Early Error Detection Predicted by Reduced Pre-response Control Process: An ERP Topographic Mapping Study

Exploring the Association Between EEG Microstates During Resting-State and Error-Related Activity in Young Children

The error-related negativity (ERN) is a negative deflection in the electroencephalography (EEG) waveform at frontal-central scalp sites that occurs after error commission. The relationship between the ERN and broader patterns of brain activity measured across the entire scalp that support error processing during early childhood is unclear. We examined the relationship between the ERN and EEG microstates - whole-brain patterns of dynamically evolving scalp potential topographies that reflect periods of synchronized neural activity - during both a go/no-go task and resting-state in 90, 4-8-year-old children. The mean amplitude of the ERN was quantified during the -64 to 108 millisecond (ms) period of time relative to error commission, which was determined by data-driven microstate segmentation of error-related activity. We found that greater magnitude of the ERN associated with greater global explained variance (GEV; i.e., the percentage of total variance in the data explained by a given microstate) of an error-related microstate observed during the same -64 to 108 ms period (i.e., error-related microstate 3), and to greater anxiety risk as measured by parent-reported behavioral inhibition. During resting-state, six data-driven microstates were identified. Both greater magnitude of the ERN and greater GEV values of error-related microstate 3 associated with greater GEV values of resting-state microstate 4, which showed a frontal-central scalp topography. Source localization results revealed overlap between the underlying neural generators of error-related microstate 3 and resting-state microstate 4 and canonical brain networks (e.g., ventral attention) known to support the higher-order cognitive processes involved in error processing. Taken together, our results clarify how individual differences in error-related and intrinsic brain activity are related and enhance our understanding of developing brain network function and organization supporting error processing during early childhood.

Machine learning reveals differential effects of depression and anxiety on reward and punishment processing

Recent studies suggest that depression and anxiety are associated with unique aspects of EEG responses to reward and punishment, respectively; also, abnormal responses to punishment in depressed individuals are related to anxiety, the symptoms of which are comorbid with depression. In a non-clinical sample, we aimed to investigate the relationships between reward processing and anxiety, between punishment processing and anxiety, between reward processing and depression, and between punishment processing and depression. Towards this aim, we separated feedback-related brain activity into delta and theta bands to isolate activity that indexes functionally distinct processes. Based on the delta/theta frequency and feedback valence, we then used machine learning (ML) to classify individuals with high severity of depressive symptoms and individuals with high severity of anxiety symptoms versus controls. The significant difference between the depression and control groups was driven mainly by delta activity; there were no differences between reward- and punishment-theta activities. The high severity of anxiety symptoms was marginally more strongly associated with the punishment- than the reward-theta feedback processing. The findings provide new insights into the differences in the impacts of anxiety and depression on reward and punishment processing; our study shows the utility of ML in testing brain-behavior hypotheses and emphasizes the joint effect of theta-RewP/FRN and delta frequency on feedback-related brain activity.

Exploring the association between EEG microstates during resting-state and error-related activity in young children

The error-related negativity (ERN) is a negative deflection in the electroencephalography (EEG) waveform at frontal-central scalp sites that occurs after error commission. The relationship between the ERN and broader patterns of brain activity measured across the entire scalp that support error processing during early childhood is unclear. We examined the relationship between the ERN and EEG microstates - whole-brain patterns of dynamically evolving scalp potential topographies that reflect periods of synchronized neural activity - during both a go/no-go task and resting-state in 90, 4-8-year-old children. The mean amplitude of the ERN was quantified during the - 64 to 108 millisecond (ms) period of time relative to error commission, which was determined by data-driven microstate segmentation of error-related activity. We found that greater magnitude of the ERN associated with greater global explained variance (GEV; i.e., the percentage of total variance in the data explained by a given microstate) of an error-related microstate observed during the same - 64 to 108 ms period (i.e., error-related microstate 3), and to greater parent-report-measured anxiety risk. During resting-state, six data-driven microstates were identified. Both greater magnitude of the ERN and greater GEV values of error-related microstate 3 associated with greater GEV values of resting-state microstate 4, which showed a frontal-central scalp topography. Source localization results revealed overlap between the underlying neural generators of error-related microstate 3 and resting-state microstate 4 and canonical brain networks (e.g., ventral attention) known to support the higher-order cognitive processes involved in error processing. Taken together, our results clarify how individual differences in error-related and intrinsic brain activity are related and enhance our understanding of developing brain network function and organization supporting error processing during early childhood.

