Effects of monetary reward and punishment on stimulus-preceding negativity

This study examined the effects of emotional valence on stimulus-preceding negativity (SPN) using reward and fine. A time estimation task under reward, punishment, combined, and control conditions was performed. Participants were rewarded for accurate responses in the reward condition, and were fined for incorrect estimations in the punishment condition. in the combined condition, correct responses were rewarded and incorrect responses were fined. In the control condition, neither a reward nor fine was used. Results showed a significant interaction of condition x hemisphere. The SPN at the left hemisphere was increased in the reward condition. For the punishment effect, although it evoked right hemisphere dominance, no conditional difference was apparent at the right hemisphere. These results suggest that the SPN is affected by positive emotion: The left hemisphere activation might represent a pleasant emotion accompanying monetary gain.     

Context dependence of the event-related brain potential associated with reward and punishment

The error-related negativity (ERN) is an event-related brain potential elicited by error commission and by presentation of feedback stimuli indicating incorrect performance. In this study, the authors report two experiments in which participants tried to learn to select between response options by trial and error, using feedback stimuli indicating monetary gains and losses. The results demonstrate that the amplitude of the ERN is determined by the value of the eliciting outcome relative to the range of outcomes possible, rather than by the objective value of the outcome. This result is discussed in terms of a recent theory that holds that the ERN reflects a reward prediction error signal associated with a neural system for reinforcement learning.     

The error-related negativity as a state and trait measure: motivation, personality, and ERPs in response to errors

This study examines changes in the error-related negativity (ERN/Ne) related to motivational incentives and personality traits. ERPs were gathered while adults completed a four-choice letter task during four motivational conditions. Monetary incentives for finger and hand accuracy were altered across motivation conditions to either be equal or favor one type of accuracy over the other in a 3:1 ratio. Larger ERN/Ne amplitudes were predicted with increased incentives, with personality moderating this effect. Results were as expected: Individuals higher on conscientiousness displayed smaller motivation-related changes in the ERN/Ne. Similarly, those low on neuroticism had smaller effects, with the effect of Conscientiousness absent after accounting for Neuroticism. These results emphasize an emotional/evaluative function for the ERN/Ne, and suggest that the ability to selectively invest in error monitoring is moderated by underlying personality.     

Sensitivity to punishment and reward omission: evidence from error-related ERP components

In a recent experiment [Boksem, M.A.S., Tops, M., Wester, A.E., Meijman, T.F., Lorist, M.M., 2006. Error-related ERP components and individual differences in punishment and reward sensitivity. Brain Research 1101, 92-101], we showed that error-related ERP components were related to punishment and reward sensitivity. The present study was conducted to further evaluate the relationship between punishment/reward sensitivity and these ERP components. Therefore, we scored our subjects on the BIS/BAS measures of punishment and reward sensitivity. Then, subjects performed one of two versions of a Flanker task: in one, they were financially punished for committing errors; in the other, they were financially rewarded for correct performance. Analyses of ERN/Ne amplitudes indicated significant interactions between personality measures of punishment (BIS) and reward (BAS) and actual punishment and reward, while analyses of Pe amplitudes showed significant interactions between personality measures of reward sensitivity and actual reward. We suggest that ERN/Ne amplitude is related to concerns over mistakes and depends on the level of aversion experienced by individual subjects for making these mistakes. Subjects that are highly sensitive to punishment are strongly motivated or engaged in avoiding punishment, while subjects sensitive to rewards are motivated to obtain rewards and therefore show high task engagement when rewards may be earned. The error-related ERP components appear to track this level of engagement in task performance.     

