Abstract
Recent studies in psychophysiology show an increased attention for examining the reliability of Event-Related Potentials (ERPs), which are measures of cognitive control (e.g., Go/No-Go tasks). An important index of reliability is the internal consistency (e.g., Cronbach's alpha) of a measure. In this study, we examine the internal consistency of the N2 and P3 in a Go/No-Go task. Furthermore, we attempt to replicate the previously found internal consistency of the Error-Related Negativity (ERN) and Positive-Error (Pe) in an Eriksen Flanker task. Healthy participants performed a Go/No-Go task and an Eriksen Flanker task, whereby the amplitudes of the correct No-Go N2/P3, and error trials for ERN/Pe were the variables of interest. This study provides evidence that the N2 and P3 in a Go/No-Go task are internally consistent after 20 and 14 trials are included in the average, respectively. Moreover, the ERN and Pe become internally consistent after approximately 8 trials are included in the average. In addition guidelines and suggestions for future research are discussed.
Highlights
Event-related potentials (ERPs) of cognitive control are increasingly used in clinical studies to examine the relevance in several forms of psychopathology [1], such as addiction [2] and obsessive-compulsive disorder [3]
Olvet and Hajcak [1] and Cohen and Polich [9] were among the first to examine the internal consistency of several cognitive control task ERPs, such as the Error-Related Negativity (ERN), Pe, and P300
This study addresses the internal consistency of four frequently used ERP measures in two cognitive control tasks: the N2/P3 components measured during a Go/No-Go task, and the ERN/Pe components measured during an Eriksen Flanker task
Summary
Event-related potentials (ERPs) of cognitive control are increasingly used in clinical studies to examine the relevance in several forms of psychopathology [1], such as addiction [2] and obsessive-compulsive disorder [3]. Olvet and Hajcak [1] and Cohen and Polich [9] were among the first to examine the internal consistency of several cognitive control task ERPs, such as the ERN, Pe, and P300. Riesel et al [4] stated that there is ample room for more studies examining the reliability (especially, the internal consistency) of ERPs in cognitive control tasks (e.g., [1,4,8,9,10,11]), such as the N2 and P3 in a Go/No-Go task. This study addresses the internal consistency of four frequently used ERP measures in two cognitive control tasks: the N2/P3 components measured during a Go/No-Go task, and the ERN/Pe components measured during an Eriksen Flanker task
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