":"Psychophysiology","volume":"63 4","pages":"e70302"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13089595/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147718006","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Late Positive Potentials as an Index of \"Desirably Difficult\" Learning Processes Engaged During Language Comprehension: ERP Evidence From Studies of Domain Knowledge.","authors":"Melissa Troyer, Marta Kutas, Kara D Federmeier","doi":"10.1111/psyp.70279","DOIUrl":"10.1111/psyp.70279","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Electrophysiological studies of language comprehension have primarily examined the kind of information that comes to mind, and when, as people process words and build message-level understanding. However, less is known about the factors that allow people to commit the message-level information to memory for future use. One promising marker of such explicit memory processes is the late positive component (LPC), an event-related brain potential (ERP) effect linked to recollection in the memory literature and predictive of memory performance at timescales ranging from minutes to months. Here, we examine LPCs, alongside N400 brain potentials (sensitive probes of implicit semantic processing), to investigate the hypothesis that domain knowledge influences explicit memory mechanisms during comprehension. We re-analyzed three existing datasets in which young adults with varying domain knowledge about a fictional book series read short descriptions of fictional \"facts\" about that domain while ERPs were recorded. As predicted, correct completions of these facts elicited larger LPCs as a function of individuals' overall domain knowledge. We also assessed item-level difficulty using completion norms from an independent peer group. More difficult facts engendered larger LPCs-but only in individuals with relatively greater domain knowledge. By contrast, N400 amplitudes, reflecting implicit, real-time lexico-semantic activation, were modulated by item-level difficulty for individuals with weaker knowledge but to a much lesser degree for those with stronger knowledge. These findings demonstrate that domain-specific knowledge shapes not only what information can be implicitly accessed in the moment, but also whether explicit memory mechanisms are immediately engaged. Consistent with the memory literature, we propose that explicit (possibly intentional) memory processes support deeper encoding when input is \"desirably difficult\" based on an individual's knowledge base. Because these effects appear only in knowledgeable individuals, we suggest they reflect a strengthening of relational memory between in-the-moment linguistic input and extant knowledge networks.</p>","PeriodicalId":20913,"journal":{"name":"Psychophysiology","volume":"63 4","pages":"e70279"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13033475/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147575173","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"No Evidence for Changes in Emotional Reactivity Following a 12-Week Exercise Intervention: A Randomized Controlled Trial.","authors":"Tomasz S Ligeza, Michal Remiszewski, Gabriela Rajtar, Patrycja Kałamała, Tomasz Pałka, Marcin Maciejczyk, Markus Junghofer","doi":"10.1111/psyp.70293","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.70293","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Physical exercise is associated with numerous psychological benefits, and recent studies suggest it may modulate emotional reactivity-typically enhancing responses to positive stimuli and attenuating responses to negative ones. However, most existing evidence concerns acute effects following a single exercise session, leaving it unclear whether regular exercise can induce more stable changes in emotional reactivity. To address this, we examined the effects of a 12-week exercise intervention on self-reported and neural indices of emotional reactivity. Physically inactive young adults were randomly assigned to an experimental group (n = 32), which completed a supervised cycling ergometer program, or to a passive control group (n = 30). Emotional reactivity was assessed at baseline, mid-intervention (6 weeks), and post-intervention (12 weeks) in response to emotional images using both self-reported ratings (valence and arousal) and the late positive potential (LPP) of event-related potentials (ERPs). Results showed no evidence that the intervention influenced either self-reported or neural indices of emotional reactivity at the group level. However, exploratory analyses suggested that greater improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness were associated with enhanced LPP responses to positive emotional stimuli, highlighting the potential importance of fitness gains for emotional benefits. Overall, these findings suggest that emotional reactivity in healthy individuals is relatively stable and less amenable to change through long-term exercise-particularly at the level of subjective experience-while neural measures may be more sensitive to exercise-related modulation under specific conditions. These results also support the notion that distinct mechanisms drive acute and long-term exercise effects on emotional reactivity.