Error monitoring during reward and avoidance learning in high- and low-socialized individuals

The error-related negativity (ERN) is a response-locked brain potential generated when individuals make mistakes during simple decision-making tasks. In the present study, we examined ERN under conditions of reward and punishment, among participants who scored extremely low or high on the socialization scale of the California Psychological Inventory (CPI). Participants completed a forced-choice task, and were rewarded for correct responses in half the trials, and punished for incorrect responses in the remaining trials. A significant interaction between socialization (SO) and condition revealed that low-SO participants produced smaller ERNs during the punishment task than during the reward task, whereas high-SO participants produced similar ERNs in both conditions. Reaction time and electromyogram data essentially bolster the interpretation that the ERN effects reflect differences in error salience for high-SO and low-SO participants, and are consistent with the avoidance-learning deficits seen in psychopathy.     

The effect of orbitofrontal lesions on the error-related negativity

Current theories of orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) function suggest that this region should participate in the generation of error-related signals associated with the outcomes of actions. We investigated the impact of lesions to OFC on the error-related negativity (ERN), an electrophysiological marker of performance monitoring. Four OFC patients and eight control subjects participated in a manual Stroop task while brain electrical activity was recorded. We found that the ERN was attenuated in the patient group. Three of the patients also had impaired error correction performance, but all showed normal post-error slowing. These findings suggest OFC involvement in monitoring and evaluation of ongoing performance.     

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.     

Dissociated roles of the anterior cingulate cortex in reward and conflict processing as revealed by the feedback error-related negativity and N200

The reinforcement learning theory of the error-related negativity (ERN) holds that the impact of reward signals carried by the midbrain dopamine system modulates activity of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), alternatively disinhibiting and inhibiting the ACC following unpredicted error and reward events, respectively. According to a recent formulation of the theory, activity that is intrinsic to the ACC produces a component of the event-related brain potential (ERP) called the N200, and following unpredicted rewards, the N200 is suppressed by extrinsically applied positive dopamine reward signals, resulting in an ERP component called the feedback-ERN (fERN). Here we demonstrate that, despite extensive spatial and temporal overlap between the two ERP components, the functional processes indexed by the N200 (conflict) and the fERN (reward) are dissociable. These results point toward avenues for future investigation.     

Effects of reward and stimulus modality on stimulus-preceding negativity

The present study aimed to investigate the effect of reward and stimulus modality of feedback stimuli on the stimulus-preceding negativity. A time estimation task was performed, and (a) the motivational level (reward and no-reward) and (b) the stimulus modality (auditory and visual) of feedback stimuli were manipulated. The results demonstrated that the stimulus-preceding negativity was larger in the reward than in the no-reward condition, especially at the right frontal and the left occipito-temporal areas. Moreover, the stimulus-preceding negativity prior to visual feedback stimuli was larger over the occipital areas than in the auditory condition. In contrast, at the prefrontal areas, the amplitude prior to auditory feedback stimuli was larger than in the visual condition. Our results revealed that the prefeedback stimulus-preceding negativity was independently influenced by stimulus modality and motivation.     

Differential effects of reward and punishment on conscious and unconscious eye movements

Very little is known about how human movements are influenced by abstract rewards and punishments relevant for human behaviour. The purpose of this study was to expand our knowledge of the behavioural effects of monetary reward and punishment. We introduced a high and low reward and punishment scheme into an antisaccade task where trials were either rewarded for a correct response (+1 or +25p) or punished for an incorrect response (-1 or -25p). The monetary value of the trial was indicated by the go signal, so subjects had to both program the location of the movement and determine the valence in the short interval before the eye movement was executed. We analysed both correct antisaccade responses and prosaccade errors. Importantly, the errors in this task can be either conscious (recognised) or unconscious (unrecognised). Saccades in both high-reward and high-punishment trials were slowed compared to saccades in low-reward and low-punishment trials, respectively. Therefore, unlike moderate rewards only (Blaukopf and DiGirolamo in Exp Brain Res 167:654-659, 2005), combining rewards and punishments and increasing motivation levels leads to a delay in movement execution during high valence trials where all actions are slowed, even errors. However, unconscious errors were differentially affected as they were speeded when punishment was high. We conclude that reward and punishment similarly influence the programming of conscious movements, but the strong saliency for punishment affords unconscious errors immunity from this delay.     