A neuronal theta band signature of error monitoring during integration of facial expression cues

Error monitoring is the metacognitive process by which we are able to detect and signal our errors once a response has been made. Monitoring when the outcome of our actions deviates from the intended goal is crucial for behavior, learning, and the development of higher-order social skills. Here, we explored the neuronal substrates of error monitoring during the integration of facial expression cues using electroencephalography (EEG). Our goal was to investigate the signatures of error monitoring before and after a response execution dependent on the integration of facial cues. We followed the hypothesis of midfrontal theta as a robust neuronal marker of error monitoring since it has been consistently described as a mechanism to signal the need for cognitive control. Also, we hypothesized that EEG frequency-domain components might bring advantage to study error monitoring in complex scenarios as it carries information from locked and non-phase-locked signals. A challenging go/no-go saccadic paradigm was applied to elicit errors: integration of facial emotional signals and gaze direction was required to solve it. EEG data were acquired from twenty healthy participants and analyzed at the level of theta band activity during response preparation and execution. Although theta modulation has been consistently demonstrated during error monitoring, it is still unclear how early it starts to occur. We found theta power differences at midfrontal channels between correct and error trials. Theta was higher immediately after erroneous responses. Moreover, before response initiation we observed the opposite: lower theta preceding errors. These results suggest theta band activity not only as an index of error monitoring, which is needed to enhance cognitive control, but also as a requisite for success. This study adds to previous evidence for the role of theta band in error monitoring processes by revealing error-related patterns even before response execution in complex tasks, and using a paradigm requiring the integration of facial expression cues.

Compensatory Neural Recruitment for Error-Related Cerebral Activity in Patients with Moderate-To-Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea

(1) Background: Although it is known that obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) impairs action-monitoring function, there is only limited information regarding the associated cerebral substrate underlying this phenomenon. (2) Methods: The modified Flanker task, error-related event-related potentials (ERPs), namely, error-related negativity (ERN) and error positivity (Pe), and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) were used to evaluate neural activities and the functional connectivity underlying action-monitoring dysfunction in patients with different severities of OSA. (3) Results: A total of 14 control (Cont) subjects, 17 patients with moderate OSA (mOSA), and 10 patients with severe OSA (sOSA) were enrolled. A significant decline in posterror correction rate was observed in the modified Flanker task when patients with mOSA were compared with Cont subjects. Comparison between patients with mOSA and sOSA did not reveal any significant difference. In the analysis of ERPs, ERN and Pe exhibited declined amplitudes in patients with mOSA compared with Cont subjects, which were found to increase in patients with sOSA. Results of fMRI revealed a decreased correlation in multiple anterior cingulate cortex functional-connected areas in patients with mOSA compared with Cont subjects. However, these areas appeared to be reconnected in patients with sOSA. (4) Conclusions: The behavioral, neurophysiological, and functional image findings obtained in this study suggest that mOSA leads to action-monitoring dysfunction; however, compensatory neural recruitment might have contributed to the maintenance of the action-monitoring function in patients with sOSA.

Event-Related Potentials Are Associated With Unexpected Gain and Loss: Using a Gambling Paradigm

OBJECTIVE

Previous neuroimaging studies have described altered activity in brain areas associated with reward processing following reward or punishment. This study examines the extent to which feedback-based experience of gain and loss is associated with electrophysiological correlates.

METHODS

Twenty-nine healthy participants used a gambling task that focused on actual nonpredictable gains and losses. During the task, an electroencephalography recording was performed in order to assess reward processing. Event-related potentials were analyzed when participants were receiving gain/loss feedback.

RESULTS

Event-related potentials revealed higher feedback-related negativity for both overall gain and loss compared with a neutral condition in fronto-centro-parietal electrodes. P3 potentials were significantly increased for high gains/losses compared to neutral and small gains/losses.

CONCLUSION

These results indicate that the paradigm is suitable to evoke specific patterns of reward-related electrophysiological responses. The wavelet analysis showed that electroencephalography frequency variations depended on the amount of gains/losses.

SIGNIFICANCE

This gambling paradigm is appropriate to measure aspects of feedback processing and could help analyze disease-specific alterations of the reward system in patients.

