Error-Related Negativity in Children: Effect of an Observer

This research assessed the effect of an observer upon error-related negativity (ERN) in 20 children (ages 7–11): 9 worked alone and 11 worked under the observation of a friend of theirs (alone/audience groups). Erroneous motor responses were recorded to Go and No-Go visual stimuli (triangles in different orientations) at three brain sites (Fz, Cz, and Pz). Results for children were consistent with past adult studies in showing a significantly larger ERN only to erroneous responses in both the alone and the audience groups. Children in the audience group produced larger ERNs than those in the alone group. Furthermore, older children (ages 9–11) produced larger ERNs than younger children (ages 7–8) in both groups. These findings were discussed in the context of an action monitoring system that regulates responses, detects errors, and entrains affective responses associated with correct and incorrect responses.     

Neural Correlates of Response Inhibition in Early Childhood: Evidence From a Go/No-Go Task

We examined the neural correlates underlying response inhibition in early childhood. Five-year-old children completed a Go/No-go task with or without time pressure (Fast vs. Slow condition) while scalp EEG was recorded. On No-go trials where inhibition was required, the left frontal N2 and posterior P3 were enhanced relative to Go trials. Time pressure was detrimental to behavioral performance and modulated the early-occurring P1 component. The topography of ERPs related to response inhibition differed from patterns typically seen in adults, and may indicate a compensatory mechanism to make up for immature inhibition networks in children.     

Grading odor similarities in a Go/No-Go task

Recent studies show that some features of odor perception are predicted by olfactory receptor biophysics and olfactory bulb physiology. Those studies used a behavioral assay in which rodents dig in a dish of scented cage bedding after pretraining to associate a buried reward with an odorant. The advantage of the digging task is an intensity measure of similarity (number of seconds spent digging). The method has the disadvantages of odorant contamination and low control over concentration and timing, making it difficult to use in electrophysiology. We describe an operant task that avoids these disadvantages and provides a reliable intensity-based similarity measure. Odorants can be delivered with a standard air dilution olfactometer, and rats learn to lever press to one odorant and avoid pressing to another in a Go/No-Go (CS+/CS-) task with a partial reinforcement protocol. Generalization tests substitute a portion of the unrewarded CS+ trials with test odorants. The number of generalization trials on which a subject responds to a test odorant is the measure of odor similarity intensity. We present validation tests using mixture component recognition, which show high repeatability, little variability across subjects and no decrease in responding across sessions. The results match those obtained with the digging task in four of five mixtures tested. This method allows optimal control over stimulus parameters and is compatible with simultaneous electrophysiological recording.     

Alcoholism is a disinhibitory disorder: neurophysiological evidence from a Go/No-Go task

Response inhibition is considered a core dimension in alcoholism and its co-existing disorders. The major objective of this study is to compare the magnitude and spatial distribution of ERP components during response activation and inhibition in alcoholics (N = 30) and normal controls (N = 30) using a visual Go/No-Go task. The results indicate that alcoholics manifest a decreased P3(00) amplitude during Go as well as No-Go conditions. The difference between Go and No-Go processing was more evident in controls than in alcoholics. The topography of current source density in alcoholics during the P3 response was found to be very different from that of normals, suggesting that alcoholics perhaps activated inappropriate brain circuitry during cognitive processing. The significantly reduced No-Go P3 along with the relatively less anteriorized CSD topography during No-Go condition suggests poor inhibitory control in alcoholics. It is proposed that the No-Go P3, the electrophysiological signature of response inhibition, can be considered as an endophenotypic marker in alcoholism.     

Comparison of Event-Related Potentials of Young Children and Adults in a Visual Recognition and Word Reading Task

An experiment is described in which event-related potentials (ERPs) of a group of young children were compared with ERPs of a group of young adults. Both groups were required to perform a simple word-reading task and a picture-recognition task. Principal components analyses (PCAs) were performed on the averaged ERPs in two different ways: a) separately for each of four combinations of tasks and age groups, and b) separately for each age group (pooled across tasks). The results demonstrated that ERP components of children and adults differed both qualitatively and quantitatively. First, children's ERPs were characterized by a long-latency negative component (N500) and a slow positive wave (SW) component, and adults’ ERPs were characterized by two late positive components (P340 and SW respectively). Second, both children and adults showed an earlier positive component that varied in peak latency between 280 ms for children and 240 ms for adults. In addition, adults showed a marked increase in SW positivity in the word-reading task as compared with the picture-recognition task, while task effects were less manifest in the components of children. These results support the notion that children and adults differed both in speed as well as in their mode of processing under the different task requirements.     

