Error-related negativities elicited by monetary loss and cues that predict loss

Event-related potential studies have reported error-related negativity following both error commission and feedback indicating errors or monetary loss. The present study examined whether error-related negativities could be elicited by a predictive cue presented prior to both the decision and subsequent feedback in a gambling task. Participants were presented with a cue that indicated the probability of reward on the upcoming trial (0, 50, and 100%). Results showed a negative deflection in the event-related potential in response to loss cues compared with win cues; this waveform shared a similar latency and morphology with the traditional feedback error-related negativity.     

Mediofrontal negativities in the absence of responding

The feedback-related negativity (FRN) is an event-related brain potential component that is elicited by feedback stimuli indicating unfavorable outcomes. Until recently, the FRN has been studied primarily using experimental paradigms in which outcomes appeared to be contingent upon the participants' behavior. The present study further addressed the question whether an FRN can be elicited by outcomes that are not contingent on any preceding choice or action. Participants took part in a simple slot-machine task in which they experienced monetary gains and losses in the absence of responses. In addition, they performed a time estimation task often used to study the FRN and a flanker task known to elicit the error-related negativity. Outcomes in the slot-machine task elicited an FRN-like mediofrontal negativity whose amplitude correlated with the amplitude of the FRN associated with negative feedback in the time estimation task. However, the mediofrontal negativity was observed both for (unfavorable) outcomes that averted a gain and for (favorable) outcomes that averted a loss of money. The results are discussed in the framework of current conceptions of the FRN and related electrophysiological components.     

Discrepancy between feedback negativity and subjective evaluation in gambling

Feedback negativity is a negative event-related potential elicited by feedback indicating incorrect performance or monetary loss. It is unclear whether this negativity is elicited by neutral feedback (e.g. a draw in gambling) or is affected by the subjective rating of punishment. To investigate these issues, we performed a modified and computerized game of 'rock-paper-scissors' as a gambling task and measured feedback negativity in response to feedback indicating the outcome, which was accompanied by a monetary reward. The data demonstrated that feedback negativity was elicited not only by a monetary loss but also by an even outcome and was independent of the magnitude of monetary loss. Our results suggest feedback negativity is not always specific to both monetary loss and subjective rating of punishment.     

Attitude toward money modulates outcome processing: An ERP study

Love of money (LOM) is concerned with the attitude toward money, which can be measured by the LOM scale through affective, behavioral, and cognitive dimensions. Research has observed that monetary attitude was tightly related to reward processing and could affect economic behavior. This study examined how monetary attitude modulated risky behavior and the underlying neural mechanisms of reward processing using event-related potential (ERP) technique. We compared both the risk level and brain responses of a high-level LOM (HLOM) group to a low-level LOM (LLOM) group using a simple gambling task. The behavioral results showed that the HLOM group was more risky than the LLOM group, particularly after loss. The feedback-related negativity (FRN) was measured as the difference wave (gain-related ERP was subtracted from loss-related ERP). The FRN difference wave was larger in the HLOM group than that in the LLOM group. The P3 in the HLOM group was more positive than that in the LLOM group. These results suggest that monetary attitude can modulate both the underlying neural mechanisms and behavioral performance in a reward-related task. The HLOM participants are more sensitive to gain/loss than the LLOM participants.     

Brain responses to outcomes of one's own and other's performance in a gambling task

Previous studies find that the feedback-related negativity in brain potentials is sensitive to the negative outcome of one's own performance. The feedback-related negativity is suggested to reflect the learning processes using feedback about the consequences of recent actions. Learning can also take place when one observes other people's actions and the associated outcomes. We recorded brain potentials while the participant received outcome feedback for their own or for another person's performance in a gambling task. The feedback-related negativity or the feedback-related negativity-like effects were obtained in both situations, suggesting that similar neural mechanisms are involved in evaluating the outcomes of one's own and the other's actions. Thus, the neural processes in learning-by-observation resemble those in learning-by-doing.     

