{"title":"Individual differences in responses to anger recall: The role of social inhibition","authors":"Stefanie Duijndam , Annemiek Karreman , Nina Kupper","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2025.113280","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2025.113280","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The current study aimed to examine the role of social inhibition (SI) and its underlying facets (behavioral inhibition, interpersonal sensitivity, and social withdrawal) in explaining individual differences in anger-induced autonomic reactivity and recovery. The sample consisted of 218 undergraduate students (<em>M</em><sub>age</sub> = 20.3, <em>SD</em> = 2.8; 80 % women). Participants completed the 15-item Social Inhibition Questionnaire and participated in either the Anger Recall task (<em>n</em> = 143) or the Neutral Recall task (<em>n</em> = 75), while continuous blood pressure, electrodermal activity, and an electrocardiogram were recorded. Subjective anger responses were assessed before and after the tasks. Repeated-measures-ANOVAs, adjusted for the effects of sex, revealed that SI and interpersonal sensitivity were associated with increased experienced anger throughout the experiment, and that social withdrawal was associated with heightened skin sympathetic activity. In women, social inhibition was associated with stronger parasympathetic withdrawal, while in men social inhibition was associated with heightened hemodynamic reactivity, interpersonal sensitivity with overall increased blood pressure levels, and social withdrawal with better heart period recovery. These findings may imply that parasympathetic and sympathetic markers of autonomic regulation play different roles in socially inhibited men and women, and it reflects the importance of investigating the underlying facets of SI separately. Furthermore, we observed that changes in heart period and diastolic blood pressure were more likely attributable to anger induction, but other responses may be more strongly affected by vocalization or the interpersonal nature of the task. Therefore, future research is warranted to establish whether these associations are specific to anger or generalize to other stress contexts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54945,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Psychophysiology","volume":"218 ","pages":"Article 113280"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145356905","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Pupil-linked arousal does not differ between ‘white’, ‘pink’ and ‘brown’ noises","authors":"Mercede Erfanian , Maria Chait , Jian Kang","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2025.113271","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2025.113271","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>‘Coloured’ noises, such as white, pink, and brown noise, have gained attention in popular media as potential tools for enhancing memory consolidation, sleep quality, attentional focus, and more. These terms refer to distinct spectral slopes, which give rise to perceptually different noise stimuli. Although empirical research on their effects remains limited, a prevailing hypothesis suggests that their influence may be mediated by differential effects on arousal. In this study, we investigated this hypothesis using pupillometry, a physiological marker of autonomic nervous system activity. Thirty-eight participants were recruited, with data from 31 included in the analysis. Participants listened to three types of noise (white, pink, and brown), each presented for 10 s, while their pupil diameter was recorded. The results showed no significant modulation of pupil size across noise conditions. These findings suggest that, despite widespread claims about the distinct arousing or calming properties of coloured noises, they do not differentially affect sustained pupil-linked arousal in naïve listeners.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54945,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Psychophysiology","volume":"218 ","pages":"Article 113271"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145327417","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Self-positivity bias: A comprehensive examination of the ERP and behavioral substrates of self- and other-referential processing in early adolescence","authors":"Pan Liu, Jaron X.Y. Tan","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2025.113284","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2025.113284","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Self-referential information, especially when positive in valence, is uniquely salient and preferentially processed even in children. This “self-positivity” bias is critical for adaptive socioemotional development and protects against the emergence of psychopathology. Early adolescence is a critical period of rapid maturation in self-cognition and brain functions; however, it remains unclear how the early adolescence brain mediates the self-positivity bias in information processing. Ninety-two 10- to 14-year-old community-dwelling early adolescents completed an EEG version of the Self-Referent Encoding Task (SRET) consisting of a self-referential and an other-referential condition, following which they were unexpectedly asked to complete a recognition task of the presented words. A data-driven principal component analysis isolated five SRET-elicited ERPs: P1, P2, N400, and anterior and posterior late positive potential (aLPP, pLPP). Two-way ANOVAs (Referent × Valence) demonstrated a “self-positivity” bias in recognition, memory sensitivity, and the aLPP: youths showed better recognition, higher memory sensitivity, an enhanced aLPP for Self-Positive versus Self-Negative words, whereas no such differences were found between Other-Positive and Other-negative words. We provided novel, robust evidence on a self-positivity bias that uniquely favored Self-Positive words across different behavioral and ERP metrics of the SRET in youths. These findings contribute to our mechanistic knowledge of how early adolescents process self-referential information and inform future studies on the role of self-referential processing in socioemotional development.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54945,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Psychophysiology","volume":"218 ","pages":"Article 113284"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145454127","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Dennis J.L.G. Schutter , Miles Wischnewski , Sonia Paternò , Fenne M. Smits