Understanding the Link between Anxiety and a Neural Marker of Anxiety (The Error-Related Negativity) in 5 to 7 Year-Old Children

Despite growing evidence that an elevated error-related negativity (ERN) is a risk marker for anxiety, it is unclear what psychological construct underlies this association. To address this gap, we devised a 9-item self-report scale for assessing error sensitivity (i.e. the fear of making mistakes) in children. The Child Error Sensitivity Index was administered to 97 children ages 5–7 years old and demonstrated good internal reliability and convergent validity. The Child Error Sensitivity Index related to the ERN, and the relationship between the ERN and child anxiety symptoms was mediated by scores on the Child Error Sensitivity Index.     

Electrocortical and behavioral measures of response monitoring in young children during a Go/No-Go task

The current study examined behavioral measures and response‐locked event‐related brain potentials (ERPs) derived from a Go/No‐Go task in a large (N = 328) sample of 5‐ to 7‐year‐olds in order to better understand the early development of response monitoring and the impact of child age and sex. In particular, the error‐related negativity (ERN, defined on both error trials alone and the difference between error and correct trials, or ΔERN), correct response negativity (CRN), and error positivity (P_e) were examined. Overall, the ERN, CRN, and the P_e were spatially and temporally similar to those measured in adults and older children. Even within our narrow age range, older children were faster and more accurate; a more negative ΔERN and a more positive P_e were associated with: increasing age, increased accuracy, and faster reaction times on errors, suggesting these enhanced components reflected more efficient response monitoring of errors over development. Girls were slower and more accurate than boys, although both genders exhibited comparable ERPs. Younger children and girls were characterized by increased posterror slowing, although they did not demonstrate improved posterror accuracy. Posterror slowing was also related to a larger P_e and reduced posterror accuracy. Collectively, these data suggest that posterror slowing may be unrelated to cognitive control and may, like the P_e, reflect an orienting response to errors. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 54:139‐150, 2012.     

Cardiac and Somatic Response Patterns During a Reaction Time Task in Children and Adults

Psychophysiological responses were studied in 25 fifth grade boys and 25 male college students during a choice reaction lime task. Attention to the task was manipulated through changes in two variables: uncertainly and motivation. Heart rate responses reflected changes in uncertainty for both groups. Heart rate, forearm EMG, eye blinks and movements, and general body movement differentiated between two levels of motivation. These results indicated that children and adults responded similarly, and that heart rate and forearm EMG were the most sensitive indices of changes in stimulus variables. Further examination of cardiac and somatic responses revealed an association between cardiac and task-relevant somatic activity. A study of response patterns over trials confirmed (his relationship, which was discussed in terms of a two-process model.     

No evidence of calorie-related modulation of N2 in food-related Go/No-Go training: A preregistered ERP study

Go/No-Go tasks, which require participants to inhibit automatic responses to images of palatable foods, have shown diagnostic value in quantifying food-related impulses. Moreover, they have shown potential for training to control impulsive eating. To test the hypothesis that training modulates early neural markers of response inhibition, the current study investigated how the N2 event-related brain potential to high- and low-calorie food images changes along Go-/No-Go training and how the N2 is related to later eating behavior. 50 healthy adults, (m_BMI = 23.01) first completed a food Go/No-Go task in which high- and low-calorie food images were accompanied by Go-and No-Go-cues with equal frequency. Participants then completed a training block in which high-calorie foods were predominantly paired with a No-Go cue and the low-calorie foods with a Go cue, followed by a block with reversed coupling (order of the training blocks counterbalanced between participants). After each training, there was a snacking opportunity during which calorie intake was measured. Against our preregistered hypotheses, the N2-amplitudes were not significantly affected by the calorie-content and there was no training-related modulation in the N2. In addition , food intake was not influenced by the preceding training blocks and the N2 amplitude did not predict the food intake. Our study suggests that the link between N2 obtained in a food-related Go/No-Go task and impulse control is not clear-cut and may be limited to specific task characteristics. The results are of high importance as they question the previously assumed mechanism of Go/No-Go training in food-related inhibitory control.     