Self-relevant criteria determine the evaluation of outcomes induced by others

The evaluation of whether an outcome is good or bad is reflected in feedback-related negativity (FRN), which is an event-related brain potential (ERP) component that is elicited by bad events. It is still, however, unclear how the FRN reflects the evaluation of outcomes induced by others. We focused on the relationship between self and other, and recorded ERPs during an alternative gambling task performed by two players (participant and virtual player). FRN was elicited not only by the losses of another in a cooperative situation but also by the gains of another in an antagonistic situation. These results indicate that FRN reflects the evaluation on the basis of one's own evaluative criteria, regardless of the monetary outcome for another.     

To do or not to do? Action enlarges the FRN and P300 effects in outcome evaluation

Behavioral studies demonstrate that the outcome following an individual's action evokes stronger emotional responses than the same outcome following inaction. Here we use the event-related potential (ERP) technique to investigate how action affects the brain activity in outcome evaluation. In a gambling task, participants were asked to select a box from three boxes containing monetary reward and then to decide whether they would change their initial choice (i.e., action) or not (i.e., inaction). The feedback-related negativity (FRN), an evoked potential that peaks approximately 250 ms after receipt of feedback information, showed a larger differential effect between loss and win following action than following inaction. Similarly, the P300 showed a larger differential effect following action than following inaction, but now with the responses more positive to the win feedback than to the loss feedback. These results suggest that action may increase the expectancy towards the outcome and/or the motivational/emotional significance of the outcome, and that this action effect can be found in both the FRN and the P300 electrophysiological responses.     

Knowing good from bad: differential activation of human cortical areas by positive and negative outcomes

Previous research has identified a component of the event-related brain potential (ERP), the feedback-related negativity, that is elicited by feedback stimuli associated with unfavourable outcomes. In the present research we used event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings to test the common hypothesis that this component is generated in the caudal anterior cingulate cortex. The EEG results indicated that our paradigm, a time estimation task with trial-to-trial performance feedback, elicited a large feedback-related negativity (FRN). Nevertheless, the fMRI results did not reveal any area in the caudal anterior cingulate cortex that was differentially activated by positive and negative performance feedback, casting doubt on the notion that the FRN is generated in this brain region. In contrast, we found a number of brain areas outside the posterior medial frontal cortex that were activated more strongly by positive feedback than by negative feedback. These included areas in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, right superior frontal gyrus, and striatum. An anatomically constrained source model assuming equivalent dipole generators in the rostral anterior cingulate, posterior cingulate, and right superior frontal gyrus produced a simulated scalp distribution that corresponded closely to the observed scalp distribution of the FRN. These results support a new hypothesis regarding the neural generators of the FRN, and have important implications for the use of this component as an electrophysiological index of performance monitoring and reward processing.     

Feedback and reward processing in high-functioning autism

Individuals with high-functioning autism often display deficits in social interactions and high-level cognitive functions. Such deficits may be influenced by poor ability to process feedback and rewards. The feedback-related negativity (FRN) is an event-related potential (ERP) that is more negative following losses than gains. We examined FRN amplitude in 25 individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and 25 age- and IQ-matched typically developing control participants who completed a guessing task with monetary loss/gain feedback. Both groups demonstrated a robust FRN that was more negative to loss trials than gain trials; however, groups did not differ in FRN amplitude as a function of gain or loss trials. N1 and P300 amplitudes did not differentiate groups. FRN amplitude was positively correlated with age in individuals with ASD, but not measures of intelligence, anxiety, behavioral inhibition, or autism severity. Given previous findings of reduced-amplitude error-related negativity (ERN) in ASD, we propose that individuals with ASD may process external, concrete, feedback similar to typically developing individuals, but have difficulty with internal, more abstract, regulation of performance.     

Reward context sensitivity impairment following severe TBI: an event-related potential investigation.

