Perfect error processing: Perfectionism-related variations in action monitoring and error processing mechanisms

An Experimental Therapeutics Approach to the Development of a Novel Computerized Treatment Targeting Error-Related Brain Activity in Young Children

In the current study, we utilize an experimental medicine approach to examine the extent to which a single-session, computerized intervention impacts a transdiagnostic neural marker of risk (i.e., the error-related negativity [ERN]) in 70 children between the ages of 6 and 9 years. The ERN is a deflection in the event-related potential occurring after an individual makes a mistake on a lab-based task and has been shown to be transdiagnostically associated with a variety of anxiety disorders (e.g., social anxiety, generalized anxiety), obsessive-compulsive disorder, and depressive disorders in over 60 studies to date. Building on these findings, work has been done to link an increased ERN to negative reactions to, and avoidance of, making mistakes (i.e., error sensitivity). In the current study, we capitalize on this previous work by examining the extent to which a single-session, computerized intervention may engage the target of "error sensitivity" (measured by the ERN, as well as self-report of error sensitivity). We examine the convergence of multiple measures of the construct of "error sensitivity" (i.e., child self-report, parent report on child, and child electroencephalogram [EEG]). We also examine relationships between these three measures of "error sensitivity" and child anxiety symptoms. Overall, results suggested that treatment condition predicted changes in self-reported error sensitivity but not changes in ERN. Based on the lack of previous work in this area, we view this study as a novel, preliminary, first step toward using an experimental medicine approach to examine our ability to engage the target of the ERN (i.e., error sensitivity) early in development.

Feedback-related negativity in perfectionists: An index of performance outcome evaluation

It has been suggested that maladaptive perfectionists are more prone to concern over their performance outcomes than adaptive perfectionists. Performance outcome evaluation is reflected in the amplitude of feedback-related negativity (FRN) in brain electroencephalography (EEG). Hence, the amplitude of the FRN after receiving unfavorable feedback indicating a negative performance outcome may reflect personality characteristics. In other words, EEG could be a better marker of personality characteristics than self-report measures. However, the FRN component has not yet been investigated between different types of perfectionists. In the present study, group differences in the FRN were examined between two groups of adaptive and maladaptive perfectionists and a group of non-perfectionists during a monetary gambling task. We observed a larger FRN amplitude for adaptive perfectionists than for maladaptive perfectionists. This finding is consistent with previous reports that reward prediction error is reflected in the amplitude of the FRN. This difference in FRN could be interpreted as the pessimistic outcome expectation biases in maladaptive perfectionists.

Narcissism and the perception of failure - evidence from the error-related negativity and the error positivity

The literature on narcissism suggests two contradictory ways how highly narcissistic individuals deal with their failures: They might avoid consciously recognising their failures to protect their ego or they might vigilantly turn towards their failures to process cues that are important for maintaining their grandiosity. We tried to dissolve these contradictory positions by studying event-related potential components of error processing and their variations with narcissism. With a speeded go/no-go task, we examined how the error-related negativity (Ne; reflecting an early, automatic processing stage) and the error positivity (Pe; associated with conscious error detection) vary with Admiration and Rivalry, two narcissism dimensions, under ego-threatening conditions. Using multilevel models, we showed that participants with high Rivalry displayed higher Ne amplitudes suggesting a heightened trait of defensive reactivity. We did not find variations of either narcissism dimension with the Pe, which would have pointed to weaker error awareness. Thus, our results only supported the second position: a heightened vigilance to errors in narcissism at early, rather automatic processing stages.