</p>","PeriodicalId":20913,"journal":{"name":"Psychophysiology","volume":"63 4","pages":"e70293"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147633562","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Understanding the Eye-Brain Interface During Reading: Connecting Word Skipping and Comprehension Using Behavior-Contingent Fixation-Related Potentials.","authors":"Sara Milligan, Elizabeth R Schotter","doi":"10.1111/psyp.70274","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.70274","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Readers frequently skip words, often when they are expected, but sometimes even when they are contextually incompatible (e.g., the high frequency article the). Therefore, some skipping behaviors may be automatic (e.g., based on familiarity or length) rather than based on thorough word identification, raising the question of how related word skipping behavior is to comprehension of the meaning of the text. To test this question, we coregistered eye tracking and EEG recordings and measured fixation-related brain potentials (FRPs). We time-locked FRPs to the pretarget word before a three-letter target word embedded in a high constraint sentence, and compared the neural activity between different preview conditions when the target word was subsequently either skipped or fixated (i.e., behavior-contingent analysis). We used a gaze-contingent display change to manipulate the parafoveal word to be (1) expected, (2) an anomalous orthographic neighbor of the expected word, or (3) an anomalous instance of the, which changed to the expected word during the skip or fixate saccade. We found a parafoveal N400 (pN400) effect to the anomalous neighbor compared to the expected preview that only occurred when the target was skipped, but not when it was fixated. There was also a pN400 effect for the anomalous the compared to the expected word that was not skipping-contingent. This pattern demonstrates that word skipping is associated with the depth of parafoveal linguistic processing, but these decisions are initiated prior to complete identification and contextual integration processes, which continue after the eyes have moved on.</p>","PeriodicalId":20913,"journal":{"name":"Psychophysiology","volume":"63 3","pages":"e70274"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147434917","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Spatial Distance and Temporal Attentional Focus Modulate Voluntary Action Preparation and Awareness.","authors":"Gaiqing Kong, Bastien Barlerin, Clément Desoche, Luke Miller, Francesco Pavani, Alessandro Farnè, Marine Vernet","doi":"10.1111/psyp.70280","DOIUrl":"10.1111/psyp.70280","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Peripersonal space (PPS)-the immediate space surrounding the body-modulates perception and motor control. However, its impact on how voluntary actions are initiated and subjectively experienced remains underexplored. Similarly, how directing attention to different phases of an action, such as intention formation versus execution, and anticipating outcomes of an action, modulates the neural readiness for movement, has yet to be fully examined. This study investigates whether spatial proximity, attentional focus, and anticipated action outcomes influence action preparation and action awareness, using a virtual reality adaptation of the Libet clock paradigm during EEG recordings. Neural results reveal that attentional focus and anticipated action outcomes modulate different phases of motor preparation, as indexed by the readiness potential (RP)-a gradual buildup of neural activity preceding voluntary movement. Focusing on decision timing (without subsequent action outcomes) enhances early RP amplitude and decreases the late RP slope, suggesting increased preparatory neural engagement during intention formation. In contrast, focusing on action execution leads to a steeper late RP slope, indicating later and faster motor activity buildup when attention is directed toward movement onset. Anticipating action outcomes increased late RP slope, which was accompanied by the temporal binding effect: when a tone followed the action, both decision and action estimates shifted toward it. Spatial proximity also modulates early RP slope, with a steeper buildup in near versus far space, suggesting facilitated motor preparation within PPS. It further enhances the late RP amplitude when participants focused on their intention to act. Behavioral results show that actions are perceived as occurring earlier when the clock is displayed near compared to far, indicating that PPS influences the temporal perception of action timing. Overall, these findings highlight the dynamic interplay among external spatial context and internal cognitive processes in shaping motor preparation and action awareness. Importantly, a temporal internal attentional focus on intention to act modulates early RP-traditionally considered an unconscious stage of neural readiness. These results contribute to a deeper understanding of how PPS and the locus of attention on specific action phases affect action preparation and awareness, with potential implications for future research on the sense of agency and voluntary action decision making.</p>","PeriodicalId":20913,"journal":{"name":"Psychophysiology","volume":"63 3","pages":"e70280"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12983192/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147443928","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Are Fear Learning Processes Altered in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Social Anxiety, and Specific Phobia? Insights From the Late Positive Potential, Fear-Potentiated Startle, and Ratings.","authors":"Kim M Sobania, Kai Härpfer, Hannes P Carsten, Tania M Lincoln, Franziska M Kausche, Anja Riesel","doi":"10.1111/psyp.70277","DOIUrl":"10.1111/psyp.70277","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Fear learning processes are often considered underlying mechanisms in the development and maintenance of anxiety- and stress-related disorders. However, limited attention has been paid to whether these changes are shared across disorders or certain symptoms. In this context, transdiagnostic research on symptom dimensions is especially relevant, as it addresses the significant symptom overlap and heterogeneity observed in these disorders. In the current study, we investigated the late positive potential, fear-potentiated startle, and subjective ratings (US-expectancy) in a transdiagnostic sample (N = 156) including participants with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD; n = 38), social anxiety disorder (SAD; n = 39), specific phobia (SP; n = 40), and control participants (n = 39). Anxious arousal, anxious apprehension, and depressive symptoms were examined as relevant core symptom dimensions to these disorders. A differential fear learning paradigm using geometrical forms was employed, including a habituation, acquisition, generalization, and extinction phase. We observed successful fear acquisition across all outcomes, which generalized to the stimulus most similar to the CS+, the GS+. During extinction, fear responses to the CS+ remained significantly elevated compared to the CS-. Group comparison revealed that patients with SAD rated US-expectancy for the CS- higher during acquisition. On a dimensional level, anxious arousal was associated with increased US-expectancy and startle response for the CS+ during acquisition and increased US-expectancy for the GS+ during generalization. Depressive symptoms were linked to an overall higher US-expectancy during extinction. These findings suggest that individual differences in symptom dimensions, particularly anxious arousal and depressive symptoms, appear to influence fear learning and extinction processes across disorders. This underscores the potential of adopting transdiagnostic approaches in future research and clinical interventions and highlights that the frequently co-occurring comorbid depressive symptoms impact fear extinction, and therefore, should be considered in the treatment of anxiety disorders to enhance therapeutic outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":20913,"journal":{"name":"Psychophysiology","volume":"63 3","pages":"e70277"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13009327/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147504747","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Neurocognitive Dynamics of Translating Information From a Spatial Map Into Action.","authors":"Maud Saulay-Carret, Clément Naveilhan, Xavier Corveleyn, Stephen Ramanoël","doi":"10.1111/psyp.70265","DOIUrl":"10.1111/psyp.70265","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>How do we translate information from a spatial map to action in our immediate surroundings? Despite the widespread use of various tools for orientation, from paper maps to GPS, this fundamental question remains unanswered in our understanding of human spatial navigation. To investigate this, we implemented a perspective-taking task in immersive virtual reality combined with mobile EEG, aiming to disentangle the neurocognitive processes involved. Thirty-eight young adults were presented with a virtual 2D map in which we manipulated both the perspective shift and the physical angle of rotation required to align with a target, as well as the congruency between these two variables. Behaviourally, angular error during pointing increased slightly and linearly with perspective shift. However, the relationship between rotation angle and accuracy revealed a non-linear pattern, with better performance around the antero-posterior bodily axis. Regarding congruency, angular error increased for incongruent trials, but only when the perspective-taking angle exceeded 90°. At the neural level, activity in the retrosplenial complex (RSC) revealed a sequential organization with alpha-band modulation during perspective shift, followed by beta-band activity reflecting preparation for the required physical rotation. In addition, incongruency between perspective-taking and physical rotation increased beta activity in the left temporo-parietal junction (lTPJ). Overall, these findings demonstrate the value of immersive virtual environments to investigate the neural correlates of real-world navigation and the complexity of perspective-taking mechanisms.</p>","PeriodicalId":20913,"journal":{"name":"Psychophysiology","volume":"63 3","pages":"e70265"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12965046/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147366402","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Multimodal Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Frontomedial Theta and BOLD Signal Reveal Functional Roles in Updating and Suppressing Aversive Memory During Fear Extinction.","authors":"Arslan Gabdulkhakov, Matthias F J Sperl, Christian J Merz, Laura-Isabelle Klatt, Christoph Fraenz, Erhan Genç","doi":"10.1111/psyp.70281","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.70281","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Fear and extinction learning are fundamental processes shaping the regulation and expression of fear in both healthy individuals and patients with anxiety-related disorders. Pavlovian fear conditioning serves as a powerful model for these mechanisms; however, the precise spatiotemporal neural dynamics underlying fear and extinction learning in humans still remain unclear. Theta oscillations have been implicated in these learning processes, yet their precise relationship with blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signals of corresponding brain networks remains poorly understood. This study employed simultaneous electroencephalography and functional magnetic resonance imaging (EEG-fMRI) in fifty healthy humans to investigate the role of frontomedial theta oscillations (4-8 Hz) in fear learning. Participants underwent a one-day differential fear conditioning paradigm with concurrent EEG and fMRI recordings. We assumed that individual theta power variations would correspond to distinct activation patterns in the fear and safety networks during fear acquisition and extinction training. To test this hypothesis, we extracted frontomedial theta power across three trial segments (0 to 2 s, 2 to 4 s, 4 to 5.5 s after the onset of conditioned stimuli, CS) and integrated these measures into whole-brain fMRI