Immediate error correction process following sleep deprivation

Previous studies have suggested that one night of sleep deprivation decreases frontal lobe metabolic activity, particularly in the anterior cingulated cortex (ACC), resulting in decreased performance in various executive function tasks. This study thus attempted to address whether sleep deprivation impaired the executive function of error detection and error correction. Sixteen young healthy college students (seven women, nine men, with ages ranging from 18 to 23 years) participated in this study. Participants performed a modified letter flanker task and were instructed to make immediate error corrections on detecting performance errors. Event-related potentials (ERPs) during the flanker task were obtained using a within-subject, repeated-measure design. The error negativity or error-related negativity (Ne/ERN) and the error positivity (Pe) seen immediately after errors were analyzed. The results show that the amplitude of the Ne/ERN was reduced significantly following sleep deprivation. Reduction also occurred for error trials with subsequent correction, indicating that sleep deprivation influenced error correction ability. This study further demonstrated that the impairment in immediate error correction following sleep deprivation was confined to specific stimulus types, with both Ne/ERN and behavioral correction rates being reduced only for trials in which flanker stimuli were incongruent with the target stimulus, while the response to the target was compatible with that of the flanker stimuli following sleep deprivation. The results thus warrant future systematic investigation of the interaction between stimulus type and error correction following sleep deprivation.     

The effect of manipulating task difficulty on error-related negativity in individuals with obsessive-compulsive symptoms

Previous research has found that individuals with obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms show larger error-related negativity (ERN) and correct-response negativity (CRN) amplitudes than controls. Task difficulty was manipulated during a flanker task and a probabilistic learning task to determine the effect of difficulty on ERN and CRN amplitudes in those with high or low levels of OC symptoms. Increasing task difficulty during a flanker task attenuated ERN amplitudes and enhanced CRN amplitudes. Although larger ERN amplitudes were found in the high OC group compared to the low OC group during the easy flanker task, this group difference was no longer apparent during the difficult version of the flanker task. Increasing difficulty during the probabilistic learning task had no effect on group differences in ERN or CRN amplitudes. The results of this study suggest that the hyperactive error-monitoring activity associated with OC symptoms depends on the difficulty and type of task performed.     

On the number of trials necessary for stabilization of error‐related brain activity across the life span

The minimum number of trials necessary to accurately characterize the error‐related negativity (ERN) and the error positivity (Pe) across the life span was investigated using samples of preadolescent children, college‐age young adults, and older adults. Event‐related potentials and task performance were subsequently measured during a modified flanker task. Response‐locked averages were created using sequentially increasing errors of commission in blocks of two. Findings indicated that across all age cohorts ERN and Pe were not significantly different relative to the within‐participants grand average after six trials. Further, results indicated that the ERN and Pe exhibited excellent internal reliability in preadolescent children and young adults after six trials, but older adults required eight trials to reach similar reliability. These data indicate that the ERN and Pe may be accurately quantified with as few as six to eight commission error trials across the life span.     

Response inhibition in psychopathy: The frontal N2 and P3

Psychopathy has been associated with atypical function of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and adjacent brain regions and with abnormalities in performance monitoring, which is thought to rely on these structures. The ACC and adjacent regions are also involved in the generation of two characteristic components of the event-related potential: the frontal N2 and P3. Both components are enhanced when a response is withheld (NoGo trial) within a series of positive-responses (Go trials) and are considered an index of response inhibition. We recorded event-related potentials while violent offenders who varied on the dimension of psychopathy and non-offender controls performed a Go/NoGo task. The offenders made more errors of commission on NoGo trials but this effect was unrelated to level of psychopathy within the group and, inconsistent with a previous report, they produced the enhanced frontal N2 and P3 effect in response to NoGo relative to Go conditions. We conclude that the neural processes involved in response inhibition are not abnormal in psychopaths when both stimuli and context are affectively neutral and suggest that a more nuanced perspective regarding impulsivity in this population be considered.     

The effects of performance‐based rewards on neurophysiological correlates of stimulus,error, and feedback processing in children with ADHD

Rewards have been shown to improve behavior and cognitive processes implicated in attention‐deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but the information‐processing mechanisms by which these improvements occur remain unclear. We examined the effect of performance‐based rewards on ERPs related to processing of the primary task stimuli, errors, and feedback in children with ADHD and typically developing controls. Participants completed a flanker task containing blocks with and without performance‐based rewards. Children with ADHD showed reduced amplitude of ERPs associated with processing of the flanker stimuli (P3) and errors (ERN, Pe), but did not differ in feedback‐processing (FRN). Rewards enhanced flanker‐related P3 amplitude similarly across groups and error‐related Pe amplitude differentially for children with ADHD. These findings suggest that rewards may improve cognitive deficits in children with ADHD through enhanced processing of relevant stimuli and increased error evaluation.     

