P3 Event-Related Potential Characteristics Reflect Large-Scale Between-Network Functional Connectivity During Cognitive Control
Year: 2025
Type: preprint
Abstract: Objective: The P3 event-related potential (ERP) is a widely-used marker of attentional and cognitive control, yet its relationship to large-scale network dynamics remains unclear. We examined whether P3 amplitude and latency characteristics during flanker task performance are associated with source-space functional connectivity patterns, and whether these relationships are modulated by conflict processing demands. Methods: We analyzed baseline electroencephalography (EEG) data from 255 healthy adults who performed a modified Eriksen flanker task. P3 mean amplitude and peak latency were extracted from centro-parietal electrodes. Source-space functional connectivity was computed to later extract within-network and between-network connectivity measures, derived from amplitude-coupling matrices. Relationships between P3 quartiles and connectivity were tested using an ANCOVA, controlling for age and body mass index, with post-hoc Holm-Bonferroni corrections. Results: P3 characteristics were significantly associated with between-network functional connectivity but not within-network connectivity. Lower P3 amplitude was associated with significantly higher between-network connectivity during both congruent (F=3.88, p=0.010) and incongruent trials (F=5.77, p<0.001), with stronger effects during conflict processing. P3 peak latency showed an inverted-U relationship with between-network connectivity in both conditions (congruent: F=7.13, p<0.001; incongruent: F=6.98, p<0.001), where intermediate latencies corresponded to maximal connectivity. Network-specific analyses revealed that these effects were most prominent in sensory-limbic integration during congruent processing and frontoparietal-limbic coordination during conflict, highlighting the role of distributed control and salience systems. Conclusion: P3 characteristics systematically reflect the degree of functional integration across large-scale brain networks during cognitive control, with specific involvement of sensory, limbic, and frontoparietal systems. These findings suggest that P3 reflects distributed network dynamics rather than isolated neural generators, supporting a task-evoked reconfiguration framework. This network-level perspective of the P3 may inform the development of more mechanistic biomarkers for cognitive control deficits and guide interventions targeting specific network interactions.
Institutions: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Emory University
Language: English
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4416228887