{"title":"More than meets the eye: Retinal phosphenes as confounds in transcranial alternating current stimulation","authors":"Dennis J.L.G. Schutter , Miles Wischnewski , Sonia Paternò , Fenne M. Smits","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2025.113285","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2025.113285","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Effects of transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) on the central nervous system are well-established. However, tACS can elicit retinal phosphenes due to current spread to the eyes complicating brain-centred working mechanisms of neuromodulation. Electric field simulations on realistic head models confirm current leakage to the eyes and potentially the optic nerve. In addition, results from vision science point toward retina-induced effects on the brain outside perceptual awareness. Retinal phosphenes and changes in retinal sensitivity as corollaries of tACS need to be considered to understand the mechanisms by which exogenous oscillatory field potentials establishes their effects in the brain.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54945,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Psychophysiology","volume":"218 ","pages":"Article 113285"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145432930","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Zoe K. Kratochwil , Jessica Kesik , Duygu Keskin-Gökcelli , Norbert Scherbaum , Thomas Frodl , Bernhard W. Müller
{"title":"P100 in major depressive disorder and healthy controls: An emotion-processing task","authors":"Zoe K. Kratochwil , Jessica Kesik , Duygu Keskin-Gökcelli , Norbert Scherbaum , Thomas Frodl , Bernhard W. Müller","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2025.113281","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2025.113281","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Altered emotion processing, accompanied by cognitive bias leading to reduced positive reactivity and increased sensitivity to negative experiences, are core symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), but the biological underpinnings are not yet resolved. Aim of the present study was to examine event-related P100 correlates of altered emotion processing in MDD compared to healthy control subjects (HCS).</div></div><div><h3>Method</h3><div>Here, we assessed 87 MDD patients (age: 36.25 ± 13.38 years, 36 males, 51 females) and 100 HCS (age: 33.23 ± 11.63 years, 31 males, 69 females) using a 64-channel EEG system. P100 was regarded to amplitudes and latencies at left (P7/P5/P3/P07/P03/O1) and right (P8/P6/P4/PO8/PO4/O2) hemisphere electrodes in response to emotional stimuli differing in valence (positive/negative), arousal (low/high) and neutral target status (target/non-target).</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>HCS exhibited greater P100 amplitudes over the right hemisphere, whereas participants with MDD showed no hemispheric asymmetry. Amplitudes were higher in women than in men and in individuals with higher state anxiety scores. Unmedicated participants had higher amplitudes than those taking SSRIs or SNRIs, whereas combination therapy showed the highest amplitudes overall. SSRI use was associated with the shortest P100 latencies, while SNRIs were linked to the longest latencies.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>No valence or arousal effects were observed. The data indicate right-hemispheric dominance in early visual processing among HCS, which was reduced in MDD subjects, suggesting diminished hemispheric lateralization in this group. Gender, anxiety level, and medication status significantly influenced P100 amplitude and latency, highlighting subtle alterations in early visual processing patterns in MDD.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54945,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Psychophysiology","volume":"218 ","pages":"Article 113281"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145356861","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Giuseppe Forte , Arianna Laureti , Giovanna Troisi , Francesca Favieri , Renata Tambelli , Maria Casagrande
{"title":"The role of perseverative cognition and heart rate variability in high trait anxiety","authors":"Giuseppe Forte , Arianna Laureti , Giovanna Troisi , Francesca Favieri , Renata Tambelli , Maria Casagrande","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2025.113286","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2025.113286","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Anxiety is increasingly understood as a multidimensional phenomenon, shaped by the interaction of cognitive, emotional, and physiological processes. Dysregulation within these systems is thought to contribute both to the onset and to the persistence of anxious symptoms. Among cognitive factors, worry and rumination have been identified as key vulnerabilities, as they amplify physiological arousal and disrupt autonomic regulation. Heart rate variability (HRV), a robust index of autonomic flexibility, has been consistently linked to emotion regulation, with lower HRV reflecting greater susceptibility to anxiety-related dysfunctions. The present study tested an integrative model of anxiety by examining both cognitive (worry and rumination) and physiological (HRV) markers in a non-clinical sample. Seventy-nine participants (45 female, 34 male) completed standardized self-report measures of worry and rumination and underwent a resting-state HRV assessment. We hypothesized that both cognitive and physiological indices would predict self-reported anxiety, and that their joint consideration would distinguish individuals with high versus low trait anxiety. Results supported these hypotheses: HRV and cognitive vulnerabilities independently, as well as in combination, accounted for variance in anxiety levels. These findings highlight the relevance of a psychophysiological perspective, suggesting that altered coordination between cognitive and autonomic systems may serve as an early marker of anxiety risk, with implications for detection and preventive intervention.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54945,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Psychophysiology","volume":"218 ","pages":"Article 113286"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145460557","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"International Organization of Psychophysiology","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/S0167-8760(25)00789-5","DOIUrl":"10.1016/S0167-8760(25)00789-5","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":54945,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Psychophysiology","volume":"218 ","pages":"Article 113293"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145579778","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Threat experiences and adolescent non-suicidal self-injury: Role of negative cognitive processing bias and vagal regulation","authors":"Ziyi Chen , Wei Lü","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2025.113287","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2025.113287","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is of increased prevalence in adolescents. Threat experiences early in life including childhood abuse and bullying victimization, are considered precursors of non-suicidal self-injury, however, the underlying mechanism remains underexplored. Therefore, the present study sought to investigate the relation between threat experiences and adolescents' non-suicidal self-injury, and the mediating role of negative cognitive processing bias and moderating role of vagal regulation in this link. