Social influences of error monitoring in adolescent girls

Adolescence is a developmental period characterized by increased social motivation and a heightened concern of peer evaluation. However, little research has examined social influences on neural functioning in adolescence. One psychophysiological measure of motivation, the error‐related negativity (ERN), is an ERP following an error. In adults, the ERN is enhanced by contextual factors that influence motivation, such as social observation and evaluation. The current study examined relations among age and neural responses in social contexts in adolescence. Seventy‐six adolescent girls (9–17 years old) completed a flanker task under two different conditions. In the social condition, adolescent girls were informed that two other adolescents would be observing and providing feedback about their performance. In the nonsocial condition, adolescent girls completed a flanker task alone and were told feedback was computer generated. Results revealed that younger adolescents exhibited a larger ERN in social contexts than nonsocial contexts. In contrast, there were no differences in the ERN between contexts among older adolescents. In addition, enhancements of the ERN in social contexts among younger adolescents diminished the relation between the ERN and age. These findings suggest that the ERN is sensitive to social contexts in early adolescence, and developmental changes in the ERN may be partially explained by contextual factors that influence motivation.     

Event‐related potentials to threat of predictable and unpredictable shock

Cognitive affective neuroscience tasks that are straightforward to administer, measure key constructs of interest, and can be used in different lab settings and with multiple psychophysiological methods can lead to a more complete understanding of experimental effects. The no‐threat, predictable threat, unpredictable threat (NPU‐threat) task assesses constructs of interest to both clinical and basic affective science literatures, is relatively brief to administer, and has been used across labs with a number of different measurements (e.g., startle eyeblink, fMRI, corrugator response, subjective ratings). ERPs provide another means of assessing neurobiological reactivity during the NPU‐threat task, but to date such measures have been underutilized. That is, no study has yet evaluated cue‐elicited ERPs in the NPU‐threat task. Here, cue‐elicited ERPs were assessed in 78 participants who completed a version of the NPU‐threat task previously shown to reliably moderate startle eyeblink amplitudes. Results showed larger P2 amplitudes for unpredictable versus predictable trials, increased P3s and late positive potentials for threatening versus no‐threat trials, as well as larger stimulus preceding negativities for threatening versus no‐threat trials (driven primarily by predictable threat cues). In line with prior work, we observed enhanced startle eyeblink for threatening versus no‐threat trials and for unpredictable compared to predictable threat interstimulus intervals. In addition, the probe‐elicited P3 was suppressed for predictable and unpredictable compared to no‐threat trials. Therefore, cue‐elicited ERPs, which can be recorded alongside other measures in the NPU‐threat task (e.g., startle), may provide useful indices of temporally distinct stages of predictable and unpredictable threat processing.     

Intertrial interval duration affects error monitoring

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of varying intertrial interval (ITI) durations on neural signals of error monitoring, given the importance of the ITI as a time window for engaging in self‐evaluation and cognitive control. In a between‐subjects design, 35 participants were assigned to one of three ITI durations (short: 768 ms; medium: 1,280 ms; long: 1,792 ms) in a standard Stroop task while EEG was recorded. Participants in the short‐ITI group demonstrated lower performance accuracy, a reduced error‐related negativity (even when correcting for frequency of errors), lower error‐related alpha suppression during the ITI, and increased post‐error slowing. Results indicate that fast‐paced trial timing can be disruptive to self‐monitoring, perhaps due to capacity limitations or bottlenecks in processing.     

Breathlessness amplifies amygdala responses during affective processing

Breathlessness is an aversive symptom in many prevalent somatic and psychiatric diseases and is usually experienced as highly threatening. It is strongly associated with negative affect, but the underlying neural processes remain poorly understood. Therefore, using fMRI, the present study examined the effects of breathlessness on the neural processing of affective visual stimuli within candidate brain areas including the amygdala, insula, and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). During scanning, 42 healthy volunteers, mean (SD) age: 29.0 (6.0) years, 14 female, were presented with affective picture series of negative, neutral, and positive valence while experiencing either no breathlessness (baseline conditions) or resistive‐load induced breathlessness (breathlessness conditions). Respiratory measures and self‐reports suggested successful induction of breathlessness and affective experiences. Self‐reports of breathlessness intensity and unpleasantness were significantly higher during breathlessness conditions, mean (SD): 45.0 (16.6) and 32.3 (19.8), as compared to baseline conditions, mean (SD): 1.9 (3.0) and 2.9 (5.5). Compared to baseline conditions, stronger amygdala activations were observed during breathlessness conditions for both negative and positive affective picture series relative to neutral picture series, while no such effects were observed in insula and ACC. The present findings demonstrate that breathlessness amplifies amygdala responses during affective processing, suggesting an important role of the amygdala for mediating the interactions between breathlessness and affective states.     