Associations of neural error-processing with symptoms and traits in a dimensional sample recruited across the obsessive-compulsive spectrum

The error-related negativity (ERN), a neural response to errors, has been associated with several forms of psychopathology and assumed to represent a neural risk marker for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and anxiety disorders. Yet, it is still unknown which specific symptoms or traits best explain ERN variation. This study investigated performance-monitoring in participants (N = 100) recruited across a spectrum of obsessive-compulsive characteristics (n = 26 patients with OCD; n = 74 healthy participants including n = 24 with low, n = 24 with medium, and n = 26 with high OC-characteristics). Several compulsivity- and anxiety-associated characteristics were assessed and submitted to exploratory principal axis factor analysis. Associations of raw measures and derived factors with ERN and correct-related negativity (CRN) were examined. Patients with OCD showed increased ERN amplitudes compared to healthy participants. The ERN was associated with a variety of traits related to anxiety and negative affect. Factor analysis results revealed a most prominent association of the ERN with a composite measure of anxiety and neuroticism, whereas the CRN was specifically associated with compulsivity. Results support differential associations for the ERN and CRN and demonstrate that a dimensional recruitment approach and use of composite measures can improve our understanding of characteristics underlying variation in neural performance monitoring.

Perfectionism-related variations in error processing in a task with increased response selection complexity

Perfectionists strive for a flawless performance because they are intrinsically motivated to set and achieve high goals (personal standards perfectionism; PSP) and/or because they are afraid to be negatively evaluated by others (evaluative concern perfectionism; ECP). We investigated the differential relationships of these perfectionism dimensions with performance, post-response adaptation, error processing (reflected by two components of the event-related potential: error/correct negativity - Ne/c; error/correct positivity - Pe/c) and error detection. In contrast to previous studies, we employed a task with increased response selection complexity providing more room for perfectionistic dispositions to manifest themselves. Although ECP was related to indicators of increased preoccupation with errors, high-EC perfectionists made more errors than low-EC perfectionists. This observation may be explained by insufficient early error processing as indicated by a reduced Ne/c effect and a lack of post-response adaptation. PSP had a moderating effect on the relationship between ECP and early error processing. Our results provide evidence that pure-EC perfectionists may spend many of their cognitive resources on error-related contents and worrying, leaving less capacity for cognitive control and thus producing a structural lack of error processing.

Neural Correlates of Executive Functioning in Anorexia Nervosa and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Anorexia nervosa (AN) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are commonly reported to co-occur and present with overlapping symptomatology. Executive functioning difficulties have been implicated in both mental health conditions. However, studies directly comparing these functions in AN and OCD are extremely limited. This review provides a synthesis of behavioral and neuroimaging research examining executive functioning in AN and OCD to bridge this gap in knowledge. We outline the similarities and differences in behavioral and neuroimaging findings between AN and OCD, focusing on set shifting, working memory, response inhibition, and response monitoring. This review aims to facilitate understanding of transdiagnostic correlates of executive functioning and highlights important considerations for future research. We also discuss the importance of examining both behavioral and neural markers when studying transdiagnostic correlates of executive functions.

Error Processing and Pain: A New Perspective

Errors put organisms in danger. Upon error commission, error processing allows for the updating of behavior that proved ineffective in light of the current context and goals, and for the activation of behavioral defensive systems. Pain, on the other hand, signals actual or potential danger to one's physical integrity and, likewise, motivates protective behavior. These parallels suggest the existence of cross-links between pain and error processing but so far their relationship remains elusive. In this review, we tie together findings from the field of pain research with those from electroencephalography studies on error processing [specifically the Error Related Negativity (ERN) and Positivity (Pe)]. More precisely, we discuss three plausible associations: Firstly, pain may enhance error processing as it increases error salience. Secondly, persons fearful of pain may be particularly vigilant towards painful errors and thus show a stronger neural response to them. Thirdly, the ERN as a component of the neural response to error commission is considered an endophenotype of threat sensitivity. As high sensitivity to pain threats is known to incite avoidance behavior, this raises the intriguing possibility that neural signatures of error processing predict pain-related protective behaviors, such as avoidance. We propose an integration of these findings into a common framework to inspire future research. Perspectives Inspired by research in anxiety disorders, we discuss the potential bi-directional relationships between error processing and pain, and identify future directions to examine the neural and psychological processes involved in acute and chronic pain and respective avoidance behavior.

