Greg Hajcak’s research while affiliated with Santa Clara University and other places

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Publications (437)


136. From Pregnancy to Postpartum: An Enhanced Antenatal Error-Related Negativity Predicts Late Postnatal Depression via Error Sensitivity
  • Article

May 2025

Biological Psychiatry

Elizabeth Mulligan

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Greg Hajcak

Systematic review and meta-analysis: Impact of unipolar depression on P300 amplitude and latency

May 2025

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10 Reads

Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews

Depression is characterized by impairments of cognitive systems such as significant deficits in attention, memory, and cognitive control. The P300 (or P3) event-related potential (ERP) component has been extensively investigated over the past four decades to elucidate the underpinnings of these cognitive dysfunctions. Many studies have observed reduced P300 amplitude and prolonged P300 latency in individuals experiencing depression. The current study provides a comprehensive systematic quantitative review (i.e., meta-analysis) of the depression and P300 literature from 1981 to 2023 employing PubMed and ProQuest databases. Included articles quantitatively measured depression and P300 amplitude or latency. In total, 127 studies (total N = 12,722) comprised the current analyses (i.e., 116 examining P300 amplitude and 51 examining P300 latency), resulting in 601 effect sizes (i.e., 464 depression and P300 amplitude; 137 depression and P300 latency). Robust variance meta-regression results revealed a small significant negative effect size (r = -.15) between P300 amplitude and depression even after correcting for publication bias. There was a similar small significant positive effect size (r = .15) between P300 latency and depression. Findings from moderator analyses indicated that stimulus modality, medication use, and age impacted the P300 amplitude and depression effect size; no moderators of the P300 latency and depression relationship were observed. Regarding limitations, we did not exhaustively test all possible factors that may impact P300 and depression association. The current quantitative review confirms significant differences in P300 (both amplitude and latency) attributed to cognitive dysfunctions common in depression as well as guides future study designs and methodological approaches.


Revisiting the electrophysiological correlates of valence and expectancy in reward processing – A Multi-lab replication
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  • Full-text available

March 2025

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191 Reads

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3 Citations

Cortex

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Gain, loss, and subtraction‐based difference waveforms and head maps in sample 1 (A) and sample 2 (B).
Scatterplot depicting doors‐locked P300 amplitude and current depressive symptom association in sample 1 (n = 296).
Doors stimulus‐locked waveforms and head maps of high CDI total participants (n = 150) compared to low CDI total participants (n = 146) in sample 1. Low and high CDI groups were determined utilizing a median split of CDI total scores.
Two‐way interaction between doors‐locked P300 amplitude and age in predicting CDI total scores in sample 1.
Scatterplot depicting doors‐locked P300 amplitude and current depressive symptom association in sample 2 (n = 605).

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Attenuated Doors‐Locked P300 Amplitude and Elevated Depressive Symptoms: Effects of Age and Sex in Two Independent Samples of Youth

February 2025

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16 Reads

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1 Citation

Deficits in cognitive and reward‐related functions, measured via reductions in the P300 and reward positivity (RewP) event‐related potential (ERP) components, are commonly observed in adults suffering with depression. Considering higher risk for depression emerges among females in adolescence, examination of the neurological underpinnings of depression during this critical developmental period can help further elucidate our overall understanding of the etiology of depressive disorders. Therefore, the present study sought to first examine associations between doors‐locked P300 amplitude, RewP amplitude, current depression symptoms, and age in an all‐female youth sample (sample 1: n = 296; age, 8 to 14). Next, we examined these same associations, as well as sex, in a second independent sample consisting of male and female youths (sample 2: n = 605; age, 11 to 14). Blunted doors‐locked P300 was associated with higher depressive symptoms in both samples. Moreover, the association between P300 and depression was stronger among older youths in both samples. Sex further moderated this relationship in sample 2 such that smaller P300 related to greater depression only in females. There were no consistent associations between RewP amplitude and depressive symptoms in either youth sample. These findings suggest that the doors‐locked P300 component is a reliable neural correlate of depression in youth that might specifically relate to pathways linked to increased risk for depression among adolescent females.