Intolerance of uncertainty and threat generalization: A replication and extension

Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) is a transdiagnostic risk factor for internalizing disorders. Prior work has found that IU may be associated with either increased reactivity to threat or, alternatively, with decreased differential responding between threat and nonthreat/safety cues (i.e., threat generalization). For example, work by Morriss, Macdonald, & van Reekum  (2016) found that higher IU was associated with increased threat generalization during acquisition (using skin conductance response (SCR)), as well as less differentiation between acquisition and extinction (using subjective uneasiness ratings). Here, three labs attempted direct and conceptual replications of Morriss, Macdonald, et al. (2016). Results showed that the direct replication failed, despite being conducted at the same lab site as the original study; moreover, in contrast to Morriss, Macdonald, et al. (2016), the direct replication found that higher IU was associated with greater SCR discrimination between threat and safety cues (across acquisition and extinction), as well as greater differences in uneasiness ratings between acquisition and extinction. Nonetheless, in the conceptual replications, higher IU was associated with greater threat generalization, as well as less discrimination between acquisition and extinction, as measured using SCR. Higher IU was also associated with larger late positive potentials to threat versus safety cues during extinction—results that mirror those observed by Morriss, Macdonald, et al. (2016) using SCR. Results are discussed with regards to the challenge involved in defining a successful replication attempt, the benefits of collaborative replication and the use and reliability of multiple measures.     

Electrophysiological correlates of threat processing in spider phobics

The electrocortical correlates of the processing of feared/fear-relevant and neutral stimuli were investigated in a pictorial emotional Stroop paradigm with spider phobic, social phobic, and nonphobic subjects. Subjects identified either the color of red or blue pictures of spiders, birds, or flowers (emotional Stroop task) or the object itself (identification task) by pressing different buttons. No emotional Stroop interference was found for spider phobic subjects when identifying the color of spiders as opposed to neutral stimuli. However, in the object identification task, spider phobic subjects identified spiders significantly faster than birds or flowers. Parietal P300 and P400 amplitudes were enhanced independent of task in spider phobic but not in nonphobic subjects when viewing pictures of spiders, which is consistent with previous studies showing that highly unpleasant and arousing pictures affect parietal late positive potentials.     

Contextualizing individual differences in error monitoring: Links with impulsivity,negative affect,and conscientiousness

The error‐related negativity (ERN) is a neural measure of error processing that has been implicated as a neurobehavioral trait and has transdiagnostic links with psychopathology. Few studies, however, have contextualized this traitlike component with regard to dimensions of personality that, as intermediate constructs, may aid in contextualizing links with psychopathology. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to examine the interrelationships between error monitoring and dimensions of personality within a large adult sample (N = 208). Building on previous research, we found that the ERN relates to a combination of negative affect, impulsivity, and conscientiousness. At low levels of conscientiousness, negative urgency (i.e., impulsivity in the context of negative affect) predicted an increased ERN; at high levels of conscientiousness, the effect of negative urgency was not significant. This relationship was driven specifically by the conscientiousness facets of competence, order, and deliberation. Links between personality measures and error positivity amplitude were weaker and nonsignificant. Post‐error slowing was also related to conscientiousness, as well as a different facet of impulsivity: lack of perseverance. These findings suggest that, in the general population, error processing is modulated by the joint combination of negative affect, impulsivity, and conscientiousness (i.e., the profile across traits), perhaps more so than any one dimension alone. This work may inform future research concerning aberrant error processing in clinical populations.     

Attentional processing of multiple targets and distractors

We assessed the functioning of attention when multiple relevant objects are intermingled with multiple distractors, measuring two electrophysiological subcomponents of the N2pc that have been associated, respectively, with target selection and distractor suppression: the target negativity (Nt) and the distractor positivity (Pd). To this aim, we orthogonally manipulated the number of targets and distractors in an enumeration task. The Nt was modulated by target, but not distractor numerosity, suggesting that an increase in target numerosity leads to an increase in attentional resources needed to form individual representations of the targets. In contrast, the number of distractors did not differentially alter the Pd. We hypothesize that distractors sharing similar visual features can be processed (and possibly suppressed) as a set, without the need for individuation.     

