Is the P300 Component a Manifestation of Context Updating?
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1988
Keywords
cognitive psychophysiology, ERP, event-related potential, expectancy, information-processing, memory, P300, subjective probability
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X00058027
Abstract
To understand the endogenous components of the event-related brain potential (ERP), we must use data about the components' antecedent conditions to form hypotheses about the information-processing function of the underlying brain activity. These hypotheses, in turn, generate testable predictions about the consequences of the component. We review the application of this approach to the analysis of the P300 component. The amplitude of the P300 is controlled multiplicatively by the subjective probability and the task relevance of the eliciting events, whereas its latency depends on the duration of stimulus evaluation. These and other factors suggest that the P300 is a manifestation of activity occurring whenever one's model of the environment must be revised. Tests of three predictions based on this “context updating” model are reviewed. Verleger's critique is based on a misconstrual of the model as well as a partial and misleading reading of the relevant literature.
Was this content written or created while at USF?
No
Citation / Publisher Attribution
The Behavioral and Brain Sciences, v. 11, issue 3, p. 355-425.
Scholar Commons Citation
Diamond, David M. and Coles, Michael G. H., "Is the P300 Component a Manifestation of Context Updating?" (1988). Psychology Faculty Publications. 290.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/psy_facpub/290