Many rehabilitation protocols following traumatic brain injury (TBI) utilize reinforcement and reward to influence behavior and facilitate recovery; however, previous studies suggest survivors of severe TBI demonstrate impairments in contingency utilization and sensitivity. The precise neurobiological mechanisms underlying these deficits have not been thoroughly explored, but can be examined using the "feedback-related negativity" (FRN)--an event-related potential (ERP) component evoked following performance or response feedback (e.g., whether a monetary reward is obtained) with a larger FRN following unfavorable than favorable outcomes--particularly when unfavorable feedback occurs in the context of high reward probability. We examined ERPs elicited by favorable (monetary gain: "reward") and unfavorable (no monetary gain: "non-reward") feedback during a guessing task where probability of reward outcome was manipulated in survivors of severe TBI and demographically matched healthy participants. Consistent with previous findings, controls showed larger amplitude FRN to non-reward feedback and the largest amplitude FRN following a non-reward when reward probability context was greatest. In contrast, FRN in TBI participants did not significantly differentiate non-reward from reward trials and their FRN was largest to reward trials in the low reward probability context. Findings implicate an electrophysiological marker of impaired reward context sensitivity following severe TBI.     

Feedback-related brain potential activity complies with basic assumptions of associative learning theory

Feedback-related negativity (FRN) is an ERP component that distinguishes positive from negative feedback. FRN has been hypothesized to be the product of an error signal that may be used to adjust future behavior. In addition, associative learning models assume that the trial-to-trial learning of cue-outcome mappings involves the minimization of an error term. This study evaluated whether FRN is a possible electrophysiological correlate of this error term in a predictive learning task where human subjects were asked to learn different cue-outcome relationships. Specifically, we evaluated the sensitivity of the FRN to the course of learning when different stimuli interact or compete to become a predictor of certain outcomes. Importantly, some of these cues were blocked by more informative or predictive cues (i.e., the blocking effect). Interestingly, the present results show that both learning and blocking affect the amplitude of the FRN component. Furthermore, independent analyses of positive and negative feedback event-related signals showed that the learning effect was restricted to the ERP component elicited by positive feedback. The blocking test showed differences in the FRN magnitude between a predictive and a blocked cue. Overall, the present results show that ERPs that are related to feedback processing correspond to the main predictions of associative learning models.     

Higher incentives can impair performance: neural evidence on reinforcement and rationality

Standard economic thinking postulates that increased monetary incentives should increase performance. Human decision makers, however, frequently focus on past performance, a form of reinforcement learning occasionally at odds with rational decision making. We used an incentivized belief-updating task from economics to investigate this conflict through measurements of neural correlates of reward processing. We found that higher incentives fail to improve performance when immediate feedback on decision outcomes is provided. Subsequent analysis of the feedback-related negativity, an early event-related potential following feedback, revealed the mechanism behind this paradoxical effect. As incentives increase, the win/lose feedback becomes more prominent, leading to an increased reliance on reinforcement and more errors. This mechanism is relevant for economic decision making and the debate on performance-based payment.     

Detecting perceptual conflict by the feedback-related negativity in brain potentials

The feedback-related negativity (FRN) in brain potentials is typically observed for the outcome evaluation concerning one's performance or monetary reward. Using a task in which the participant guesses whether the first stimulus (S1) would have the same color as the subsequently presented second stimulus (S2), this study demonstrates that the FRN to S2, which serves as feedback to the guessing, is also sensitive to the conflict between perceptual representations of S1 and S2 in working memory. The FRN effect for the feedback concerning the correctness of one's performance is modulated by the congruency between perceptual properties of the stimuli. The anterior cingulate cortex, which generates the FRN, is thus a general conflict-monitoring device detecting both response and perceptual conflicts.     