On the relationship between the error-related negativity and anxiety in children and adolescents: From a neural marker to a novel target for intervention

The current review focuses on our work on the relationship between the error-related negativity (i.e., ERN) and anxiety in children and adolescents. The ERN is an event-related potential (ERP) that appears as a negative deflection in the ERP waveform when individuals make errors and has been found to be increased in anxious individuals. We, and others, have extended this work into developmental populations, finding that the ERN can be measured reliably in children and that the ERN is increased among clinically anxious youth. Furthermore, we have found that the ERN predicts risk for increases in anxiety across development, among healthy and clinically anxious children. We have done work to elucidate what psychological phenomena the increased ERN among anxious children may reflect by creating a self-report measure of error sensitivity (i.e., the Child Error Sensitivity Index) that relates to the ERN. Moreover, we review our work on parenting and the ERN, which suggests that harsh or critical parenting styles may potentiate the ERN in offspring. And, building on these findings, we discuss our recent work to develop novel, computerized intervention strategies to reduce the ERN and thereby risk for anxiety.

The influence of error detection and error significance on neural and behavioral correlates of error processing in a complex choice task

Error detection and error significance form essential mechanisms that influence error processing and action adaptation. Error detection often is assessed by an immediate self-evaluation of accuracy. Our study used cognitive neuroscience methods to elucidate whether self-evaluation itself influences error processing by increasing error significance in the context of a complex response selection process. In a novel eight-alternative response task, our participants responded to eight symbol stimuli with eight different response keys and a specific stimulus-response assignment. In the first part of the experiment, the participants merely performed the task. In the second part, they also evaluated their response accuracy on each trial. We replicated variations in early and later stages of error processing and action adaptation as a function of error detection. The additional self-evaluation enhanced error processing on later stages, probably reflecting error evidence accumulation, whereas earlier error monitoring processes were not amplified. Implementing multivariate pattern analysis revealed that self-evaluation influenced brain activity patterns preceding and following the response onset, independent of response accuracy. The classifier successfully differentiated between responses from the self- and the no-self-evaluation condition several hundred milliseconds before response onset. Subsequent exploratory analyses indicated that both self-evaluation and the time on task contributed to these differences in brain activity patterns. This suggests that in addition to its effect on error processing, self-evaluation in a complex choice task seems to have an influence on early and general processing mechanisms (e.g., the quality of attention and stimulus encoding), which is amplified by the time on task.

Linking neurophysiological processes of action monitoring to post-response speed-accuracy adjustments in a neuro-cognitive diffusion model

The cognitive system needs to continuously monitor actions and initiate adaptive measures aimed at increasing task performance and avoiding future errors. To investigate the link between the contributing cognitive processes, we introduce the neuro-cognitive diffusion model, a statistical approach that allows a combination of computational modelling of behavioural and electrophysiological data on a single-trial level. This unique combination of methods allowed us to demonstrate across three experimental datasets that early response monitoring (error negativity; Ne/c) was related to more response caution and increased attention on task-relevant features on the subsequent trial, thereby preventing future errors, whereas later response monitoring (error positivity, Pe/c) maintained the ability of responding fast under speed pressure. Our results suggest that Pe/c-related processes might keep Ne/c-related processes in check regarding their impact on post-response adaptation to reconcile the conflicting criteria of fast and accurate responding.

Controlling parenting and perfectionism is associated with an increased error-related negativity (ERN) in young adults

A substantial amount of research focuses on the error-related negativity (ERN)—a negative deflection in the event-related potential waveform that occurs when individuals commit errors on lab-based tasks. The ERN has been link to concurrent and prospective risk for psychopathology and is thought to index sensitivity or reactivity to errors. The ERN can be potentiated in the lab with punishment and has been shown to be increased among offspring of harsh or controlling parents. A separate line of work has demonstrated that the ERN is increased among individuals high in perfectionism. In the current study, we integrate these separate lines of work by examining parenting styles, perfectionism and the ERN in a sample of young adults. Results suggest that the ERN is increased among offspring of controlling parents (both maternal and paternal). Additionally, the ERN is increased among individuals who report being high in perfectionism—specifically, the concerns over mistake and the personal standard perfectionism subscales of the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale. Moreover, results supported a mediation model wherein the indirect pathway from controlling parenting style to perfectionism (personal standard subscale) was mediated by the ERN—for paternal parenting.