Spared internal but impaired external reward prediction error signals in major depressive disorder during reinforcement learning

BACKGROUND

Major depressive disorder (MDD) creates debilitating effects on a wide range of cognitive functions, including reinforcement learning (RL). In this study, we sought to assess whether reward processing as such, or alternatively the complex interplay between motivation and reward might potentially account for the abnormal reward-based learning in MDD.

METHODS

A total of 35 treatment resistant MDD patients and 44 age matched healthy controls (HCs) performed a standard probabilistic learning task. RL was titrated using behavioral, computational modeling and event-related brain potentials (ERPs) data.

RESULTS

MDD patients showed comparable learning rate compared to HCs. However, they showed decreased lose-shift responses as well as blunted subjective evaluations of the reinforcers used during the task, relative to HCs. Moreover, MDD patients showed normal internal (at the level of error-related negativity, ERN) but abnormal external (at the level of feedback-related negativity, FRN) reward prediction error (RPE) signals during RL, selectively when additional efforts had to be made to establish learning.

CONCLUSIONS

Collectively, these results lend support to the assumption that MDD does not impair reward processing per se during RL. Instead, it seems to alter the processing of the emotional value of (external) reinforcers during RL, when additional intrinsic motivational processes have to be engaged.

Performance monitoring mechanisms activated before and after a response: A comparison of aware and unaware errors

The main goal of the current study was to investigate whether correct withholds, aware errors and unaware errors could be distinguished in terms of performance monitoring mechanisms activated before and after the response. To this end, an error awareness task (explicit acknowledgment of a performance error, expressed by pressing a specific button) was combined with the event-related potential (ERP) technique. Results regarding the performance monitoring mechanisms triggered before a response revealed faster responses before an aware error than before an unaware error. Likewise, analysis of the error-preceding positivity (EPP) revealed specific modulation in frontal scalp regions according to error type. This result shows that transient disengagement and/or inefficiency of the performance monitoring system relates specifically to one type of error.

Goal relevance influences performance monitoring at the level of the FRN and P3 components

The feedback-related negativity (FRN) provides a reliable ERP marker of performance monitoring (PM). It is usually larger for negative compared to positive feedback, and for unexpected relative to expected feedback. In two experiments, we assessed whether these effects could be modulated by goal relevance, defined as feedback informativeness (reliability) and/or impact on a person's goals. EEG (64-channel) was recorded while 30 participants (in each experiment) performed a speeded go/no-go task across blocks in which the feedback on task performance was deemed either relevant or not. At the ERP level, the FRN component was larger for (frequent) negative compared to (deviant) positive feedback exclusively when the feedback was relevant (Experiment 1). When the probability of positive and negative feedback was balanced (Experiment 2), this valence-driven FRN effect was absent. However, across these two experiments, the FRN was always larger for irrelevant than relevant feedback. Moreover, the subsequent P300 component was larger for feedback in the relevant than the irrelevant blocks. This effect was valence unspecific in Experiment 1, while in Experiment 2 larger P3 amplitudes were recorded for negative than positive (relevant) feedback. Across the two experiments, a larger correct-related negativity in the irrelevant than relevant context was also observed, suggesting that PM is flexible. These ERP findings indicate that goal relevance influences feedback (and response) processing during PM, with two nonoverlapping neurophysiological effects: It gates reward prediction error brain mechanisms (FRN effect), before enhancing subsequent motivational processes (P300 effect).

Pre-stimulus alpha and post-stimulus N2 foreshadow imminent errors in a single task

Performance errors have been attributed to distinct neural mechanisms in different tasks. Two temporally and physiologically dissociable neural patterns prior to errors, i.e., pre-stimulus alpha (8-13 Hz) power indicative of sustained attention and post-stimulus N2 amplitude indicative of cognitive control, have been widely (but independently) reported in many studies. However, it is still largely unknown whether these two neural mechanisms for error commission exist in a single task at the same time and, if so, whether they can be probed simultaneously and how they lead to response accuracy (collectively or separately). To this end, we measured high-density electroencephalography (EEG) signals in a color-word matching Stroop task. We quantified both patterns on EEG data from individual stimulus condition (congruent or incongruent), as well as on pooled data from both conditions. Enhanced pre-stimulus alpha power for errors was identified over the parieto-occipital area in the congruent condition and the pooled data. Reduced post-stimulus N2 amplitude was only revealed in the incongruent condition. More importantly, for the first time, a balanced interaction between these two EEG patterns was revealed in correct trials, but not in error trials. These findings suggest that errors in one task could occur due to distinct neural mechanisms, e.g., poor sustained attention, poor cognitive control, or missed balance between these two. The present results further suggest that the detection of neural patterns related to different neural mechanisms could be complicated by other modulation factors, such as stimulus condition. Therefore, more than one neural marker should be simultaneously monitored to effectively predict imminent errors.

