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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2016 Oct 1.
Published in final edited form as: J Cogn Neurosci. 2016 Mar 11;28(7):935–947. doi: 10.1162/jocn_a_00949

Figure 4. Distractors evoke a right-lateralized frontal negativity.

Figure 4

Panel A) shows topographic scalp maps of the mean amplitude over time of the ERP response time-lock averaged to the onset of the Distractor. A right-lateralized negativity between 100 and 250 ms was observed (gray outline box, activity indicated by black arrows). B) To explore this negativity, ERP responses time-lock averaged to the Distractor onset were extracted from ROIs created over left and right frontal channels. The right frontal ROI response (dark blue trace) was significantly more negative than the left frontal ROI response (light blue trace; paired t-test on the mean amplitudes of the ERP response between 100 and 250 ms, t(19) = 4.412, p < 0.01). Panel C) illustrates the right frontal ROI minus the left frontal ROI difference wave. The mean amplitude of this difference wave between 100 and 250 ms (shaded in gray) was extracted and used in a correlational analysis with behavior. D) The size of the mean amplitude difference between the right and left frontal ROIs negatively correlated with the amount of impairment individuals showed when the Distractor was presented 0–116 ms following the onset of a Target (see text for analysis details). That is, individuals who showed a bigger difference between the right and left frontal ROIs also showed less behavioral impairment in target detection when Distractors were presented.