analyses. Results revealed a significant increase in differential (CS+ vs. CS-) theta power toward the end of the CS presentation during fear acquisition training, aligning with prior findings of theta ramping-up before unconditioned stimulus onset. EEG-driven fMRI analyses during fear acquisition showed distinct theta-BOLD co-activations in cuneal and precuneal cortices and motor areas at 2 to 4 s and 4 to 5.5 s trial segments. Notably, during extinction training, the theta activity of the mid-trial segment (2 to 4 s post-stimulus) was co-activated with the BOLD signal in vmPFC, suggesting a role of theta during extinction in safety memory formation. Our findings support the hypothesis that theta oscillations may contribute to the temporal encoding of threat expectation during fear learning, but also to memory updating through fear response suppression during extinction learning. Interestingly, theta modulation was linked to distinct brain regions in different temporal segments. Critically, our results integrate previous findings from different neuroimaging modalities and extend our understanding of the spatiotemporal neural dynamics underlying fear and extinction learning.</p>","PeriodicalId":20913,"journal":{"name":"Psychophysiology","volume":"63 3","pages":"e70281"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147504772","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Physiological Processing of Everyday Aversive Mental Imagery.","authors":"Xuan Yang, Sewon Oh, Jacob Stanley, Sarah Hammons, Ashley Anderson, Esha Gandhi, Douglas H Wedell, Svetlana V Shinkareva","doi":"10.1111/psyp.70282","DOIUrl":"10.1111/psyp.70282","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Everyday aversive experiences, such as a crying infant or the sound of construction, are not life-threatening, yet they can strongly shape affective experience and physiological state. While most affective imagery research has focused on fear and anxiety, the mechanisms underlying imagery of mild, everyday aversive events remain underexplored. Across five experiments, we systematically investigated behavioral and physiological responses to aversive and appetitive mental imagery. Experiment 1 revealed robust corrugator EMG potentiation but comparatively weaker autonomic responses during aversive imagery compared with audiovisual and auditory stimulation. Experiments 2 and 3 identified key methodological factors that determine imagery potency, including imagery duration, instructional focus, and prompt design. Using an optimized paradigm, Experiment 4 demonstrated coherent changes across subjective valence and arousal ratings, EMG corrugator potentiation, heart rate deceleration, and skin temperature decreases for aversive compared with appetitive imagery, with effects modulated by individual differences in imagery vividness. Experiment 5 confirmed that these effects reflected genuine affective experience rather than semantic knowledge of the prompts. Together, these findings establish baseline physiological and subjective markers of everyday aversive imagery in typical young adults and emphasize the critical role of paradigm optimization in eliciting reliable affective imagery responses. By shifting focus from extreme to everyday aversive experiences, this work provides a framework for studying heightened sensitivity to ordinary stimuli in both basic and clinical contexts.</p>","PeriodicalId":20913,"journal":{"name":"Psychophysiology","volume":"63 3","pages":"e70282"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12989641/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147463754","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Neural Underpinnings of Age Categorization of Faces in Young Adults.","authors":"Na Zhou, Shuting Mei, Shihui Han","doi":"10.1111/psyp.70270","DOIUrl":"10.1111/psyp.70270","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The present study investigated neurocognitive underpinnings of age categorization of faces by integrating behavioral and neuroimaging measures in young adults. Experiment 1 (N = 38) showed faster behavioral responses to older than younger faces in an explicit age categorization task, providing behavioral evidence for earlier age categorization of older than younger faces. Experiments 2 and 3 (N = 38) examined repetition suppression (RS) of electroencephalography signals to younger and older faces which were presented separately in different blocks of trials or alternately in the same block of trials. The results showed RS of the P2 amplitudes (160-200 ms) to older faces but RS of the N2 amplitudes (220-260 ms) to younger faces, suggesting earlier neural encoding of within-category similarity of older (vs. younger) faces. Experiment 4 (N = 28) found RS of magnetoencephalography signals to older faces in the left parahippocampal gyrus, fusiform, posterior superior temporal sulcus, right cuneus, posterior cingulate gyrus, anterior insula, and bilateral anterior temporal lobes at 100-200 ms, and in the right posterior superior temporal sulcus, temporoparietal junction, and bilateral anterior temporal lobes at 350-400 ms. By contrast, RS of magnetoencephalography signals to younger faces occurred in the left anterior insula, right intraparietal sulcus, posterior superior temporal sulcus, and temporoparietal junction at 200-300 ms, suggesting distinct neural networks underlying encoding of within-category similarity of younger and older faces. Together, our behavioral and neuroimaging findings established distinct spatial-temporal profiles of neurocognitive underpinnings of age categorization of younger and older faces and extend our understanding of social categorization of faces in general.</p>","PeriodicalId":20913,"journal":{"name":"Psychophysiology","volume":"63 3","pages":"e70270"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147309569","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}