Performance monitoring and behavioral adaptation during task switching: an fMRI study

Despite significant advances, the neural correlates and neurochemical mechanisms involved in performance monitoring and behavioral adaptation are still a matter for debate. Here, we used a modified Eriksen-Flanker task in a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study that required the participants to derive the correct stimulus-response association based on a feedback given after each flanker stimulus. Participants had to continuously monitor and adapt their performance as the stimulus-response association switched after a jittered time interval without notice. After every switch an increase of reaction times was observed. At the neural level, the feedback indicating the need to switch was associated with activation of the precuneus, the cingulate cortex, the insula and a brainstem region tentatively identified as the locus coeruleus. This brainstem system appears to interact with this cortical network and seems to be essential for performance monitoring and behavioral adaptation. In contrast, the cerebellum crus and prefrontal areas are activated during error feedback processing. Furthermore we found activations of the hippocampus and parahippocampal gyrus bilaterally after a correct feedback in learnable stimulus-response associations. These results highlight the contribution of brainstem nuclei to performance adaptation.

Effects of positive mood on probabilistic learning: behavioral and electrophysiological correlates

Whether positive mood can change reinforcement learning or not remains an open question. In this study, we used a probabilistic learning task and explored whether positive mood could alter the way positive versus negative feedback was used to guide learning. This process was characterized both at the behavioral and electro-encephalographic levels. Thirty two participants were randomly allocated either to a positive or a neutral (control) mood condition. Behavioral results showed that while learning performance was balanced between the two groups, participants in the positive mood group had a higher learning rate than participants in the neutral mood group. At the electrophysiological level, we found that positive mood increased the error-related negativity when the stimulus-response associations were deterministic, selectively (as opposed to random or probabilistic). However, it did not influence the feedback-related negativity. These new findings are discussed in terms of an enhanced internal reward prediction error signal after the induction of positive mood when the probability of getting a reward is high.

'Why should I care?' Challenging free will attenuates neural reaction to errors

Whether human beings have free will has been a philosophical question for centuries. The debate about free will has recently entered the public arena through mass media and newspaper articles commenting on scientific findings that leave little to no room for free will. Previous research has shown that encouraging such a deterministic perspective influences behavior, namely by promoting cursory and antisocial behavior. Here we propose that such behavioral changes may, at least partly, stem from a more basic neurocognitive process related to response monitoring, namely a reduced error detection mechanism. Our results show that the error-related negativity, a neural marker of error detection, was reduced in individuals led to disbelieve in free will. This finding shows that reducing the belief in free will has a specific impact on error detection mechanisms. More generally, it suggests that abstract beliefs about intentional control can influence basic and automatic processes related to action control.

Neural markers for immediate performance accuracy in a Stroop color-word matching task: an event-related potentials analysis

The present study examined the neural markers measured in event-related potentials (ERPs) for immediate performance accuracy during a cognitive task with less conflict, i.e., a Stroop color-word matching task, in which participants were required to judge the congruency of two feature dimensions of a stimulus. In an effort to make ERP components more specific to distinct underlying neural substrates, recorded EEG signals were firstly dissolved into multiple independent components (ICs) using independent component analysis (ICA). Thereafter, individual ICs with prominent sensory- or cognitive-related ERP components were selected to separately reconstruct scalp EEG signals at representative channels, from which ERP waveforms were built, respectively. Statistical comparisons on amplitudes of stimulus-locked ERP components, i.e., prefrontal P2 and N2, parietal P3, bilateral occipital P1 and N1, revealed significant reduced P3 amplitude in error trials than in correct trials. In addition, significant evident ERN was also observed in error trials but not in correct trials. Considering the temporal locus of semantic conflict in the present task, we concluded that reduced P3 amplitude in error trials reflect impaired resolving process of semantic conflict, which further lead to a performance error in the Stroop color-word matching task.