Trajectories of the Late Positive Potential Across Childhood and Adolescence: A 9-Year Longitudinal Study

February 2025

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10 Reads

The late positive potential (LPP), an event‐related potential reflecting affective processing, may exhibit developmental shifts in magnitude and scalp location. In the present longitudinal study, 501 youth (47.3% female; 89.4% White; 12.0% Hispanic) completed the emotion interrupt task to elicit the LPP to neutral, positive, and negative images at approximately 9, 12, 15, and 18 years old (data collected 2010–2022). Multilevel growth models indicated an initial decrease in the occipital LPP and an increase in the parietal and central LPP during late childhood, with rates of change leveling off across adolescence. Trial condition (i.e., valence) significantly impacted trajectories only when the LPP was measured over occipital sites. Results provide novel evidence of stability and change in the LPP across development.


Association Between Early Childhood P300 Deficits and Risk for Preadolescence Depressive Disorder Mediated by Responsiveness to PCIT-ED Treatment

January 2025

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8 Reads

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1 Citation

Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology

Preschool-onset major depressive disorder (PO-MDD) is an impairing pediatric mental health disorder that impacts children as young as three years old. There is limited work dedicated to uncovering neural measures of this early childhood disorder which could be leveraged to further understand both treatment responsiveness and future depression risk. Event-related potentials (ERPs) such as the P300 have been employed extensively in adult populations to examine depression-related deficits in cognitive and motivational systems. Few studies examine the prospective relationships between depression and P300, especially in young children. Moreover, limited research examines the relationship between P300 with psychotherapy treatment responsiveness in youths. The current study sought to examine the prospective relationships between pre-intervention P300 (i.e., choice-locked) elicited from the doors task in depressed preschool children (i.e., PO-MDD; ages 3-to-6) with reductions in depressive symptoms after completing an 18-week long dyadic psychotherapy intervention (n = 59). We also explored relations to risk for depression assessed at a follow-up visit during preadolescence (ages 8-to-12; n = 82). Those with PO-MDD exhibiting reduced choice (doors)-locked P300 demonstrated worse treatment response to psychotherapy and were more likely to meet criteria for depression during preadolescence. Moreover, the relationship between pre-intervention P300 and later preadolescence depression was significantly mediated by response to treatment. These findings suggest that deficits in brain systems linked to the choice-locked P300 component (i.e., cognitive and motivational) might be indicative of non-responsiveness to early dyadic psychotherapeutic intervention efforts for depression which impacts risk for recurrent patterns of depression in youths.


Revisiting Defensive Motivation and the Error-Related Negativity: A Multi-Site Replication Study

December 2024

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95 Reads

A large number of EEG studies have identified a distinct event related potential (ERP) component during error processing known as the Error-Related Negativity (ERN). In an influential study, Hajcak and Foti (2008) explored the idea that errors could trigger defensive motivational reactions and that the ERN might forecast the intensity of defensive reactions following errors. Using a flanker task, thirty-one college-aged participants responded to the direction of a central arrow with acoustic startle probes administered pseudo-randomly throughout. Hajcak and Foti’s (2008) findings indicated the ERN is indicative of individual variations in aversive reactions to errors. This has influenced understanding of the ERN being more than a simple error detection mechanism and sheds light on how people differ in their emotional responses to mistakes. As part of the #EEGManyLabs project, an international network of laboratories, we will test the replicability of the results from this influential study. The data will later be combined to compute global effect sizes of the ERN, startle potentiation, and their interaction. Collectively, these replications will help solidify the results from this highly-cited study. Given that the ERN is an integral part of a broader neural system responding to potentially threatening stimuli, this replication will provide a more solid foundation for our understanding of error processing and its relationship to defensive reactivity.


Revisiting Defensive Motivation and the Error-Related Negativity: A Multi-Site Replication Study

December 2024

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9 Reads

A large number of EEG studies have identified a distinct event related potential (ERP) component during error processing known as the Error-Related Negativity (ERN). In an influential study, Hajcak and Foti (2008) explored the idea that errors could trigger defensive motivational reactions and that the ERN might forecast the intensity of defensive reactions following errors. Using a flanker task, thirty-one college-aged participants responded to the direction of a central arrow with acoustic startle probes administered pseudo-randomly throughout. Hajcak and Foti’s (2008) findings indicated the ERN is indicative of individual variations in aversive reactions to errors. This has influenced understanding of the ERN being more than a simple error detection mechanism and sheds light on how people differ in their emotional responses to mistakes. As part of the #EEGManyLabs project, an international network of laboratories, we will test the replicability of the results from this influential study. The data will later be combined to compute global effect sizes of the ERN, startle potentiation, and their interaction. Collectively, these replications will help solidify the results from this highly-cited study. Given that the ERN is an integral part of a broader neural system responding to potentially threatening stimuli, this replication will provide a more solid foundation for our understanding of error processing and its relationship to defensive reactivity.