A dimensional approach to the neuronal correlates of anxiety, depression, and perfectionism: A transdiagnostic dissociation of error-related brain activity

Transdiagnostic approaches such as the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) highlight the importance of addressing psychopathological constructs dimensionally, since comorbidity and heterogeneity represent prevalent issues in the available categorical diagnosis. The current study analyses distinct internalizing dimensions of depression and anxiety, and the transdiagnostic feature of perfectionism on the modulation of error-related brain activity (i.e., ERN). A sample of 125 participants completed self-reported measures of anxiety, depression, and perfectionism, and performed two versions of the Flanker Task (performance monitoring and sustained-threat) during an EEG recording. In the broad internalizing dimensions, anxiety predicted increased ERN amplitudes when controlling for the shared variance with depression and perfectionism. The narrower dimensions of anxiety and depression revealed a dissociative effect: cognitive anxiety explained blunted ERN amplitudes, while the physiological signs of anxiety and depression predicted increased amplitudes. For perfectionism, no significant results were found. Exploratory analyses further revealed that the Error Positivity component (Pe) was reduced in anxiety and physiological depression. We conclude that anxiety features emerge as the main explanation for the altered patterns of error monitoring in a transdiagnostic sample. Since anxiety is expected to co-occur with other disorders, the current findings suggest that altered patterns of error monitoring will be a transdiagnostic feature of various internalizing and anxiety-related disorders.

The hierarchical structure of error-related negativities elicited from affective and social stimuli and their relations to personality traits

Psychophysiological measures have become increasingly accessible to researchers and many have properties that indicate their use as individual difference indicators. For example, the error-related negativity (ERN), an event-related potential (ERP) thought to reflect error-monitoring processes, has been related to individual differences, such as Neuroticism and Conscientiousness traits. Although various tasks have been used to elicit the ERN, only a few studies have investigated its variability across tasks when examining the relations between the ERN and personality traits. In this project, we examined the relations of the ERN elicited from four variants of the Flanker task (Arrow, Social, Unpleasant, and Pleasant) that were created to maximize the differences in their relevance to personality traits. A sample of 93 participants with a history of treatment for psychopathology completed the four tasks as well as self-report measures of the general and maladaptive five-factor model (FFM) traits. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) of ERN amplitudes indicated that three of the four tasks (Arrow, Social, and Unpleasant) were unidimensional. Another set of CFAs indicated that a general factor underlies the ERN elicited from all tasks as well as unique task-specific variances. The correlations of estimated latent ERN scores and personality traits did not reflect the hypothesized correlation patterns. Variability across tasks and the hierarchical model of the ERN may aid in understanding psychopathology dimensions and in informing future endeavors integrating the psychophysiological methods into the study of personality. Recommendations for future research on psychophysiological indicators as individual differences are discussed.

Oxytocin-induced facilitation of learning in a probabilistic task is associated with reduced feedback- and error-related negativity potentials

BACKGROUND

Feedback evaluation of actions and error response detection are critical for optimizing behavioral adaptation. Oxytocin can facilitate learning following social feedback but whether its effects vary as a function of feedback valence remains unclear.

AIMS

The present study aimed to investigate whether oxytocin would influence responses to positive and negative feedback differentially or equivalently.

METHODS

The present study employed a randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled within-subject design to investigate whether intranasal oxytocin (24 IU) influenced behavioral and evoked electrophysiological potential responses to positive or negative feedback in a probabilistic learning task.

RESULTS

Results showed that oxytocin facilitated learning and this effect was maintained in the absence of feedback. Using novel stimulus pairings, we found that oxytocin abolished bias towards learning more from negative feedback under placebo by increasing accuracy for positively reinforced stimuli. Oxytocin also decreased the feedback-related negativity difference (negative minus positive feedback) during learning, further suggesting that it rendered the evaluation of positive and negative feedback more equivalent. Additionally, post-learning oxytocin attenuated error-related negativity amplitudes but increased the late error positivity, suggesting that it may lower conflict detection between actual errors and expected correct responses at an early stage of processing but at a later stage increase error awareness and motivation for avoiding them.

