Association for Behavior Analysis International

The Association for Behavior Analysis International® (ABAI) is a nonprofit membership organization with the mission to contribute to the well-being of society by developing, enhancing, and supporting the growth and vitality of the science of behavior analysis through research, education, and practice.

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35th Annual Convention; Phoenix, AZ; 2009

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Symposium #62
Electrophysiology And Learning: Methodological Considerations, Experimental Results And Future Research
Saturday, May 23, 2009
2:30 PM–3:50 PM
North 227 BC
Area: EAB; Domain: Experimental Analysis
Chair: Jon Gretar Sigurjonsson (National University of Ireland, Galway)
Discussant: John W. Donahoe (Univ. Massachusetts/Amherst)
Abstract: Major advances are being made in uncovering the brain mechanisms of learning and complex behavior and interest in this area is growing within the behavior analysis community. The papers at this symposium will address a variety of topics ranging from methodological advances in the analysis of the EEG, to the identification of brain mechanisms which might shed light on the process of acceptance and to the brain activity that is thought to correlate with the recognition of conditioned reinforcers. The first paper contrasts and compares traditional spectral power analysis with the so called Individual Alpha Frequency method and why this new method should not be over looked by behavior analysts. The second paper will review the research linking the P300 wave to conditioned reinforcers and the efficacy of using rat P300 model to investigate learning processes using EEG and pharmacological manipulations. The third paper will present preliminary results of a protocol exploring potential neural correlates to acceptance cultivated by Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and how these results might serve in the development of a functional contextualistic neuroscience.
 
Frequency vs. Power Analysis Of EEG Signals In The Analysis Of Stimulus Equivalence
JON GRETAR SIGURJONSSON (National University of Ireland, Galway), Denis P. O'Hora (National University of Ireland, Galway)
Abstract: Electrophysiological measurements have become a part of the repertoire of behavior analysts when analyzing the effects of reinforcement contingencies on human behavior. For the most part behavior analysts have used the event related potential (ERP) method to collect and analyze data but few researchers have analyzed EEG bands, a method which might be used to capture the formation of stimulus classes in the brain or identify brain states that precede stimulus class formation. It has been pointed out the band analysis method masks individual differences in electrophysiological activity and could serve to diminish visible biological effects of behavioral and cognitive tasks. A different way to analyze EEG bands is the Individual Alpha Frequency (IAF) method which uses individual participants frequency measures to gauge the brain activity and might be more attractive to behavior analysts than the band analysis. The strengths and weaknesses of each method will be discussed.
 
The P300 Event Related Potential In Rats Is A Correlate Of Conditioned Reinforcement
WILLIAM D. KLIPEC (Drake University)
Abstract: The human P300 event related potential (ERP) is a trait marker for schizophrenia in human males and is thought to reflect an underlying cognitive process. Research in our laboratory has demonstrated a robust P300 ERP in rats, the amplitude of which is directly related to the acquisition, extinction and reacquisition of control by a discriminative stimulus. Additionally, we have shown that P300 ERP amplitude in rats is an incremental function of conditioned stimulus proximity to primary reinforcement in behavioral chains. We have also demonstrated robust P300 ERPs to stimuli predicting the occurrence as well as the omission of expected reinforcers. These findings support the hypothesis that the P300 is a correlate of the brain’s response to recognizing a conditioned reinforcer. The presentation will review this research and discuss the efficacy of the rat P300 model for investigating learning processes in unrestrained rats using electroencephalography and pharmacological manipulations.
 
An exploration of acceptance related processes in presurgically implanted epileptic patients by means of real-time frequency-band analysis system
BENJAMIN SCHOENDORFF (Claude Bernard University, Lyon, France), Juan Vidal (Claude Bernard University, Lyon, France), Karim Jerbi (Claude Bernard University, Lyon, France), Philippe Kahane (Claude Bernard University, Lyon, France), Philippe Ryvlin (Claude Bernard University, Lyon, France), Lydie Cornu (Claude Bernard University, Lyon, France), Jean-Philippe Lachaux (Claude Bernard University, Lyon, France)
Abstract: The surgical treatment of patients with intractable epilepsy is preceded by a pre-surgical evaluation period during which intracranial EEG recordings are performed to identify the epileptogenic network and provide a functional map of eloquent cerebral areas that need to be spared to minimize the risk of post-operative deficits. A growing body of research based on such invasive recordings indicates that cortical oscillations at various frequencies, especially in the gamma range (40 to 150 Hz), can provide efficient markers of task-related neural network activity. Using a novel real-time investigation framework for mapping human brain functions based on online visualization of the spectral power of the ongoing intracranial activity (Lachaux et al, 2008), we will present preliminary results of a protocol exploring potential correlates of acceptance related processes as cultivated by Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (Hayes et al 1999) and suggest possible ways in which such real-time brain imaging technology might both guide the cultivation of therapeutic processes such as acceptance (by means of neurofeedack) and serve in the development of a functional contextual neuroscience.
 

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