Figure 1. Exposure to IPV moderates vmPFC-amygdala associations during sustained vmPFC and amygdala transient threat responding to unpredictable negative stimuli. vmPFC = ventromedial prefrontal cortex; IPV = interpersonal violence. Bolded line indicated significant simple slope. 95% confidence intervals bands depicted.
Sample characteristics (N = 212)
Association between sustained vmPFC and transient amygdala reactivity across the entire sample (after controlling for covariates)
IPV exposure moderates the association between sustained vmPFC and transient amygdala reactivity (after controlling for covariates)
Interpersonal violence moderates sustained-transient threat co-activation in the vmPFC and amygdala in a community sample of youth

November 2024

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20 Reads

Development and Psychopathology

The increased risk for psychopathology associated with interpersonal violence exposure (IPV, e.g., physical abuse, sexual assault) is partially mediated by neurobiological alterations in threat-related processes. Evidence supports parsing neural circuitry related to transient and sustained threat, as they appear to be separable processes with distinct neurobiological underpinnings. Although childhood is a sensitive period for neurodevelopment, most prior work has been conducted in adult samples. Further, it is unknown how IPV exposure may impact transient-sustained threat neural interactions. The current study tested the moderating role of IPV exposure on sustained vmPFC-transient amygdala co-activation during an fMRI task during which threat and neutral cues were predictably or unpredictably presented. Analyses were conducted in a sample of 212 community-recruited youth (M/SDage = 11.77/2.44 years old; 51.9% male; 56.1% White/Caucasian). IPV-exposed youth evidenced a positive sustained vmPFC-transient amygdala co-activation, while youth with no IPV exposure did not show this association. Consistent with theoretical models, effects were specific to unpredictable, negative trials and to exposure to IPV (i.e., unrelated to non-IPV traumatic experiences). Although preliminary, these findings provide novel insight into how childhood IPV exposure may alter neural circuity involved in specific facets of threat processing.


Citations (68)


... The FRN component occurs in the early stages of outcome processing, with a negative peak approximately 200-350 ms after the presentation of the feedback stimulus (Holroyd and Coles, 2002;Proudfit, 2015). The FRN component serves as an indicator for distinguishing outcome valence, with negative feedback eliciting larger FRN amplitudes compared to positive feedback (Paul et al., 2025;Kobza et al., 2011;Yeung and Sanfey, 2004). The FRN component can also signal "expectation violation, " with studies showing that expectation violations lead to more negative FRN deflections (Gu et al., 2020;Pfabigan et al., 2011). ...

Reference:

Voice attractiveness affects cooperative behavior in the Stag Hunt Game: evidence from neural electrophysiology
Revisiting the electrophysiological correlates of valence and expectancy in reward processing – A Multi-lab replication

Cortex

... The time required for extensive electrode cap setup (e.g., !64 channels) and complexity of data cleaning approaches that have yet to be standardized or automated pose significant barriers to clinical translation. Although some studies quantify the N1 with a minimal approach using a limited electrode set and simple preprocessing (12,21,34) that could be clinically feasible, no study to date has compared this to a full MoBI approach, which could involve channel-and component-based outcomes, and whether their reliabilities differ. ...

The balance N1 is larger in anxious children and associated with the error-related negativity

Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science

... To our knowledge, few studies have employed the HDDM approach to reward processing, primarily focusing on adult depression, revealing that adults with depression exhibit a slower and less efficient evidence accumulation process, reflected by reduced drift rates [28,29]. Recent research investigating girls during late childhood and early adolescence found that higher levels of depression were associated with reduced drift rates and lower starting points for frequently received rewards, indicating a need for more evidence to make decisions [30,31]. These findings provided insights and evidence to explore the mechanisms of reward sensitivity in adolescent with MDD and suggested that slowed evidence accumulation might underlie the failure to develop response bias. ...