CONCLUSIONS

Oxytocin facilitates learning and subsequent performance by rendering the impact of positive relative to negative feedback more equivalent and also by reducing conflict detection and increasing error awareness, which may be beneficial for behavioral adaption.

Preserved performance monitoring and error detection in left hemisphere stroke

Depending on the lesion site, a stroke typically affects various aspects of cognitive control. While executing a task, the performance monitoring system constantly compares an intended action plan with the executed action and thereby registers inaccurate actions in case of any mismatch. When errors occur, the performance monitoring system signals the need for more cognitive control, which is most efficient when the subject notices errors rather than processing them subconsciously. The current study aimed to investigate performance monitoring and error detection in a large sample of patients with left hemisphere (LH) stroke. In addition to clinical and neuropsychological tests, 24 LH stroke patients and 32 healthy age-matched controls performed a Go/Nogo task with simultaneous electroencephalography (EEG) measurements. This set-up enabled us to compare performance monitoring at the behavioral and the neural level. EEG data were analyzed using event-related potentials [ERPs; e.g., the error-related negativity (Ne/ERN) and error positivity (Pe)] and additionally more sensitive whole-brain multivariate pattern classification analyses (MVPA). We hypothesized that LH stroke patients would show behavioural deficits in error detection when compared to healthy controls, mirrored by differences in neural signals, in particular reflected in the Pe component. Interestingly, despite clinically relevant cognitive deficits (e.g., aphasia and apraxia) including executive dysfunction (trail making test), we did not observe any behavioral impairments related to performance monitoring and error processing in the current LH stroke patients. Patients also showed similar results for Ne/ERN and Pe components, compared to the control group, and a highly similar prediction of errors from multivariate signals. ERP abnormalities during stimulus processing (i.e., N2 and P3) demonstrated the specificity of these findings in the current LH stroke patients. In contrast to previous studies, by employing a relatively large patient sample, a well-controlled experimental paradigm with a standardized error signaling procedure, and advanced data analysis, we were able to show that performance monitoring (of simple actions) is a preserved cognitive control function in LH stroke patients that might constitute a useful resource in rehabilitative therapies for re-learning impeded functions.

A Neuropsychological Investigation of Perfectionism

Perfectionism entails a burdensome preoccupation with one's self-evaluation in the context of performance outcomes. Although perfectionism has been subject to extensive research, scant literature on its effect on cognitive functioning is available, let alone in nonclinical populations. The aim of the present study is to utilize a comprehensive neuropsychological battery to assess cognitive functions among college students with high and low levels of perfectionism. Participants were 98 college students who were screened for clinical status, completed a neuropsychological battery, and assessed for perfectionism and related symptomatology. Results revealed that the high negative perfectionism group had significantly higher levels of depression and stress compared to the low negative perfectionism group. However, no group differences were found across neuropsychological outcomes. Gradient differences on clinical outcome measures were found when three groups characterized by high adaptive, high maladaptive, and mixed perfectionism were compared. However, no differences were found on neuropsychological tests. These findings suggest that higher levels of negative perfectionism are associated with significant psychopathological burden, but with intact neuropsychological test performance. These results are important, particularly in the context of the need to identify and treat students struggling with high levels of perfectionism and related psychopathological burden, which can be overlooked given that they present with intact cognitive and academic performance.

The Overcontrol in Youth Checklist (OCYC): Behavioral and Neural Validation of a Parent-Report of Child Overcontrol in Early Childhood

Self-control is protective against psychopathology in childhood. However, too much self-control, namely overcontrol, potentiates risk. Overcontrol is a constellation of child characteristics related to high need for control, perfectionism, inflexibility, social comparison, and performance monitoring and is a transdiagnostic risk factor associated with psychiatric disorders across the lifespan. However, there are no quick and developmentally appropriate screeners to identify overcontrol in early childhood, when overcontrol purportedly becomes stable. The current study validated the Overcontrol in Youth Checklist (OCYC) in 4-7 year old children and examined relationships with cognitive, social, and psychiatric, neural and behavioral indicators. The OCYC demonstrated good psychometrics and was associated with deficits in cognitive shifting, social functioning, and preschool psychopathology. Higher OCYC scores were associated with a blunted ΔERN, an indicator of performance monitoring in preschoolers. Findings demonstrate the OCYC to be a developmentally valid measure of overcontrol that identifies this transdiagnostic risk factor early in development.

