Error-related scalp potentials elicited by hand and foot movements: evidence for an output-independent error-processing system in humans

doi:10.1016/S0304-3940(98)00035-4

Neuroscience Letters

Volume 242, Issue 2, 13 February 1998, Pages 65-68

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0304-3940(98)00035-4 Get rights and content

Abstract

The error-related negativity (ERN) is a fronto-centrally distributed component of the event-related brain potential (ERP) that occurs when human subjects make errors in a variety of experimental tasks. In the present study, we recorded ERPs from 128 scalp electrodes while subjects performed a choice reaction time task using either their hands or feet. We applied the brain electric source analysis technique to compare ERNs elicited by hand and foot errors. The scalp distributions of these error potentials suggest that they share the same neural generator and, therefore, that the ERN process is output-independent. Together with other findings, the results are consistent with the hypothesis that the ERN is generated within the anterior cingulate cortex and is elicited by the activation of a generic error-processing system.

Section snippets

Acknowledgements

Supported by NIMH fellowship 5-F31-MH11530 (C.B.H.), NIMH training grant MH19554 (J.D.), and MH41445 (M.G.H.C).

References (13)

G. Gratton et al.
A new method for off-line removal of ocular artifact
Electroenceph. clin. Neurophysiol.
(1983)
G. Logan
Executive control of thought and action
Acta Psychol.
(1985)
Coles, M.G.H., Scheffers, M.K. and Holroyd, C., Berger's dream?, The error-related negativity and modern cognitive...
S. Dehaene et al.
Localization of a neural system for error detection and compensation
Psychol. Sci.
(1994)
J. Dien
Addressing misallocation of variance in principal components analysis of evoked potentials
Psychophysiology
(1997)
B. Eriksen et al.
Effects of noise letters upon the identification of a target letter in a nonsearch task
Percept. Psychophys.
(1974)

There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

Cited by (288)