Reward-Related Brain Activity Mediates the Relationship Between Decision-Making Deficits and Pediatric Depression Symptom Severity
  • Citing Article
  • June 2024

... Se concluye que el ejercicio agudo puede afectar la variabilidad cognitiva intraindividual como una adaptación para mantener la función después del ejercicio. Thompson et al. (2024) evaluaron el P300 durante una tarea Go/No-Go en relación con la actividad física y el tiempo sedentario auto-informados y basados en acelerómetro en una muestra de adultos mayores. Los resultados indicaron que los participantes que realizaban actividad física moderada a vigorosa tenían amplitudes P300 más grandes, sobre todo la actividad física determinada con acelerómetro más que la actividad física auto-informada. ...

Accelerometer-based and self-reported physical activity and sedentary time and their relationships with the P300 in a Go/No-Go task in older adults
  • Citing Article
  • May 2024

Brain and Cognition

... A study in Australia identi ed antenatal depression, antenatal anxiety, major life events, low social support, and a history of depression as signi cant predictors of postnatal depression, with antenatal depression and anxiety being among the strongest predictors (Milgrom et al., 2008). Additionally, antenatal anxiety has been linked to postpartum suicidal ideation (SI), a precursor to suicide attempts among new mothers (Schafer et al., 2024). This association highlights the critical need to address prenatal anxiety to prevent severe postpartum mental health complications. ...

Antenatal anxiety symptoms outperform antenatal depression symptoms and suicidal ideation as a risk factor for postpartum suicidal ideation
  • Citing Article
  • March 2024

Anxiety, Stress, and Coping

... Movement behaviors over 24 h include physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep (Tremblay et al. 2016). Interestingly, studies have demonstrated that adherence to healthy movement behavior guidelines is associated with improved cardiometabolic and mental health (Howie et al. 2023;Sampasa-Kanyinga et al. 2020), cognitive functioning (Brush et al. 2024), healthrelated physical fitness, such as aerobic capacity and muscle strength (Higgins et al. 2020;Tapia-Serrano et al. 2023), and reduced risk of obesity (Howie et al. 2023). Additionally, aerobic capacity has been positively associated with inhibitory control performance, mediated by body mass index in the adolescent population (Cabral et al. 2021). ...

Associations between physical activity, sedentary time, and neurocognitive function during adolescence: Evidence from accelerometry and the flanker P300
  • Citing Chapter
  • February 2024

Progress in Brain Research

... have more complex symptoms, are associated with higher suicide risk, are harder to treat, and have a greater likelihood of relapse [3,4] . Therefore, early screening and intervention for adolescents with MDD are essential for improving outcomes [5,6] . ...

Personalized identification and intervention of depression in adolescents: A tertiary-level framework

Science Bulletin

... Across all emotion conditions, high reliability coefficients were observed for the fixation duration bias scores. This fits in well with previous eye-tracking research based on the free-viewing task showing adequate to good reliability for indices of attentional bias based on dwell time or fixation duration 59 . It is known that the free-viewing paradigm does not provide a reliable means to study early attentional biases 26,60 . ...

The Free-Viewing Matrix Task: A Reliable Measure of Attention Allocation in Psychopathology
  • Citing Article
  • October 2023

Journal of Anxiety Disorders

... The most well-characterized EEG signal elicited by a sudden balance disturbance is the perturbation-evoked N1 potential, a negative voltage deflection that typically peaks 100-200 ms after perturbation onset (1,2). The N1 is thought to reflect both sensorimotor (1)(2)(3) and cognitive processes (4-6) and can be elicited in different contexts [sitting (7), walking (8), lean-and-release (9), floor tilt, support-surface translations (10)] and in different populations [toddlers (11), younger adults, older adults (12,13), Parkinson's disease (14), stroke (15)]. Several studies have explored factors that modulate the N1 within individuals, including predictability (16,17), task difficulty (3,18), perceived threat (6), and attention (19). ...

The balance N1 and the ERN correlate in amplitude across individuals in small samples of younger and older adults

Experimental Brain Research

... In contrast with our hypothesis, the adolescent positive mood subfactor was negatively associated with the adolescent domaingeneral RewP. These results are inconsistent with research showing a negative association between anhedonia and the RewP in undergraduates and emerging adults Mulligan, Eisenlohr-Moul, Eckel, & Hajcak, 2023). The positive mood subfactor is anchored by two scales: one assessing a healthy, adaptive form of positive affect (well-being) and another assessing a dysfunctional form of positive affect (euphoria; Watson and O'Hara, 2017). ...

Menstrual Cycle Modulation of Neural Reward Responsiveness and its Associations with Anhedonia
  • Citing Article
  • July 2023

Psychoneuroendocrinology