Differentiating electrophysiological indices of internal and external performance monitoring: Relationship with perfectionism and locus of control

The impact of individual differences on performance monitoring and psychopathology is a question of active debate. Personality traits associated with psychopathology may be related to poor internal performance monitoring (as measured by the error-related negativity [ERN]) but intact external performance monitoring (as measured by the reward positivity [RewP]), suggesting that there are underlying neural differences between internal and external performance monitoring processes. We tested the relationships between individual difference measures of perfectionism, locus of control, and ERN, error-positivity (Pe), and RewP component difference amplitude in a healthy undergraduate sample. A total of 128 participants (69 female, M(SD)age = 20.6(2.0) years) completed two tasks: a modified version of the Eriksen Flanker and a doors gambling task along with the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism scale, the Rotter Locus of Control scale, and the Levenson Multidimensional Locus of Control scale to quantify perfectionism and locus of control traits, respectively. Linear regressions adjusting for age and gender showed that neither ΔERN nor ΔRewP amplitude were significantly moderated by perfectionism or locus of control scores. Findings suggest that, in psychiatrically-healthy individuals, there is not a strong link between perfectionism, locus of control, and ERN or RewP amplitude. Future research on individual difference measures in people with psychopathology may provide further insight into how these personality traits affect performance monitoring.

The relationship between chronic perceived stress and error processing: evidence from event-related potentials

Prolonged exposure to stress has a wide effect on the brain and cognition. Error processing, as one of the crucial components of executive function, plays an important role in cognitive and behavior control. However, to date, there is little research addressing the relationship between chronic perceived stress and error processing. The present study aims to explore the relationship between chronic perceived stress by the Cohen Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and different stages of error processing by the method of Event-Related Potential (ERP). The error processing was tested in a classical auditory Go/NoGo paradigm, and ERP components including early Error-related Negativity (ERN) and late Error Positivity (Pe) were computed as the indices of error processing. The results showed that the PSS score was positively correlated with the Pe amplitude but not with the ERN amplitude. The correlation between PSS and the Pe amplitude holds true even after controlling the trait anxiety and depression symptoms. These results suggest that the higher the chronic stress level, the more sensitive the individuals are to their own errors as well as the more emotional/motivated attention the individuals distributed to their own errors.

Overprotective/authoritarian maternal parenting is associated with an enhanced error-related negativity (ERN) in emerging adult females

Error monitoring is crucial for survival and adaptation, and can be indexed by the error-related negativity (ERN), a fronto-centrally located negative deflection in the event-related potential (ERP) waveform that differentiates erroneous from correct responses within 100 ms of a response. The ERN is seen as an early neural signal indicating the need to adjust performance and increase executive control. Previous findings indicate that punishing errors increases ERN magnitude, and that punitive parenting predicts an enhanced ERN in children. If punitive parenting can in fact sensitize children to error commission over the long term, an enhanced ERN should be seen in adults who experienced harsh parenting as children. The present study thus sought to establish whether punitive parenting is associated with an enhanced ERN in emerging adulthood. A sample of 70 emerging adult females reported on their mothers' and fathers' parenting styles separately and performed a flanker task to elicit the ERN. Higher reported overprotective/authoritarian maternal behavior was associated with an enhanced ERN. These results provide further support for the hypothesis that punitive parenting may lead to long-term sensitization of neural networks involved in performance monitoring.

Understanding the Link between Anxiety and a Neural Marker of Anxiety (The Error-Related Negativity) in 5 to 7 Year-Old Children

Despite growing evidence that an elevated error-related negativity (ERN) is a risk marker for anxiety, it is unclear what psychological construct underlies this association. To address this gap, we devised a 9-item self-report scale for assessing error sensitivity (i.e. the fear of making mistakes) in children. The Child Error Sensitivity Index was administered to 97 children ages 5-7 years old and demonstrated good internal reliability and convergent validity. The Child Error Sensitivity Index related to the ERN, and the relationship between the ERN and child anxiety symptoms was mediated by scores on the Child Error Sensitivity Index.

