Deficits In Error Monitoring Research Articles

Error Monitoring in College Students with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Recent error-related event-related potential (ERP) studies suggest that children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) display deficits in error monitoring compared to control children. Information regarding error monitoring deficit in adults with ADHD, however, is scarce. We investigated error monitoring in a sample of college students with ADHD and compared them to their control peers. In addition to error (-related) negativity (Ne/ERN) and error positivity (Pe), we examined behavioral performance such as reaction time (RT) as well as self-reported monitoring behaviors in daily-life situations. Thirty-two college students with no known disorders and 36 college students with ADHD between 18 and 30 years of age participated in this study. Results showed that college students with ADHD were slower in their RT and displayed more RT variability. College students with ADHD also demonstrated significantly smaller Ne/ERN amplitude and shorter Ne/ERN latency compared to control students. There were, however, no significant group differences in either Pe amplitude or Pe latency. With self-reported monitoring behaviors, ADHD students reported significantly more difficulties in both the Self-Monitor and Task Monitor scales of the Behavioral Rating Inventory of Executive Function – Adult Version (BRIEF-A) compared to control students. Collectively, these results suggest that college students with ADHD have atypical error monitoring as measured by brain processing, behavioral performance, and self-report.

Error detection and correction patterns in dementia: A breakdown of error monitoring processes and their neuropsychological correlates

Error monitoring is critical to an individual's ability to function autonomously. This study characterized error detection and correction behaviors within the service of everyday tasks in individuals with dementia. Also, the impact of neuropsychological functioning on error detection and correction was examined. Fifty-three participants diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease (AD) or vascular dementia (VaD) were administered a neuropsychological protocol and the Naturalistic Action Test, which requires performance of three everyday tasks. Error detection, correction, and the point at which correction occurred (i.e., microslip--before the error was completed, immediate--just after the error was made, delayed--after performing other task steps) was coded. Dementia participants detected 32.7% of their errors and corrected 75.8% of detected errors. Participants were more likely to engage in microslips than delayed corrections. Tests of executive control and language predicted detection and correction variables; moreover, detection and correction were each related to different aspects of executive functioning. Microslips were related to naming ability. AD and VaD patients did not differ on detection/correction variables, and regression analyses indicated that dementia severity and memory abilities were unrelated to detection/correction. The results specify the error monitoring deficits in AD and VaD and have implications for improving functional abilities in dementia.

Neurophysiological evidence of error-monitoring deficits in patients with schizophrenia.

The present study was designed to investigate the time-course of neural activity underlying the disruption of response monitoring in patients with schizophrenia. Event-related brain potentials were recorded from 12 patients with schizophrenia and from 12 age-matched controls while they performed a computerized version of the Stroop color-naming task. In control participants, but not in patients with schizophrenia, intrusion errors elicited an error-related negativity (ERN) that peaked at approximately 40 ms after the response and was maximum over the central region of the scalp. Brain electrical source analysis revealed an anterior cingulate generator for the ERN. Patients also showed reduced error-related slowing of response time following intrusion errors. These findings provide neuro-physiological evidence indicating that deficits in error monitoring in schizophrenia arise from a disruption of error-detection processes, possibly attributable to anterior cingulate dysfunction.