Abstract
Past evidence of an early Processing Negativity in auditory Go/NoGo event-related potential (ERP) data suggests that young adults proactively process sensory information in two-choice tasks. This study aimed to clarify the occurrence of Go/NoGo Processing Negativity and investigate the ERP component series related to the first 250 ms of auditory processing in two Go/NoGo tasks differing in target probability. ERP data related to each task were acquired from 60 healthy young adults (M = 20.4, SD = 3.1 years). Temporal principal components analyses were used to decompose ERP data in each task. Statistical analyses compared component amplitudes between stimulus type (Go vs. NoGo) and probability (High vs. Low). Neuronal source localisation was also conducted for each component. Processing Negativity was not evident; however, P1, N1a, N1b, and N1c were identified in each task, with Go P2 and NoGo N2b. The absence of Processing Negativity in this study indicated that young adults do not proactively process targets to complete the Go/NoGo task and/or questioned Processing Negativity’s conceptualisation. Additional analyses revealed stimulus-specific processing as early as P1, and outlined a complex network of active neuronal sources underlying each component, providing useful insight into Go and NoGo information processing in young adults.
Highlights
The first 250 ms of auditory Go/NoGo processing is generally associated with four event-related potential (ERP) components: P1, N1, P2, and N23,4
To gain further insight into early Go/NoGo processing, this study aimed to explore the active neuronal sources, and stimulus type and probability effects associated with the series of temporal principal components analysis (PCA)-derived ERP components in the first 250 ms of task processing; that is, P1, N1, P2, and N2b
No early frontal negative difference (Nd) was identified, and the hemispheric negativity identified in previous PCA studies matched N1c, demonstrating that there was no Processing Negativity (PN) evident in young adults completing either equiprobable or frequent Go variants of the auditory Go/NoGo www.nature.com/scientificreports paradigm
Summary
The first 250 ms of auditory Go/NoGo processing is generally associated with four ERP components: P1, N1, P2, and N23,4. P1 is a small frontal scalp positivity that peaks ~50 ms after the onset of auditory stimuli, reflecting neuronal activity primarily generated in the temporal lobe and prefrontal cortex (Brodmann’s Area [BA] 2, 6, 22, and 24)[5,6]. N1 is a large frontocentral negativity that peaks ~100 ms poststimulus, involving a complex of sensory components, including a small and diffuse N1a that peaks ~75 ms poststimulus, a frontocentral N1b at ~100 ms, and a temporal N1c at ~150 ms after stimulus onset[11,12,13,14,15,16,17]. N2b is a frontal negativity that peaks ~200 ms after NoGo stimulus onset, reflecting neuronal activity in the anterior cingulate cortex (BA 32 and 33) commonly associated with cognitive control[4,36,37]
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