Importance Modulates the Temporal Features of Self-Referential Processing: An Event-Related Potential Study

• Main Authors: Kepeng Xu, Shifeng Li, Deyun Ren, Ruixue Xia, Hong Xue, Aibao Zhou, Yan Xu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2017-09-01
• Series: Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
• Subjects: self; social identity; self-referential processing; N200; P200; P300
• Online Access: http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnhum.2017.00470/full

A growing number of studies have demonstrated preferential processing of self-related information. However, previous research has been limited in examining the distinction between processes related to the self and those related to the non-self, it remains unclear how self-related information with differing levels of importance is processed within the self. The present study examined how the importance of self-related content affects the neural activity involved in self-referential processing. The behavioral results showed that the participants had faster responses to more important self-related content. The event-related potential (ERP) results showed that early attention resources were diverted to the identification of highly important self-related content compared with minimally important self-related content, as reflected by the enhanced P200. Furthermore, the N200 amplitude for highly important self-related content was smaller than for moderately important self-related content which, in turn, were smaller than minimally important self-related content. Moreover, the P300 amplitudes were modulated by the degree of importance of self-related content, whereby a higher importance of self-related content led to larger P300 amplitudes. Taken together, these findings demonstrate an effect of the degree of importance of the self-related content at both behavioral and neurophysiological levels.