Error negativity and response control

Error trials are associated with faster responses than correct trials in simple discrimination tasks suggesting that errors result from impulsive responding. We investigated the relationship between error negativity (Ne/ERN), an event-related potential associated with error detection, and two behavioral indices of response control: response time (RT) differences between incorrect and correct trials (an index of impulsivity) and percentage of errors. Response-locked ERPs were collected from 17 young adults during a visual flanker task. Consistent with previous findings, participants were significantly faster on error trials. However, participants who exhibited larger Ne/ERN peak amplitudes had significantly smaller RT differences, suggesting a more controlled response strategy. Furthermore, Ne/ERN latencies were positively associated with percentage of errors. These findings are consistent with the view that the Ne/ERN reflects the activity of a monitoring system that is closely linked to remedial systems responsible for individual differences in response control or impulsive behavior.     

Impact of reward and punishment motivation on behavior monitoring as indexed by the error-related negativity

The error-related negativity (ERN) is thought to index a neural behavior monitoring system with its source in anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). While ACC is involved in a wide variety of cognitive and emotional tasks, there is debate as to what aspects of ACC function are indexed by the ERN. In one model the ERN indexes purely cognitive function, responding to mismatch between intended and executed actions. Another model posits that the ERN is more emotionally driven, elicited when an action is inconsistent with motivational goals. If the ERN indexes mismatch between intended and executed actions, then it should be insensitive to motivational valence, e.g. reward or punishment; in contrast if the ERN indexes the evaluation of responses relative to goals, then it might respond differentially under differing motivational valence. This study used a flanker task motivated by potential reward and potential punishment on different trials and also examined the N2 and P3 to the imperative stimulus, the response Pe, and the FRN and P3 to the outcome feedback to assess the impact of motivation valence on other stages of information processing in this choice reaction time task. Participants were slower on punishment motivated trials and both the N2 and ERN were larger on punishment motivated trials, indicating that loss aversion has an impact on multiple stages of information processing including behavior monitoring.     

Losing the error related negativity in the EEG of human subjects: an indicator for willed action.

When people make errors in a discrimination task, a negative-going waveform can be observed in scalp-recorded EEG that has been coined the error-related negativity (ERN). We hypothesized that the ERN only occurs with slips, that is unwilled action errors, but not if an error is committed willingly and intentionally. We investigated the occurrence of the ERN in a choice reaction time task that has been shown to produce an ERN and in an error simulation task where subjects had to fake errors while the EEG was recorded. We observed a loss of the ERN when errors were committed in willed actions but not in unwilled actions thus supporting the idea that the production of the ERN is tied to slips in unwilled actions but not mistakes in willed actions.     

Working memory load impairs the evaluation of behavioral errors in the medial frontal cortex

Early error monitoring in the medial frontal cortex enables error detection and the evaluation of error significance, which helps prioritize adaptive control. This ability has been assumed to be independent from central capacity, a limited pool of resources assumed to be involved in cognitive control. The present study investigated whether error evaluation depends on central capacity by measuring the error‐related negativity (Ne/ERN) in a flanker paradigm while working memory load was varied on two levels. We used a four‐choice flanker paradigm in which participants had to classify targets while ignoring flankers. Errors could be due to responding either to the flankers (flanker errors) or to none of the stimulus elements (nonflanker errors). With low load, the Ne/ERN was larger for flanker errors than for nonflanker errors—an effect that has previously been interpreted as reflecting differential significance of these error types. With high load, no such effect of error type on the Ne/ERN was observable. Our findings suggest that working memory load does not impair the generation of an Ne/ERN per se but rather impairs the evaluation of error significance. They demonstrate that error monitoring is composed of capacity‐dependent and capacity‐independent mechanisms.     