Executive inhibition: A study of postcommission error slowing and postomission error speeding

Error detection, error regulation, and the way of facilitating regulation are fundamental to successful adaptation to the environment. Previous studies have demonstrated the cognitive process that underlies error detection, but it is still not clear whether this cognitive process is influenced by internal and external factors of error type and feedback. The purpose of this study was to investigate the regulation of commission and omission errors in executive inhibition tasks and the effects of feedback on error regulation. Three tasks, including a go/no-go task with visual feedback, a go/no-go task with auditory feedback, and a stop signal task with visual feedback were conducted separately with three independent groups of healthy university students. We found postcommission error slowing and postomission error speeding in the reaction times. Correct visual feedback increased all the reaction times for executive inhibition compared with incorrect feedback. The results indicated that the regulation of reaction time after different types of error may be an adaptive behavioral manifestation and that performance feedback facilitates overall inhibitory control.

Effects of social context and predictive relevance on action outcome monitoring

Outcome monitoring is crucial for subsequent adjustments in behavior and is associated with a specific electrophysiological response, the feedback-related negativity (FRN). Besides feedback generated by one's own action, the performance of others may also be relevant for oneself, and the observation of outcomes for others' actions elicits an observer FRN (oFRN). To test how these components are influenced by social setting and predictive value of feedback information, we compared event-related potentials, as well as their topographies and neural generators, for performance feedback generated by oneself and others in a cooperative versus competitive context. Our results show that (1) the predictive relevance of outcomes is crucial to elicit an FRN in both players and observers, (2) cooperation increases FRN and P300 amplitudes, especially in individuals with high traits of perspective taking, and (3) contrary to previous findings on gambling outcomes, oFRN components are generated for both cooperating and competing observers, but with smaller amplitudes in the latter. Neural source estimation revealed medial prefrontal activity for both FRN and oFRN, but with additional generators for the oFRN in the dorsolateral and ventral prefrontal cortex, as well as the temporoparietal junction. We conclude that the latter set of brain regions could mediate social influences on action monitoring by representing agency and social relevance of outcomes and are, therefore, recruited in addition to shared prediction error signals generated in medial frontal areas during action outcome observation.

Intrinsic Emotional Relevance of Outcomes and Prediction Error

Infrequent events, such as unexpected absence of outcomes (prediction errors), have a detrimental effect on performance of subsequent trial in various cognitive tasks. In the present event-related potential study, we tested whether the influence of prediction error manifests itself in the early cortical processing of subsequent stimuli. Participants performed a reversal learning task in which they saw two alternating pairs of faces and indicated for each pair which one would have a declared target stimulus on its nose. The target switched to the other face after several consecutive trials with correct response, thereby inducing a prediction error, with the switch being indicated by the appearance of a disk (unexpected neutral outcome) or a spider (unexpected unpleasant outcome), depending on the condition. Results showed that after both unexpected and expected unpleasant outcomes, the amplitude of P2 decreased, while after both unexpected neutral and unpleasant outcomes, the amplitude of P1 increased on the following presentation of the pair of faces. Source localization analysis suggested that the differences mainly emanated from the cuneus and precuneus with respect to the P1 and P2 time ranges respectively. We conclude that both the intrinsic emotional relevance of outcomes and prediction error may modulate attention allocation.

Spatio-temporal brain dynamics mediating post-error behavioral adjustments

Optimal behavior relies on flexible adaptation to environmental requirements, notably based on the detection of errors. The impact of error detection on subsequent behavior typically manifests as a slowing down of RTs following errors. Precisely how errors impact the processing of subsequent stimuli and in turn shape behavior remains unresolved. To address these questions, we used an auditory spatial go/no-go task where continual feedback informed participants of whether they were too slow. We contrasted auditory-evoked potentials to left-lateralized go and right no-go stimuli as a function of performance on the preceding go stimuli, generating a 2 × 2 design with "preceding performance" (fast hit [FH], slow hit [SH]) and stimulus type (go, no-go) as within-subject factors. SH trials yielded SH trials on the following trials more often than did FHs, supporting our assumption that SHs engaged effects similar to errors. Electrophysiologically, auditory-evoked potentials modulated topographically as a function of preceding performance 80-110 msec poststimulus onset and then as a function of stimulus type at 110-140 msec, indicative of changes in the underlying brain networks. Source estimations revealed a stronger activity of prefrontal regions to stimuli after successful than error trials, followed by a stronger response of parietal areas to the no-go than go stimuli. We interpret these results in terms of a shift from a fast automatic to a slow controlled form of inhibitory control induced by the detection of errors, manifesting during low-level integration of task-relevant features of subsequent stimuli, which in turn influences response speed.