Brain response to errors in children who stutter
2024, Journal of Fluency Disorders
Heightened rates of social anxiety have been reported in adults who stutter (AWS), but it is unclear whether anxiety is heightened also in children who stutter (CWS). Objective neurophysiological responses such as the error-related negativity (ERN) have been associated with anxiety, and ERN was reported to be increased in AWS. In this study, we examined whether ERN and error positivity (Pe) are increased in CWS. We further characterized ERN associations with age and anxiety in CWS relative to children who do not stutter (CWNS).
EEG data were recorded from twenty-four CWS and twenty-four matched CWNS aged 3–9 years as they performed a Go/No-Go task. Parent-reported anxiety, and child-reported speech-associated attitude measures were collected. Linear regression models tested the effects of age, group, and their interaction, and the effects of anxiety, group, and their interaction on ERN and Pe.
Contrary to expectations, no ERN or Pe difference were observed between CWS and CWNS. However, larger ERN amplitudes were associated with older age in CWS but not CWNS, suggesting altered development of the error monitoring system in CWS. Association of Pe with anxiety also differed between groups: smaller Pe amplitudes were associated with higher level of parent-reported child anxiety in CWNS but not in CWS. Neither anxiety nor self-reported communication attitude differed between groups.
Brain responses to errors were overall comparable between CWS and CWNS. However, CWS differed in how error monitoring responses varied with age and with anxiety levels. More research is warranted to examine how these factors contribute to persistent stuttering.
Dopaminergic and norepinephrinergic modulation of endogenous event-related potentials: A systematic review and meta-analysis
2023, Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
Event-related potentials (ERPs) represent the cortical processing of sensory, motor or cognitive functions invoked by particular events or stimuli. A current theory posits that the catecholaminergic neurotransmitters dopamine (DA) and norepinephrine (NE) modulate a number of endogenous ERPs during various cognitive processes. This manuscript aims to evaluate a leading neurotransmitter hypothesis with a systematic overview and meta-analysis of pharmacologic DA and NE manipulation of specific ERPs in healthy subjects during executive function. Specifically, the frontally-distributed P3a, N2, and N_e/ERN (or error-related negativity) are supposedly modulated primarily by DA, whereas the parietally-distributed P3b is thought to be modulated by NE. Based on preceding research, we refer to this distinction between frontally-distributed DA-sensitive and parietally-distributed NE-sensitive ERP components as the Extended Neurobiological Polich (ENP) hypothesis. Our systematic review and meta-analysis indicate that this distinction is too simplistic and many factors interact with DA and NE to influence these specific ERPs. These may include genetic factors, the specific cognitive processes engaged, or elements of study design, i.e. session or sequence effects or data-analysis strategies.
Getting off track: Cortical feedback processing network modulated by continuous error signal during target-feedback mismatch
2023, NeuroImage
Performance monitoring and feedback processing – especially in the wake of erroneous outcomes – represent a crucial aspect of everyday life, allowing us to deal with imminent threats in the short term but also promoting necessary behavioral adjustments in the long term to avoid future conflicts. Over the last thirty years, research extensively analyzed the neural correlates of processing discrete error stimuli, unveiling the error-related negativity (ERN) and error positivity (Pe) as two main components of the cognitive response. However, the connection between the ERN/Pe and distinct stages of error processing, ranging from action monitoring to subsequent corrective behavior, remains ambiguous. Furthermore, mundane actions such as steering a vehicle already transgress the scope of discrete erroneous events and demand fine-tuned feedback control, and thus, the processing of continuous error signals – a topic scarcely researched at present. We analyzed two electroencephalography datasets to investigate the processing of continuous erroneous signals during a target tracking task, employing feedback in various levels and modalities. We observed significant differences between correct (slightly delayed) and erroneous feedback conditions in the larger one of the two datasets that we analyzed, both in sensor and source space. Furthermore, we found strong error-induced modulations that appeared consistent across datasets and error conditions, indicating a clear order of engagement of specific brain regions that correspond to individual components of error processing.
Deconstructing the functional significance of the error-related negativity (ERN) and midline frontal theta oscillations using stepwise time-locking and single-trial response dynamics
2023, NeuroImage
Error-related electroencephalographic potentials have been used for decades to develop theoretical models of response monitoring processes, study altered cognitive functioning in clinical populations, and more recently, to improve the performance of brain-computer interfaces. However, the vast majority of this research relies on discrete behavioral responses that confound error detection, response cancelation, error correction, and post-error cognitive and affective processes. By contrast, the present study demonstrates a novel, complementary method for isolating the functional correlates of error-related electroencephalographic responses using single-trial kinematic analyses of cursor trajectories and a stepwise time-locking analysis. The results reveal that the latency of the ERN, Pe, and medial-frontal theta oscillations are all strongly positively correlated with the latency at which an initiated error response is canceled, as indicated by the peak deceleration of the initiated movement prior to a corrective response. Results are discussed with respect to current theoretical models of error-related brain potentials and potential relevance to clinical applications.
Electrophysiological evidence of mal-adaptation to error in remitted depression
2023, Biological Psychology
Identifying risk markers for major depressive disorder (MDD) that persist into remission is key to address MDD’s high rate of recurrence. Central to MDD recurrence are the disorder’s negative information processing biases, such as heightened responses to errors, which may subsequently impair abilities to monitor performance and adjust behaviors based on environmental demands. However, little is known regarding the neurophysiological correlates of post-error adaptation in depression. The current study investigated event-related potentials (ERPs) and behavioral performance following errors from a flanker task in 58 participants with remitted MDD (rMDD) and 118 healthy controls (HC). Specifically, using trial-level data, we tested: (a) the impact of errors on response-locked ERPs of the current and post-error trials (error-related negativity [ERN] and correct response negativity [CRN]) and (b) longer-term adaptation to errors (ERN/CRN) over the course of the task. Compared to HC, rMDD participants showed a larger ERN to the current trial and smaller habituation in ERN over time. On trials immediately following errors, rMDD participants showed slower reaction times that were predicted by the previous-trial ERN amplitude but comparable accuracy to HC, suggesting a deficient ability to disengage from errors and/or a compensatory effort to mitigate accuracy decrements. Critically, this pattern of responding: (a) was concurrently associated with greater levels of anhedonia symptoms, more severe MDD history, and interpersonal impairment (but lower impairment in life activities) and (b) predicted more anhedonia symptoms at one-year follow-up. Collectively, a hyperactive performance monitoring system may be a useful risk marker for future MDD recurrence.
Conflict-based speech error monitoring in bilinguals: Differences between first and second language monitoring
2022, Journal of Neurolinguistics
All speakers must monitor their speech for errors. However, few studies have investigated speech monitoring in bilinguals. We examined whether monolinguals and bilinguals differ in first (L1) and second (L2) language speech monitoring. Participants included 18 English monolinguals, 20 English-French and 21 French-English sequential bilinguals who learned their two languages one after the other, and 15 simultaneous bilinguals who learned their two languages from birth. All participants performed an English phoneme substitution task while an electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded. Three event-related brain potential (ERP) components were analyzed: the stimulus-locked P200 and N200, and the response-locked error-related negativity. All groups performed the task equally well despite showing differences in ERP patterns on correct and incorrect trials. Only simultaneous bilinguals showed a larger P200 preceding incorrect compared to correct responses, suggesting a role for lexical activation processes in the production of speech errors. All language groups showed evidence of pre-articulatory, conflict-based error monitoring through the N200. Only French-English sequential bilinguals, in their L2, showed a reliable ERN effect following speech errors. Thus, speech error monitoring processes were found to be influenced by whether one is speaking in their L1 versus L2 depending on the stage of monitoring, with response conflict being more informative for post-articulatory error monitoring during L2 compared to L1 speech production.

View all citing articles on Scopus

¹: Present address: Center for Neuroscience, 1544 Newton Court, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.

View full text

Error-related scalp potentials elicited by hand and foot movements: evidence for an output-independent error-processing system in humans

Abstract

Section snippets

Acknowledgements

Electroenceph. clin. Neurophysiol.

Acta Psychol.

Localization of a neural system for error detection and compensation

Psychol. Sci.

Addressing misallocation of variance in principal components analysis of evoked potentials

Psychophysiology

Effects of noise letters upon the identification of a target letter in a nonsearch task

Percept. Psychophys.