{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.03557312252964427, 'fraction_numerical': 0.011857707509881422, 'mean_word_length': 5.798657718120805, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Exclusion and micro-rejection: event-related potential response predicts mitigated distress

We studied time-based neural activity with event-related potentials (ERPs) in young adults during a computer-simulated ball-toss game. Experiencing fair play initially, participants were ultimately excluded by other players. Dense-array ERPs showed time-dependent associations between slow-wave activity (580–900 ms) in left prefrontal/medial frontal cortical regions for exclusion events and self-reported distress. More subtle ‘micro-rejections’ during fair play showed a similar distress to ERP association (420–580 ms). In both cases, greater positive amplitude neural activity was associated with less post-exclusion distress. Findings suggest that rapidly occurring neural responses to social exclusion events are linked to individual differences in ostracism-related distress. Relations emerged even during fair play, providing a window into the neural basis of more subtle social-cognitive perceptual processes.