The effects of age on the neural correlates of feedback processing in a naturalistic gambling game

We examined age‐related differences in the spatiotemporal distribution of event‐related brain potentials (ERPs) related to feedback processing in a virtual blackjack game. The behavioral data revealed that older adults were less risk seeking than younger adults both within and across trials. Age‐related differences were observed in the amplitude of several ERP components (P2‐FN‐P3a, P3a, slow wave activity) related to feedback processing. These components were localized to the anterior and posterior cingulate, the occipital cortex, and the inferior and medial frontal cortices. The effects of aging on the ERPs ranged from 200–2,000 ms after feedback onset. Our findings indicate that aging affects the activity of a distributed neural network that underpins processing the valence and motivational significance of feedback related to risky decisions.     

The impact of nasal obstruction on obstructive sleep apnea syndrome

Summary Objective   Nasal obstruction is a predictive factor for snoring and may contribute to the development of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) by causing a higher negative intrapharyngeal pressure during inspiration. This may lead to obstructive apneas and hypopneas in predisposed people. The aim of this study was to further enrole the impact of nasal obstruction on OSAS. Patients and Methods   We investigated two groups of OSAS patients, matched pairs concerning gender, age, and BMI: OSAS patients with nasal obstruction (N, n = 28): total nasal airflow < 500 ml/s* (*referred to 150 pa pressure of difference; anterior rhinomanometry) or unilateral nasal resistance > 1 pa/ml/s*; and 28 OSAS patients without nasal obstruction (control-group C ; total nasal airflow > 700 ml/l/s*). All patients had routine examination including a standardized questionnaire, examination by an otorhinolaryngologist, anterior rhinomanometry, skin prick-testing with 18 common allergens, lung function testing, and full polysomnography. Results   We found the following significant differences: 1) In N more patients (n = 17) complained about nocturnal dyspnea than in C (n = 7; p < 0,05, (Chi²-test); 2) N had a higher apnea index (20,4 ± 19,0/h) than C (9,6 ± 10,0/h; p < 0,05, student's t -test). There were, however, no significant differences concerning lung function, skin prick test, otorhinolaryngologistical results, sleep architecture, number of hypopneas, nocturnal S_aO₂, heart rate, and level of CPAP pressure. Conclusion   Hence, beside pathophysiologically interesting effects increased nasal resistance has no clinically relevant importance in patients with OSAS.     

积极情绪对整体和局部知觉的影响:事件相关电位研究

目的:采用启动范式和事件相关电位方法,研究积极情绪如何调制视觉系统选择性加工刺激整体特征和局部特征的神经机制。方法:对22名大学生,采用Neuroscan公司64导脑电系统记录其在3种情绪图片启动条件下执行整体和局部加工任务时的事件相关电位(ERPs)和行为学结果。结果:250～320ms时间段内,积极情绪和中性情绪启动条件下整体加工引起的事件相关脑电波幅大于局部加工的脑电波幅(P<0.01),差异主要分布于额-中央区;350～500ms时间段内,积极情绪启动的整体加工(局部加工)诱发的事件相关脑电波幅大于消极情绪启动的整体加工(局部加工)诱发的脑电波幅(P<0.01),差异主要分布于顶-枕区。结论:积极情绪促进整体和局部知觉加工的神经机制,可能存在差别,ERP早期成分的差异可能与额-中央区活动关系密切,晚期成分与顶-枕区活动联系可能更为密切。     

Older adults display diminished error processing and response in a continuous tracking task

Advancing age is often accompanied by a decline in motor control that results in a decreased ability to successfully perform motor tasks. While there are multiple factors that contribute to age‐related deficits in motor control, one unexplored possibility is that age‐related deficits in our ability to evaluate motor output result in an increase in motor errors. In line with this, previous work from our laboratory demonstrated that motor errors evoked an error‐related negativity (ERN)—a component of the human ERP associated with error evaluation originating within the human medial‐frontal cortex. In the present study, we examined whether or not deficits in the medial‐frontal error evaluation system contribute to age‐related deficits in motor control. Two groups of participants (young, old) performed a computer‐based tracking task that paralleled driving while EEG data were recorded. Our results show that older adults committed more behavioral errors than young adults during performance of the tracking task. An analysis of our ERP data revealed that the amplitude of the ERN was reduced in older adults relative to young adults following motor errors. Our results make an important extension from previous work demonstrating age‐related reductions in the ERN during performance of cognitive tasks. Importantly, our results imply the possibility of understanding motor deficits in older age.     