Interplay between components of pupil-linked phasic arousal and its role in driving behavioral choice in Go/No-Go perceptual decision-making

In decision-making tasks, neural circuits involved in different aspects of information processing may activate the central arousal system, likely through their interconnection with brainstem arousal nuclei, collectively contributing to the observed pupil-linked phasic arousal. However, the individual components of the phasic arousal associated with different elements of information processing and their effects on behavior remain little known. In this study, we used machine learning techniques to decompose pupil-linked phasic arousal evoked by different components of information processing in rats performing a Go/No-Go perceptual decision-making task. We found that phasic arousal evoked by stimulus encoding was larger for the Go stimulus than the No-Go stimulus. For each session, the separation between distributions of phasic arousal evoked by the Go and by the No-Go stimulus was predictive of perceptual performance. The separation between distributions of decision-formation-evoked arousal on correct and incorrect trials was correlated with decision criterion but not perceptual performance. When a Go stimulus was presented, the action of go was primarily determined by the phasic arousal evoked by stimulus encoding. On the contrary, when a No-Go stimulus was presented, the action of go was determined by phasic arousal elicited by both stimulus encoding and decision formation. Drift diffusion modeling revealed that the four model parameters were better accounted for when phasic arousal elicited by both stimulus encoding and decision formation was considered. These results suggest that the interplay between phasic arousal evoked by both stimulus encoding and decision formation has important functional consequences on forming behavioral choice in perceptual decision-making.     

听力障碍儿童到成人的内源性和外源性注意发展

目的:通过展开听力障碍儿童到成人的视觉注意发展研究,考察听力障碍是否会引起注意机制的改变.方法:采用瑞文标准推理测验排除智力障碍,将受试分成两组:听力障碍组(10～12岁儿童11名、14～16岁青少年15名、成人15名)和听力正常组(10～12岁儿童12名、14～16岁青少年16名、成人15名),采用DMDX系统呈现实验材料,并记录受试完成视觉注意任务的反应时和准确率.结果:10～12岁儿童受试的反应时长于14～16岁青少年受试和成人受试[(925.2±277.2)vs(784.7±240.4),(764.2±197.2);均P<0.05];组内变量线索的有效性主效应显著,被试对有效线索提示的反应快于无效线索的反应[(762.8±164.0)vs(849.1±238.6),P<0.001].结论:听力障碍改变了个体的视觉注意技能,但是听力障碍受试和听力正常受试在内源性和外源性注意方面表现一样,听力障碍并没有影响到个体的注意机制的发展.     

Feature Binding in the Visual Modality Depends on Attention: Analysis of Mismatch Negativity

Neuroscience and Behavioral Physiology - This study address the question of whether attention is required for binding of features in the visual modality. Subjects performed a task based on...     

躯体形式障碍患者的执行功能及Go/NoGo任务下的事件相关电位

目的探讨躯体形式障碍患者的执行功能及Go/NoGo任务下的事件相关电位特征。方法共随机选取年龄在18~65岁之间符合美国《精神障碍诊断与统计手册》第四版(DSM-4)诊断标准的患者30例作为研究组,同时选择年龄、性别、受教育年限与研究组相匹配的30例健康者作为对照组。两组受试者均予以威斯康星卡片测验(WCST)及Go/NoGo范式的事件相关电位(ERPs)检测,并将结果加以分析。结果两组之间比较,研究组各电极位点的P3波幅均低于对照组,差异均有统计学意义(t=2.32~8.01,P0.01或0.05);研究组WCST测验的正确应答数及概念化水平百分数项目的分值低于对照组,而错误应答数、选择错误率(%),持续性错误数及持续性错误的百分数项目的分值均高于对照组,差异均有统计学意义(t=2.27~4.77,P0.05或0.01);两组之间的其余WCST项目评分比较,差异均无统计学意义(t=0.48~1.55,P0.05)。结论躯体形式障碍患者存在执行功能障碍。     