Error-processing deficits in patients with cocaine dependence

Cocaine abuse and addiction can be characterized by a persisting use of cocaine in the face of adverse consequences. In the present study we focus on one specific element of adverse consequences: the making of errors. The aim of this study was to determine whether cocaine-dependent persons have error-processing deficits as measured using error-related negativity (ERN) and error positivity (Pe). Event-related potentials (ERPs) during an Eriksen flanker task were recorded from cocaine-dependent patients and a control group. Cocaine-addicted patients showed reduced ERN and Pe components as compared to a control group. On the behavioral level, patients showed reduced post-error accuracy improvement. The present findings reveal that cocaine addiction is associated with reduced error processing and impaired behavioral correction of errors after an error is made. These deficits may be associated with a compromised dopamine system. It is argued that these cognitive deficits may contribute to the maintenance of the cocaine addiction.     

Error-related negativity in a visual go/no-go task: children vs. adults

Thirteen young adults (ages 21-25) and nine children (ages 7-11) were tested on a visual go/no-go task comparing response times (RTs), error rates, and amplitude and latency changes of error-related negativity (ERN). All experimental conditions were identical for both age groups. Results are consistent with the previous flanker task research showing an increase in ERN amplitude as children age. However, the present results indicate that the peak amplitude of ERN for 9-11 year old children is larger than that of 7-8 year old children, with no difference overall between young adults and children. ERN responses elicited by the flanker task continue to develop until late adolescence. Comparative results suggest that the visual go/no-go task may be more sensitive cognitive measure than the flanker task of mistakes made by children. Differences in time pressure to respond, complexity of the task, and feedback are discussed as possible explanations of differences in the two paradigms.     

Punishment has a lasting impact on error-related brain activity

The current study examined whether punishment has direct and lasting effects on error-related brain activity, and whether this effect is larger with increasing trait anxiety. Participants were told that errors on a flanker task would be punished in some blocks but not others. Punishment was applied following 50% of errors in punished blocks during the first half of the experiment (i.e., acquisition), but never in the second half (i.e., extinction). The ERN was enhanced in the punished blocks in both experimental phases--this enhancement remained stable throughout the extinction phase. More anxious individuals were characterized by larger punishment-related modulations in the ERN. The study reveals evidence for lasting, punishment-based modulations of the ERN that increase with anxiety. These data suggest avenues for research to examine more specific learning-related mechanisms that link anxiety to overactive error monitoring.     

Error-Related Negativity in a Visual Go/No-Go Task: Children vs. Adults

Thirteen young adults (ages 21–25) and nine children (ages 7–11) were tested on a visual go/no-go task comparing response times (RTs), error rates, and amplitude and latency changes of error-related negativity (ERN). All experimental conditions were identical for both age groups. Results are consistent with the previous flanker task research showing an increase in ERN amplitude as children age. However, the present results indicate that the peak amplitude of ERN for 9–11 year old children is larger than that of 7–8 year old children, with no difference overall between young adults and children. ERN responses elicited by the flanker task continue to develop until late adolescence. Comparative results suggest that the visual go/no-go task may be more sensitive cognitive measure than the flanker task of mistakes made by children. Differences in time pressure to respond, complexity of the task, and feedback are discussed as possible explanations of differences in the two paradigms.     

Modulation of the error-related negativity by response conflict

An arrow version of the Eriksen flanker task was employed to investigate the influence of conflict on the error-related negativity (ERN). The degree of conflict was modulated by varying the distance between flankers and the target arrow (CLOSE and FAR conditions). Error rates and reaction time data from a behavioral experiment were used to adapt a connectionist model of this task. This model was based on the conflict monitoring theory and simulated behavioral and event-related potential data. The computational model predicted an increased ERN amplitude in FAR incompatible (the low-conflict condition) compared to CLOSE incompatible errors (the high-conflict condition). A subsequent ERP experiment confirmed the model predictions. The computational model explains this finding with larger postresponse conflict in far trials. In addition, data and model predictions of the N2 and the LRP support the conflict interpretation of the ERN.     

On the ERN and the significance of errors

The error-related negativity (ERN) is an event-related brain potential observed when subjects commit errors. To examine whether the ERN is sensitive to the value of errors, the motivational significance of errors was manipulated in two experiments. In Experiment 1, low and high monetary value errors were compared to evaluate the effect of trial value on the ERN. In Experiment 2, subjects performed a flanker task both while their performance was being evaluated and during a control condition. Consistent with the notion that the error-detection system is sensitive to the significance of errors, the ERN was significantly larger on high-value trials in Experiment 1 and during evaluation in Experiment 2. There were no corresponding effects on the correct response negativity, and no behavioral differences between conditions were evident in either experiment. These results are discussed in terms of the functional role of the ERN in response monitoring.     