Perceived control increases the reward positivity and stimulus preceding negativity

The reward positivity (RewP) and the stimulus preceding negativity (SPN), two ERPs associated with reward delivery and reward anticipation, are modulated by motivational intensity. Motivational intensity is the effort organisms would make to exert behaviors, and it varies with the difficulty of exerting that behavior. If a task is perceived as impossible, which means that one does not have control over own outcomes, motivational intensity is low. In the current study, we tested the prediction that perceiving control over one's outcomes increases both the RewP to feedback and the SPN prior to feedback compared to perceiving no control. We also examined whether P300 and LPP amplitudes to reward and nonreward images were similarly modulated. Twenty‐five female participants completed a gambling task in which correct choices were followed by pictures of attractive men and incorrect choices were followed by pictures of rocks. To manipulate perceived control, participants were told that, in one block of trials, they could learn a mouse‐click rule in order to see only pictures of men (high perceived control condition), while in the other block, the pictures would appear randomly (low perceived control condition). However, in both conditions, feedback appeared randomly. Although the RewP was elicited in both blocks, the RewP and SPN were higher in the high perceived control condition (i.e., when participants thought that they could influence their outcomes). Perceived control did not modulate the P300 and LPP to pictures. The results suggest that approach motivation and its intensity modulate the processing of performance feedback.     

Effects of information and reward on stimulus-preceding negativity prior to feedback stimuli

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of informational and motivational level of feedback stimuli on the stimulus-preceding negativity (SPN). In the time estimation task, in which a visual stimulus was presented 3 s after a voluntary movement, (a) the information level (high information and low information) and (b) the motivation level (reward and no-reward) for feedback stimuli were manipulated. Under the high-information condition, subjects received feedback information about (1) correctness (correct or incorrect), (2) direction of error (under- or overestimate), and (3) degree of accuracy (accurate or less accurate) of their time estimation. In the low-information condition, however, they received information about the correctness only. In the reward condition, they received a monetary reward for accurate time estimations but received nothing in the no-reward condition. The results demonstrated a significant interaction of information by motivation level, showing that the SPN amplitude under the reward/high-information was larger than that in the no-reward/high-information condition. The results are discussed in terms of emotional anticipation, taking into consideration the result of self-report that subjects felt to be more motivated when they received precise information.     

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.     

Temporal dynamics of conflict monitoring and the effects of one or two conflict sources on error-(related) negativity

The present electrophysiological study investigated the temporal development of response conflict and the effects of diverging conflict sources on error(-related) negativity (Ne). Eighteen participants performed a combined stop-signal flanker task, which was comprised of two different conflict sources: a left-right and a go-stop response conflict. It is assumed that the Ne reflects the activity of a conflict monitoring system and thus increases according to (i) the number of conflict sources and (ii) the temporal development of the conflict activity. No increase of the Ne amplitude after double errors (comprising two conflict sources) as compared to hand- and stop-errors (comprising one conflict source) was found, whereas a higher Ne amplitude was observed after a delayed stop-signal onset. The results suggest that the Ne is not sensitive to an increase in the number of conflict sources, but to the temporal dynamics of a go-stop response conflict.     

Self‐report and behavioral measures of reward sensitivity predict the feedback negativity

Rewards are integral to learning associations that aid in survival. The feedback negativity (FN), an event‐related potential that differentiates outcomes indicating monetary losses versus gains, has recently emerged as a possible neural measure of reward processing. If this view is correct, then the FN should correlate with measures of reward sensitivity in other domains, although few studies have investigated this question. In the current study, 46 participants completed a self‐report measure of reward responsiveness, a signal detection task that generated a behavioral measure of reward sensitivity, and a gambling task that elicited an FN. Consistent with the view that the FN reflects reward‐related neural activity, a larger FN correlated with increased behavioral and self‐report measures of sensitivity to reward.     