Processing of Positive and Negative Feedback in Patients with Cerebellar Lesions

It is well accepted that the cerebellum plays a crucial role in the prediction of the sensory consequences of movements. Recent findings of altered error processing in patients with selective cerebellar lesions led to the hypothesis that feedback processing and feedback-based learning might be affected by cerebellar damage as well. Thus, the present study investigated learning from and processing of positive and negative feedback in 12 patients with selective cerebellar lesions and healthy control subjects. Participants performed a monetary feedback learning task. The processing of positive and negative feedback was assessed by means of event-related potentials (ERPs) during the learning task and during a separate task in which the frequencies of positive and negative feedback were balanced. Patients did not show a general learning deficit compared to controls. Relative to the control group, however, patients with cerebellar lesions showed significantly higher ERP difference wave amplitudes (rewards–losses) in a time window between 250 and 450 ms after feedback presentation, possibly indicating impaired outcome prediction. The analysis of the original waveforms suggested that patients and controls primarily differed in their pattern of feedback-related negativity and P300 amplitudes. Our results add to recent findings on altered performance monitoring associated with cerebellar damage and demonstrate, for the first time, alterations of feedback processing in patients with cerebellar damage. Unaffected learning performance appears to suggest that chronic cerebellar lesions can be compensated in behaviour.     

Implicit emotion regulation affects outcome evaluation

Efficient implicit emotion regulation processes, which run without awareness, are important for human well-being. In this study, to investigate the influence of implicit emotion regulation on psychological and electrophysiological responses to gains and losses, participants were required to select between two Chinese four-character idioms to match the meaning of the third one before they performed a monetary gambling task. According to whether their meanings were related to emotion regulation, the idioms fell into two categories. Event-related potentials and self-rating emotional experiences to outcome feedback were recorded during the task. Priming emotion regulation reduced subjective emotional experience to both gains and losses and the amplitudes of the feedback-related negativity, while the P3 component was not influenced. According to these results, we suggest that the application of implicit emotion regulation effectively modulated the subjective emotional experience and the motivational salience of current outcomes without the cost of cognitive resources. This study implicates the potential significance of implicit emotion regulation in decision-making processes.     

The role of monetary incentives in feedback processing: why we should pay our participants

Performance monitoring has been associated with two event-related potentials. The feedback-related negativity reflects a reinforcement-learning signal leading to remedial action, whereas the P3 reflects the motivational significance of feedback outcomes. Till date, research has focused on how these components are influenced by different outcomes within a range of the same, usually monetary, feedback type. This study examined how different feedback types (monetary vs. nonmonetary) influence these two components. Participants performed a time-estimation task under a monetary and a nonmonetary condition. Larger feedback-related negativities, better overall performance, and smaller behavioral adjustments were found under the monetary condition. Larger P3 amplitudes were present under the monetary condition and in response to positive outcomes. Condition order influenced only the P3. Addition of financial incentives increased the P3 amplitude, whereas removal of financial incentives did not alter the P3 amplitude. The results suggest that individuals were more reluctant to commit errors under the monetary condition as evidenced by more pronounced reinforcement-learning signals and better overall performance. Positive outcomes under this condition were most salient as indicated by larger P3s.     

Cross-modal interactions between audition, touch, and vision in endogenous spatial attention: ERP evidence on preparatory states and sensory modulations

Recent behavioral and event-related brain potential (ERP) studies have revealed cross-modal interactions in endogenous spatial attention between vision and audition, plus vision and touch. The present ERP study investigated whether these interactions reflect supramodal attentional control mechanisms, and whether similar cross-modal interactions also exist between audition and touch. Participants directed attention to the side indicated by a cue to detect infrequent auditory or tactile targets at the cued side. The relevant modality (audition or touch) was blocked. Attentional control processes were reflected in systematic ERP modulations elicited during cued shifts of attention. An anterior negativity contralateral to the cued side was followed by a contralateral positivity at posterior sites. These effects were similar whether the cue signaled which side was relevant for audition or for touch. They also resembled previously observed ERP modulations for shifts of visual attention, thus implicating supramodal mechanisms in the control of spatial attention. Following each cue, single auditory, tactile, or visual stimuli were presented at the cued or uncued side. Although stimuli in task-irrelevant modalities could be completely ignored, visual and auditory ERPs were nevertheless affected by spatial attention when touch was relevant, revealing cross-modal interactions. When audition was relevant, visual ERPs, but not tactile ERPs, were affected by spatial attention, indicating that touch can be decoupled from cross-modal attention when task-irrelevant.     

