Allen, J. J., Keune, P. M., Sch\"onenberg, M., & Nusslock, R. (2018). Frontal EEG alpha asymmetry and emotion: From neural underpinnings and methodological considerations to psychopathology and social cognition. Psychophysiology, 55(1).
Matsuda, I., Nittono, H., & Allen, J. J. (2012). The current and future status of the Concealed Information Test for field use.. Frontiers in Cognitive Science.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00532
Allen, J., Stewart, J. L., Coan, J. A., Towers, D. N., & Allen, J. J. (2011). Frontal EEG asymmetry during emotional challenge differentiates individuals with and without lifetime major depressive disorder. Journal of affective disorders, 129(1-3).
Although it has been argued that frontal electroencephalographic (EEG) asymmetry at rest may be a risk marker for major depressive disorder (MDD), it is unclear whether a pattern of relatively less left than right activity characterizes depressed individuals during emotional challenges. Examination of frontal asymmetry during emotion task manipulations could provide an assessment of the function of systems relevant for MDD, and test the limits of frontal EEG asymmetry as a marker of risk for depression.
Allen, J. J., Coan, J. A., & Nazarian, M. (2004). Issues and assumptions on the road from raw signals to metrics of frontal EEG asymmetry in emotion. Biological Psychology, 67(1-2), 183-218.
PMID: 15130531;Abstract:
There exists a substantial literature examining frontal electroencephalographic asymmetries in emotion, motivation, and psychopathology. Research in this area uses a specialized set of approaches for reducing raw EEG signals to metrics that provide the basis for making inferences about the role of frontal brain activity in emotion. The present review details some of the common data processing routines used in this field of research, with a focus on statistical and methodological issues that have captured, and should capture, the attention of researchers in this field. © 2004 Published by Elsevier B.V.
Harlé, K. M., Allen, J. J., & Sanfey, A. G. (2010). The impact of depression on social economic decision making. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 119(2), 440-446.
PMID: 20455617;PMCID: PMC2869467;Abstract:
Although the role of emotion in social economic decision making has been increasingly recognized, the impact of mood disorders, such as depression, on such decisions has been surprisingly neglected. To address this gap, 15 depressed and 23 nondepressed individuals completed a well-known economic task, in which they had to accept or reject monetary offers from other players. Although depressed individuals reported a more negative emotional reaction to unfair offers, they accepted significantly more of these offers than did controls. A positive relationship was observed in the depressed group, but not in controls, between acceptance rates of unfair offers and resting cardiac vagal control, a physiological index of emotion regulation capacity. The discrepancy between depressed individuals' increased emotional reactions to unfair offers and their decisions to accept more of these offers contrasts with recent findings that negative mood in nondepressed individuals can lead to lower acceptance rates. This suggests distinct biasing processes in depression, which may be related to higher reliance on regulating negative emotion. © 2010 American Psychological Association.