Functional Hemispheric Asymmetry Assessment in a Visual Language Task Using MEG

We used magnetoencephalography (MEG) to assess the degree of hemispheric activation in eleven normal, right-handed subjects with no history of neurological disorder or learning disability during performance of a word- and a face-recognition tasks. Neuromagnetic activity was recorded using a whole-head system, and the sources of the recorded magnetic fields were modeled as single equivalent current dipoles. Early (<200 msec) cerebral activation, defined by the number of dipoles identified by the data-fitting algorithm, was localized in the occipital cortex during both tasks, as expected. During the language task, the extent of the later (>200 msec) cerebral activation was approximately double in the left hemisphere in almost all subjects, involving temporal and temporoparietal areas. In contrast, during the face-recognition task, the corresponding activation was mostly symmetrical across the two occipital lobes, also involving the posterior-inferior aspect of the right temporal lobe. Our results suggest that the MEG is a suitable method of assessing noninvasively hemispheric specialization for language.     

未治疗的甲基苯丙胺所致精神障碍患者的Go/NoGo任务及其事件相关电位特征

目的探讨未经治疗的甲基苯丙胺所致精神障碍患者执行功能的Go/NoGo任务及其事件相关电位特征。方法共随机选取年龄在18~60岁之间符合美国《精神障碍诊断与统计手册》第四版(DSM-4)甲基苯丙胺所致精神障碍诊断标准患者35例作为研究组,选择年龄、性别、受教育年限与研究组受试者相匹配的35例健康者作为对照组。两组受试者均予以Go/NoGo检测,并记录事件相关电位(ERPs)P3波幅,将结果加以分析。结果两组之间Go/NoGo任务比较,研究组的正确率较低、错误率较高,差异均有统计学意义(t=2.26~5.39,P0.05或0.01),研究组的反应时长于对照组,差异有统计学意义(t=3.02,P0.01);两组之间Go/NoGo模式ERPs比较,研究组各位点的P3波幅均显著低于对照组,差异有统计学意义(t=2.38~6.69,P0.05或0.01)。结论甲基苯丙胺所致精神障碍患者未治疗前存在执行功能障碍。     

Event-Related Potentials in a Visual Discrimination Task: Negative Waves Related to Detection and Attention

Event-related potential effects of deviant stimuli were investigated in a visual discrimination task. The stimuli (two angles within a frame) were either frequent (Standard) or one of two types of infrequent deviant (Deviant 1 or Deviant 2) stimuli. In comparison to the Standard stimuli, for Deviant 1 the two angles differed in their orientation, whereas for Deviant 2 the angles were identical but the frame was thicker. In Condition 1 the subjects counted the number of Deviant 1 stimuli. Of the 13 subjects, 12 did not detect the fact that some of the frames were thicker in this condition (i.e., for the Deviant 2 stimuli in Condition 2). The task in Condition 2 was the same (i.e., the target was Deviant 1), but the subjects were instructed about the thicker frame of Deviant 2 stimuli. In Condition 3, Deviant 2 stimuli became the targets. In comparison to the Standard, Deviant 1 elicited two posterior negative waves in the 120-180 and 240-300 ms latency ranges respectively. In addition, when Deviant 1 was the target stimulus (Conditions 1 and 2), this stimulus elicited the N2 and the P300 as well. In contrast, the irrelevant Deviant 2 elicited no such waves. In the target position (Condition 3), Deviant 2 elicited the second posterior negativity, the N2 and the late positivity. The earlier negativity is considered to be a correlate of processes connected to the automatic detection of the deviant features, whereas the later negativity is considered to be related to attentive processes, i.e., this wave is considered to be a member of the family of processing negativities.     

使用3-back范式比较不同COMTVal 158Met多态型的健康青年在连续心算中的视觉事件相关电位

针对不同COMT基因型健康青年被试者,进行连续心算任务3 h,使用数字3-back范式评定健康成人数字工作记忆能力变化情况.我们将115名健康青年分组抽取出20名不同基因型作为被试者,利用事件相关视觉诱发电位P3来观测被试者连续工作记忆任务中COMT基因多态型与脑皮层电生理的关系.结果表明,Val/Val基因型的被试者P3波幅显著高于Val/Met基因型(P＜0.01),与Met/Met基因型被试者的P3波幅无差异;在不同Block,不同基因型出现P3波幅增加的趋势.我们认为,数字工作记忆能力和中央区、顶区诱发的P3波幅相关,这反映了任务对被试者的难易程度.     

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.