Neural response to action and reward prediction errors: Comparing the error‐related negativity to behavioral errors and the feedback‐related negativity to reward prediction violations

The error‐related negativity (ERN) is thought to index an anterior cingulate (ACC) behavioral monitoring system. The feedback ERN (FRN) is elicited to error feedback when the correct response is not known, but also when a choice outcome is suboptimal and to passive reward prediction violation, suggesting that the monitoring system may not be restricted to actions. This study used principal components analysis to show that the ERN consists of a single central component whereas the reward prediction violation FRN is comprised of central and prefrontal components. A prefrontal component is also present in action monitoring but occurs later, at the error positivity latency. This suggests that ACC monitors both actions and events for reward prediction error. Prefrontal cortex may update reward expectation based on the prediction violation with the latency difference due to differential processing time for motor and perceptual information.     

The feedback-related negativity reflects the binary evaluation of good versus bad outcomes

Electrophysiological studies have utilized event-related brain potentials to study neural processes related to the evaluation of environmental feedback. In particular, the feedback-related negativity (FRN) has been shown to reflect the evaluation of monetary losses and negative performance feedback. Two experiments were conducted to examine whether or not the FRN is sensitive to the magnitude of negative feedback. In both experiments, participants performed simple gambling tasks in which they could receive a range of potential outcomes on each trial. Relative to feedback indicating monetary gain, feedback indicating non-rewards was associated with a FRN in both experiments; however, the magnitude of the FRN did not demonstrate sensitivity to the magnitude of non-reward in either experiment. These data suggest that the FRN reflects the early appraisal of feedback based on a binary classification of good versus bad outcomes. These data are discussed in terms of contemporary theories of the FRN, as well as appraisal processes implicated in emotional processing.     

Behavioral approach and reward processing: results on feedback-related negativity and P3 component

This study examined the FRN, the P3, and individual differences in trait-BAS and trait-BIS in the context of reward expectation mismatch. A more negative FRN was predicted for higher vs. lower trait-BAS individuals and for higher vs. lower trait-BIS individuals. In the extinction-learning task, participants (N = 102) chose between two response buttons to earn a maximum of points. In the acquisition phase, button 1 was continuously rewarded and button 2 was partially rewarded. In the extinction phase, one button was unexpectedly no longer rewarded. The FRN amplitude was more negative for higher vs. lower trait-BAS individuals and for lower vs. higher trait-BIS individuals within the extinction phase. The P3 was more positive in the extinction compared to the acquisition phase. Our results suggest that higher trait-BAS individuals have a more pronounced reward expectation mismatch.     

Age, sex and individual differences in punishment sensitivity: factors influencing the feedback-related negativity

The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is central to evaluating performance outcomes and has been linked to individual differences in affective responses to feedback. We used electrophysiological source localization to examine the feedback-related negativity (FRN) and related ACC activity during a gambling task in relation to punishment and reward sensitivity among 16- to 17-year-old adolescents (n=20) and 18- to 29-year-old adults (n=30). The FRN was larger for monetary loss compared to win feedback and larger for high relative to low monetary value feedback, with no age differences in the FRN for win or loss feedback. Self-reported sensitivity to punishment accounted for unique variance (over sex and sensitivity to reward) in FRNs, with higher scores relating to larger FRNs and increased rostral ACC activity. These results support the ACC role in experiencing negative performance feedback, especially for individuals highly sensitive to punishment.     

The feedback negativity reflects favorable compared to nonfavorable outcomes based on global,not local,alternatives

The feedback negativity (FN) has been shown to reflect the binary evaluation of possible outcomes in a context‐dependent manner, but it is unclear whether context dependence is based on global or local alternatives. A cued gambling task was used to examine whether the FN is sensitive to possible outcomes on a given trial, or the range of outcomes across trials. On 50% of trials, participants could break even or lose money; on remaining trials, participants could win or break even. Breaking even was an unfavorable outcome relative to all possibilities in the current task, but the best possible outcome on 50% of trials. Results indicated that breaking even elicited an FN in both contexts, and reward feedback was uniquely associated with an enhanced positivity. Results suggest that the magnitude of the FN depends on all possible outcomes within the current task and are consistent with the view that the FN reflects reward‐related neural activity.