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire Short Form, Delaware Bullying Victimization Scale, Negative Cognitive Processing Bias Questionnaire, and Non-Suicidal Self-Injury Questionnaire were administered to 210 junior school students (Mage = 12.92 years; 50.0 % female), who underwent a stress task (public speech task) during which data of vagal regulation indexed by respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) suppression were collected. Results showed that threat experiences were positively related to non-suicidal self-injury, and negative cognitive processing bias mediated this link. Moreover, RSA suppression in response to stress served as a moderator, such that a positive association between threat experiences and negative cognitive processing bias was only evident among adolescents with higher RSA suppression but not those with lower RSA suppression. These findings suggest that negative cognitive processing bias is a potential mechanism linking threat experiences with adolescent non-suicidal self-injury, and adolescents with higher vagal suppression are more vulnerable to threat experiences and exhibit greater negative cognitive processing bias.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54945,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Psychophysiology","volume":"218 ","pages":"Article 113287"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145477252","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Theta-frequency transcranial alternating current stimulation enhances proactive control in individuals","authors":"Lei Wang , YuHong Ou , Renlai Zhou","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2025.113283","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2025.113283","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Proactive control is defined as the capacity of an individual to selectively allocate attentional resources to task-relevant cues during the preparatory phase of a task, actively encode and sustain this information within working memory, and subsequently establish appropriate response readiness. Research demonstrates that proactive control has neuroplasticity. The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is critically implicated in the modulation of proactive control. Theta oscillations, functioning as a neural gating mechanism, facilitate the preferential allocation of attentional resources toward the processing of memory-relevant information, thereby enhancing the maintenance of such information and playing a pivotal role in memory encoding and cognitive resource distribution. The present study employed theta-frequency transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) targeting the DLPFC to further elucidate the neuroplasticity of proactive control. Concurrently, to investigate the relationship between fluid intelligence and proactive control, participants' fluid intelligence was assessed pre- and post-stimulation. A cohort of 58 participants was randomly assigned to receive either left DLPFC stimulation (<em>n</em> = 29) or right DLPFC stimulation (n = 29). The results revealed that stimulation of the left DLPFC significantly enhanced participants' proactive control capabilities. In ERP indicators, the CNV, following active stimulation, the CNV in the BX condition was significantly greater than that in the pre and sham stimulation (<em>p</em> ≤ 0.006). In behavioral outcomes, the accuracy rate for the BX condition was significantly higher after active stimulation compared to that in pre-stimulation and sham stimulation (<em>p</em> ≤ 0.017). In the lDLPFC group, fluid intelligence performance was significantly enhanced, and fluid intelligence scores after active stimulation were significantly higher compared to those during pre and sham stimulation (<em>p</em> ≤ 0.032). A statistically significant correlation was observed between participants' proactive control capabilities and fluid intelligence. In the rDLPFC group, no significant changes in any of the indicators were observed. These findings underscore the efficacy of neuromodulatory interventions targeting the left DLPFC in augmenting proactive control and suggest a dynamic interplay between proactive control and fluid intelligence.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54945,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Psychophysiology","volume":"218 ","pages":"Article 113283"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145427152","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Bingxin Lin , Yuxin Cai , Yeonju Jeong , Youguo Chen , Dan Zhang
{"title":"Transcranial direct current stimulation selectively improves temporal working memory","authors":"Bingxin Lin , Yuxin Cai , Yeonju Jeong , Youguo Chen , Dan Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2025.113282","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2025.113282","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Temporal working memory (WM)—the ability to temporarily store and manipulate temporal information—is constrained by a storage capacity threshold of approximately 2–3 s. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), an emerging non-invasive intervention, holds potential for enhancing temporal WM. We investigated whether anodal tDCS over key WM regions (right prefrontal cortex, PFC; posterior parietal cortex, PPC) could improve temporal WM capacity specifically for durations exceeding the critical threshold. We used a matching-to-sample paradigm with sample durations encompassing the threshold (1, 2, 3, 4 s); improvement in temporal WM capacity was operationally defined specifically as enhanced accuracy for supra-threshold durations (3 and 4 s). Fifty-six healthy participants were randomly assigned to receive either actual or sham stimulation over PFC or PPC, and completed the matching-to-sample task once before and once immediately after stimulation. Results showed that anodal stimulation over the PFC selectively enhanced performance at the 3 s duration, with no significant effects at other durations or with PPC stimulation. These findings provide causal evidence underscoring the crucial role of the PFC—rather than the PPC—in supporting temporal WM, with the effect of the single-session tDCS protocol being specific to the 3 s duration, which represents the critical threshold point.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54945,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Psychophysiology","volume":"218 ","pages":"Article 113282"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145350184","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}