No association between error-related ERPs and trait anxiety in a nonclinical sample: Convergence across analytical methods including mass-univariate statistics.

Abstract

Enhanced error monitoring, as indexed by increased amplitude of the error-related negativity (ERN) event-related potential (ERP) component, has been suggested to reflect a vulnerability neuro-marker of anxiety disorders. Another error-related ERP component is the error positivity (Pe), which reflects late-stage error processing. The associations between heightened ERN and Pe amplitudes and anxiety levels in the nonclinical population have been inconsistent. In this preregistered study, we examined the association between anxiety, ERN, and Pe, using different analytical methods (mass-univariate analyses, MUAs and conventional analyses), self-reported anxiety scales (STAI and STICSA), and trial numbers (all correct trials and equal numbers of correct and error trials). In a sample of 82 healthy adults, both conventional and MUAs demonstrated a robust enhancement of the ERN and Pe to errors relative to the correct-response ERPs. However, the mass-univariate approach additionally unveiled a wider array of electrodes and a longer effect duration for this error enhancement. Across the analytic methods, the results showed a lack of consistent correlation between trait anxiety and error-related ERPs. Findings were not modulated by trial numbers, analyses, or anxiety scales. The present results suggest a lack of enhancement of error monitoring by anxious traits in individuals with subclinical anxiety and those with clinical anxiety but without a clinical diagnosis. Importantly, the absence of such correlation questions the validity of the ERN as a neural marker for anxiety disorders. Future studies that investigate neuro-markers of anxiety may explore alternative task designs and employ robust statistics to provide a more comprehensive understanding of anxiety vulnerability.