Neural responses to negative feedback are related to negative emotionality in healthy adults

Prior neuroimaging and electrophysiological evidence suggests that potentiated responses in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), particularly the rostral ACC, may contribute to abnormal responses to negative feedback in individuals with elevated negative affect and depressive symptoms. The feedback-related negativity (FRN) represents an electrophysiological index of ACC-related activation in response to performance feedback. The purpose of the present study was to examine the FRN and underlying ACC activation using low resolution electromagnetic tomography source estimation techniques in relation to negative emotionality (a composite index including negative affect and subclinical depressive symptoms). To this end, 29 healthy adults performed a monetary incentive delay task while 128-channel event-related potentials were recorded. We found that enhanced FRNs and increased rostral ACC activation in response to negative-but not positive-feedback was related to greater negative emotionality. These results indicate that individual differences in negative emotionality-a putative risk factor for emotional disorders-modulate ACC-related processes critically implicated in assessing the motivational impact and/or salience of environmental feedback.     

Neural response to monetary and social feedback demonstrates differential associations with depression and social anxiety

An aberrant neural response to rewards has been linked to both depression and social anxiety. Most studies have focused on the neural response to monetary rewards, and few have tested different modalities of reward (e.g. social) that are more salient to particular forms of psychopathology. In addition, most studies contain critical confounds, including contrasting positive and negative feedback and failing to disentangle being correct from obtaining positive feedback. In the present study, 204 participants underwent electroencephalography during monetary and social feedback tasks that were matched in trial structure, timing and feedback stimuli. The reward positivity (RewP) was measured in response to correctly identifying stimuli that resulted in monetary win, monetary loss, social like or social dislike feedback. All monetary and social tasks elicited a RewP, which were positively correlated. Across all tasks, the RewP was negatively associated with depression and positively associated with social anxiety. The RewP to social dislike feedback, independent of monetary and social like feedback, was also associated with social anxiety. The present study suggests that a domain-general neural response to correct feedback demonstrates a differential association with depression and social anxiety, but a domain-specific neural response to social dislike feedback is uniquely associated with social anxiety.     

Temporal dynamics of reward processing revealed by magnetoencephalography

Monetary gains and losses in gambling situations are associated with a distinct electroencephalographic signature: in the event-related potentials (ERPs), a mediofrontal feedback-related negativity (FRN) is seen for losses, whereas oscillatory activity shows a burst of in the θ-range for losses and in the β-range for gains. We used whole-head magnetoencephalography to pinpoint the magnetic counterparts of these effects in young healthy adults and explore their evolution over time. On each trial, participants bet on one of two visually presented numbers (25 or 5) by button-press. Both numbers changed color: if the chosen number turned green (red), it indicated a gain (loss) of the corresponding sum in Euro cent. For losses, we found the magnetic correlate of the FRN extending between 230 and 465 ms. Source localization with low-resolution electromagnetic tomography indicated a first generator in posterior cingulate cortex with subsequent activity in the anterior cingulate cortex. Importantly, this effect was sensitive to the magnitude of the monetary loss (25 cent > 5 cent). Later activation was also found in the right insula. Time-frequency analysis revealed a number of oscillatory components in the theta, alpha, and high-beta/low-gamma bands associated to gains, and in the high-beta band, associated to the magnitude of the loss. All together, these effects provide a more fine-grained picture of the temporal dynamics of the processing of monetary rewards and losses in the brain.