EEG time-frequency correlation analysis of different decision stages in the ultimatum game.

The cognitive decision-making process in the ultimatum game (UG) paradigm consists of three stages: 1) option evaluation stage; 2) action selection and execution stage; 3) outcome evaluation stage. EEG correlation between different stages of UG is an important issue in exploring cognitive decision-making process. However, the ERP-based analysis is not sufficient to reveal EEG correlations at different stages. This study proposes an EEG time-frequency correlation analysis method. This method first calculates Event-Related Spectral Perturbations (ERSPs), and then uses non-parametric statistical tests with the Pearson correlation coefficient as the first-order statistical test quantity to calculate the EEG correlates of different decision stages in different decision states. It was found that there is a correlation between the first and second stages of the decision-making process when accepting a decision. These findings support the division of the decision-making process and indicate differences in different decision states, demonstrating that ERSP is a useful tool for decision analysis.