To err is (perfectly) human: behavioural and neural correlates of error processing and perfectionism

The attitude towards one’s own imperfection strongly varies between individuals. Here, we investigated variations in error-related activity depending on two sub-traits of perfectionism, Personal Standard Perfectionism (PSP) and Evaluative Concern Perfectionism (ECP) in a large scale functional magnetic resonance imaging study (N = 75) using a digit-flanker task. Participants with higher PSP scores showed both more post-error slowing and more neural activity in the medial-frontal gyrus including anterior cingulate cortex after errors. Interestingly, high-EC perfectionists with low PSP showed no post-error slowing and the highest activity in the middle frontal gyrus, whereas high-EC perfectionists with high PSP showed the lowest activity in this brain area and more post-error slowing. Our findings are in line with the hypothesis that perfectionists with high concerns but low standards avoid performance monitoring to avoid the worry-inducing nature of detecting personal failure and the anticipation of poor evaluation by others. However, the stronger goal-oriented performance motivation of perfectionists with high concerns and high standards may have led to less avoidance of error processing and a more intense involvement with the imperfect behaviour, which is essential for improving future performance.

Unlocking Neurocognitive Substrates of Late-Life Affective Symptoms Using the Research Domain Criteria: Worry Is an Essential Dimension

While investigations have sought to identify the distinct and shared contributions of anxiety and depression to neurocognitive processes in late life, less is known regarding the further contribution of worry, a unique and critical dimension of affective dysregulation. Capturing the full range of symptoms, as inspired by the NIH Research Domain Criteria (RDoC), may provide finer-grained information on inter-relationships among worry, anxiety and depression on neurocognitive processing in later life. The objective of this study was to determine if the dimensional trait of worry intensifies known negative associations of dimensional measures of anxiety and depressive symptoms with neurocognitive processes, specifically cognitive control and memory processes. Using a cross-sectional and observational design, this study was conducted within a translational research center located with a Veterans medical center in Northern California. One hundred and nineteen community-residing older adults ages 65-91 years participated, and were characterized with psychiatric and neurocognitive dimensional measures. Affective symptom severity was assessed with the Penn State Worry Questionnaire, the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and the Beck Depression Inventory-II. Primary neurocognitive outcomes were inhibitory control assessed using a Stroop paradigm and delayed verbal memory assessed with the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test. Secondary outcomes included other less frequently examined cognitive control mechanisms (working memory, information processing, and verbal fluency) and memory processes (visual delayed memory). Contrary to prediction, the dimensional trait of worry attenuated negative associations between anxiety and depressive symptoms and inhibitory control on the one hand, and between depressive symptoms and delayed verbal memory processes on the other. In the secondary models, symptom dimensions were not associated with other cognitive control or visual delayed memory processes. Our fine-grained approach, in line with the NIMH RDoC model, suggests the neurocognitive processes associated with dimensional measures of late-life affective symptoms are dissociable. Specifically, dimensional measures of worry operate independently from other anxiety and depression symptoms to reveal differential patterns of neurocognitive processes associated with affective dysregulation.

Motivational processes from expectancy-value theory are associated with variability in the error positivity in young children

Motivational beliefs and values influence how children approach challenging activities. The current study explored motivational processes from an expectancy-value theory framework by studying children's mistakes and their responses to them by focusing on two event-related potential (ERP) components: the error-related negativity (ERN) and the error positivity (Pe). Motivation was assessed using a child-friendly challenge puzzle task and a brief interview measure prior to ERP testing. Data from 50 4- to 6-year-old children revealed that greater perceived competence beliefs were related to a larger Pe, whereas stronger intrinsic task value beliefs were associated with a smaller Pe. Motivation was unrelated to the ERN. Individual differences in early motivational processes may reflect electrophysiological activity related to conscious error awareness.