Neural responses to affective pictures while anticipating and perceiving respiratory threat

Emotional processes have an impact on the anticipation and perception of bodily threat sensations, such as breathlessness. However, little is known about the reverse influence of breathlessness on emotional processes, as well as its modulation by anxiety sensitivity (AS). Here, we investigated by means of visually evoked potentials how the perception versus anticipation of resistive‐load‐induced breathlessness (RLIB) influences emotional processing. High (HA) and low anxious (LA) participants viewed pictures of positive, neutral, or negative content under conditions of perceived RLIB, anticipated RLIB, or an unloaded baseline. The P2 (230–290 ms) was significantly less positive under perceived RLIB. Furthermore, the early late positive potential (LPP; 300–500 ms) was significantly less positive during both RLIB conditions, as compared to baseline. Overall, the P1 was significantly more positive in HA as compared to LA individuals. Additionally, across conditions, the late LPP (600–1,000 ms) was enhanced for positive and negative pictures as opposed to neutral ones for the LA group. In contrast, for the HA group only, the positive pictures elicited the typical enhanced LPP. Notably, for the HA participants, negative pictures elicited significantly blunted late LPPs during perceived RLIB as compared to anticipated RLIB and baseline. A reversed effect (i.e., more positivity) was observed for LA participants, suggesting motivational priming. Taken together, these results highlight the impact of perceived and anticipated respiratory threat on the neural processing of emotional picture stimuli, as well as its modulation by anxiety sensitivity levels.     

Using trial‐level data and multilevel modeling to investigate within‐task change in event‐related potentials

EEG data, and specifically the ERP, provide psychologists with the power to examine quickly occurring cognitive processes at the native temporal resolution at which they occur. Despite the advantages conferred by ERPs to examine processes at different points in time, ERP researchers commonly ignore the trial‐to‐trial temporal dimension by collapsing across trials of similar types (i.e., the signal averaging approach) because of constraints imposed by repeated measures ANOVA. Here, we present the advantages of using multilevel modeling (MLM) to examine trial‐level data to investigate change in neurocognitive processes across the course of an experiment. Two examples are presented to illustrate the usefulness of this technique. The first demonstrates decreasing differentiation in N170 amplitude to faces of different races across the course of a race categorization task. The second demonstrates attenuation of the ERN as participants commit more errors within a task designed to measure implicit racial bias. Although the examples presented here are within the realm of social psychology, the use of MLM to analyze trial‐level EEG data has the potential to contribute to a number of different theoretical domains within psychology.     

Sensation seeking and error processing

Sensation seeking is defined by a strong need for varied, novel, complex, and intense stimulation, and a willingness to take risks for such experience. Several theories propose that the insensitivity to negative consequences incurred by risks is one of the hallmarks of sensation‐seeking behaviors. In this study, we investigated the time course of error processing in sensation seeking by recording event‐related potentials (ERPs) while high and low sensation seekers performed an Eriksen flanker task. Whereas there were no group differences in ERPs to correct trials, sensation seeking was associated with a blunted error‐related negativity (ERN), which was female‐specific. Further, different subdimensions of sensation seeking were related to ERN amplitude differently. These findings indicate that the relationship between sensation seeking and error processing is sex‐specific.     

Neural correlates of conflict processing

In this study we examined the neural correlates of conflict processing in the Stroop, counting, and digit-location tasks using event-related brain potentials (ERPs). The behavioral data revealed robust interference in response time and accuracy for all tasks. The interference effect for response time was greater in the Stroop task than the other tasks; in contrast, the interference effect for response accuracy was greater in the counting tasks than the other tasks. The N450 and sustained potential (SP) were elicited in each task. Partial least-squares (PLS) analysis was used to examine the structural relationships between the ERPs, task design, and behavior. TaskPLS analysis revealed that the N450 and SP were associated with a single latent variable leading to the suggestion that a common set of neural generators was recruited during conflict processing across the tasks and that there were differences between ERPs related to early processing across the three tasks. BehavioralPLS analysis revealed that the amplitude of the SP was positively correlated with response time and accuracy, indicating that this modulation of the ERPs may be related to response selection rather than to conflict resolution.     