Human error monitoring during implicit and explicit learning of a sensorimotor sequence

During the acquisition of a sensorimotor sequence error monitoring as reflected by the error-related negativity (ERN) of the event-related brain potential was studied in normal human subjects. The central, imperative letter in an Eriksen-like flanker task either followed a repeating sequence or was determined randomly. 'Explicit learners' were informed about the presence of a sequence, whereas 'implicit learners' were not. Both groups learned the sequential structure inherent in the material as indicated by a speed-up in response time for structured compared to random trials. Most importantly, the ERN was larger for explicit compared to implicit learners. Thus, explicitly searching for a sequential regularity led to a more intensive engagement of the error monitoring system as reflected by the ERN.     

Methylphenidate improves deficient error evaluation in children with ADHD: an event-related brain potential study

Children with ADHD make more errors than control children in response-conflict tasks. To explore whether this is mediated by enhanced sensitivity to conflict or reduced error-processing, task-related brain activity (N2, Ne/ERN, Pe) was compared between 8- to 12-year-old children with ADHD and healthy controls during performance of a flanker task. Furthermore, effects of methylphenidate were investigated in ADHD children in a second study. ADHD children made more errors, especially in high-response-conflict conditions, without showing post-error slowing. N2 amplitudes were enhanced on trials resulting in an error response, Ne/ERN amplitude was unaffected and Pe amplitude was reduced in the ADHD group. Methylphenidate reduced errors in both low- and high-conflict conditions and normalized Pe amplitudes in children with ADHD. It was concluded that the inaccurate behaviour of ADHD children in conflict tasks might be related to reduced error-awareness and higher sensitivity to response conflict. Methylphenidate's ameliorating effects might be established through its influence on brain networks including posterior (parietal) cortex, enabling children with ADHD to allocate more attention to significant events.     

Brain bases of error-related ERPs as influenced by age and task

Age effects in the error negativity (Ne) and error positivity (Pe) were examined in a standard letter flanker task and an age-sensitive source memory exclusion task. Older adults made more errors and produced Ne and Pe components of lower amplitude in both tasks. The Ne was insensitive to task and error rate. The Pe, however, was reduced in the source memory relative to the flanker task and was correlated with error rate in both tasks. Ne and Pe dipoles were generally localized to anterior cingulate cortex, but dipoles associated with the Pe were more frontal for flanker errors and, for young adults, more posterior for source errors. These data suggest that the Ne reflects an automatic response to error as it occurs whereas the Pe, being more sensitive to age and task demands, and more closely linked to accuracy, reflects the allocation of attention to an error that has been made.     

The error-related negativity is related to risk taking and empathy in young men

We related self-report measures of risk taking and empathy to the error-related negativity (ERN) elicited during a flanker task in boys in late adolescence. We found that risk propensity (risk taking, sensation seeking, and sensitivity to reward) and empathy related to ERN amplitude (negatively and positively, respectively) but not to each other or to behavioral measures of response time, accuracy, and post-error slowing. They accounted for separate sources of variance in the ERN amplitude, suggesting that there are multiple routes to activation of its generator in the anterior cingulate. Impulsivity and sensitivity to punishment were unrelated to the ERN. The present study provides support that risk-taking traits and empathy affect anterior cingulate responsiveness to errors, and the ERN reflects the influence of the extent of individuals' concern with the outcome of events.     

A study of attentional resource of discrete and gradational allocation strategy using error-related negativity (ERN)

The error-related negativity (ERN) is a component of the event-related brain potential (ERP) that is associated with action monitoring and error detection. The ERN amplitude reflects attentional resource allocated to error detection. The present study examined whether discrete or gradational allocation strategy of attentional resource in error detection using the ERN amplitude. Only Eriksen flanker task was used in the single task condition. Eriksen flanker task was used as a primary task and Sternberg memory search task was used as a secondary task in the dual task conditions. The task difficulty of the secondary task manipulated in the present study included the memory load. Memory set sizes of 2, 4 and 6 were used in the Sternberg memory search task (M2, M4 and M6 conditions). The results indicated that reaction time was gradually delayed in the primary task as the task difficulty of the secondary task gradually increased. However the ERN amplitude of the primary task decreased in M6 condition alone. In conclusion, discrete allocation strategy of attentional resource was adopted in the error detection.