Temporal dynamic modulation of acute stress on error processing in healthy males

Error processing is critical for adaptive behaviors. Acute stress has been found to influence error processing. However, the neural dynamic correlates underlying this modulation remain elusive. To address this issue, we recruited 39 healthy male participants, who performed a two‐session task before and after an acute stress test while their behavioral and EEG data were recorded. The participants were randomly exposed to either a stress condition (Maastricht Acute Stress Test) or a control condition. The stress test consisted of several hand immersion tasks (ice‐cold water, 2°C) and mental arithmetic tasks. A color‐word Stroop task was used to investigate the stress effect on error responses. Based on the level of stress‐induced cortisol, the participants in the stress group were further classified as low (N = 13) or high (N = 13) cortisol responders. The results indicated that only in the high cortisol responders, the error‐related negativity (ERN) amplitude was reduced after acute stress. In addition, the ?ERN in the high cortisol responders was significantly smaller than that in the low cortisol responders. These results suggest that acute stress impairs error detection. However, the error positivity amplitudes increased in the stress group compared to the control group, indicating that acute stress leads to greater error assessment. Taken together, these results suggest that acute stress impairs error detection, which is modulated by individuals’ response level following acute stress, and leads to more emotional and/or motivational responses to the error signal once the error is consciously realized.     

Neural indicators of error processing and intraindividual variability in reaction time in 7 and 9 year-olds

Childhood is associated with improvements in task accuracy, response time, and reductions in intraindividual trial-to-trial variability in reaction times. The aims of this study were to investigate neural indicators of error monitoring to better understand the mechanisms underlying these cognitive developments in primary school aged children. Specifically, this study explored the development of error processing in 36 children aged 7 years and 41 children aged 9 years, as indexed by two electrophysiological indices of error processing, the error-related negativity (ERN) and the error positivity (Pe). Notably, the amplitude and latency of the ERN and Pe did not differ significantly between the age groups. However, intraindividual variability in response time (RT) was strongly related to ERN amplitude. These data suggest the utility of comparing neural and behavioral indicators of cognitive performance in children and uniquely highlight the importance of considering intraindividual variability in task performance in studies that explore error processing.     

Individual differences in decisiveness: ERP correlates of response inhibition and error monitoring

The aim of the current study was to examine whether and how self‐reported decisiveness is associated with response inhibition and performance monitoring. We hypothesized that these two cognitive control mechanisms, both of which are often associated with decision making, would differ in individuals varying in decisiveness. We focused on ERP correlates and behavioral measures of inhibition and error processing in the stop‐signal task. We expected a negative relationship between decisiveness and behavioral measures of inhibitory control. We also hypothesized that stop‐signal‐locked N1 and P3 components and response‐locked error‐related negativity (ERN) would be less pronounced when participants self‐reported higher levels of decisiveness. Correlation analysis identified an association between high decisiveness, long stop‐signal reaction time, and low inhibition rate. Analysis with mixed‐effects linear models revealed that stop signals evoked less pronounced N1 and P3 in individuals scoring higher on decisiveness in both successfully and unsuccessfully inhibited trials. Additionally, high decisiveness was linked to reduced error monitoring, as indicated by decreased ERNs. Importantly, we also found positive association between P3 onset latency and decisiveness, suggesting that individuals scoring higher on this measure have relatively less ability to rapidly engage the stopping process. Thus, our findings primarily indicate that decisiveness is negatively associated with the efficiency of both response inhibition and error monitoring. They also suggest that highly decisive people may share some characteristics of diminished cognitive control with impulsive individuals.     

Age‐related shifts in hemispheric dominance for syntactic processing

Recent ERP data from young adults have revealed that simple syntactic anomalies elicit different patterns of lateralization in right‐handed participants depending upon their familial sinistrality profile (whether or not they have left‐handed biological relatives). Right‐handed participants who do not have left‐handed relatives showed a strongly lateralized response pattern, with P600 responses following left‐hemisphere‐biased presentations and N400 responses following right‐hemisphere‐biased presentations. Given that the literature on aging has documented a tendency to change across adulthood from asymmetry of function to a more bilateral pattern, we tested the stability of this asymmetric response to syntactic violations by recording ERPs as 24 older adults (age 60+) with no history of familial sinistrality made grammaticality judgments on simple two‐word phrases. Results showed that the asymmetric pattern observed in right‐handed adults without familial sinistrality indeed changes with age, such that P600 responses come to be elicited not only with left‐hemisphere‐biased but also with right‐hemisphere‐biased presentations in older adults. These findings suggest that, as with many other cognitive functions, syntactic processing becomes more bilateral with age.