Negative Error-related Negativity Research Articles

Updating the relationship of the Ne/ERN to task-related behavior: A brief review and suggestions for future research.

The error negativity/error-related negativity (Ne/ERN) is one of the most well-studied event-related potential (ERP) components in the electroencephalography (EEG) literature. Peaking about 50 ms after the commission of an error, the Ne/ERN is a negative deflection in the ERP waveform that is thought to reflect error processing in the brain. While its relationships to trait constructs such as anxiety are well-documented, there is still little known about how the Ne/ERN may subsequently influence task-related behavior. In other words, does the occurrence of the Ne/ERN trigger any sort of error corrective process, or any other behavioral adaptation to avoid errors? Several theories have emerged to explain how the Ne/ERN may implement or affect behavior on a task, but evidence supporting each has been mixed. In the following manuscript, we review these theories, and then systematically discuss the reasons that there may be discrepancies in the literature. We review both the inherent biological factors of the neural regions that underlie error-processing in the brain, and some of the researcher-induced factors in analytic and experimental choices that may be exacerbating these discrepancies. We end with a table of recommendations for future researchers who aim to understand the relationship between the Ne/ERN and behavior.

Age-related differences in the error-related negativity and error positivity in children and adolescents are moderated by sample and methodological characteristics: A meta-analysis.

The error‐related negativity (ERN) and the error positivity (Pe) are electrophysiological components associated with error processing that are thought to exhibit distinctive developmental trajectories from childhood to adulthood. To investigate the age and age moderation effects on the ERN and the Pe strength during development, we conducted a preregistered three‐level meta‐analysis synthesizing 120 and 41 effect sizes across 18 group comparison studies and 19 correlational studies, respectively. The meta‐analysis included studies with mean age between 3.6 and 28.7 (min‐max age range: 3.5 and 49.8) years for age‐group comparisons and 6.1 to 18.7 (min‐max age range: 4.0–35.7) years for age correlations. Results showed that age was associated with a more negative ERN (SMD = −.433, r = −.230). No statistically significant association between age and the Pe was found (SMD = .059, r = −.091), except for in a group comparison between younger and older adolescents. The age effects were not significantly moderated by whether a Flanker or a Go/No‐Go task was used, whereas a probabilistic learning task moderated the age effect on the Pe. Moreover, the Fz and Cz electrode sites yielded stronger negative associations between age and the ERN and the Pe, respectively. The results confirm that the ERN and the Pe show differential development courses and suggest that sample and methodological characteristics influence the age effects, and lay the foundation for investigations of developmental patterns of the ERN and the Pe in relation to psychopathology and early genetic and environmental risk factors.

Neurophysiological predictors of gaze-contingent music reward therapy among adults with social anxiety disorder

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is associated with fear of negative evaluation and heightened performance monitoring. The best-established treatments help only a subset of patients, and there are no well-established predictors of treatment response. The current study investigated whether individual differences in processing errors might predict response to gaze-contingent music reward therapy (GC-MRT). At baseline, healthy control subjects (HC; n = 20) and adults with SAD (n = 29), ages 19–43 years, completed the Flanker Task while electroencephalography (EEG) data were recorded. SAD participants then received up to 12 sessions over 8 weeks of GC-MRT, designed to train participants’ attention away from threatening and toward neutral faces. Clinical assessments were completed 9- (post-treatment) and 20-weeks (follow-up) after initiating the treatment. At baseline, compared to HC, SAD performed the task more accurately and exhibited increased error-related negativity (ERN) and delta power to error commission. After controlling for age and baseline symptoms, more negative ERN and increased frontal midline theta (FMT) predicted reduced self-reported social anxiety symptoms at post-treatment, and FMT also predicted clinician-rated and self-reported symptom reduction at the follow-up assessment. Hypervigilance to error is characteristic of SAD and warrants further research as a predictor of treatment response for GC-MRT.

Neural Correlate of Acceptance: Relating Individual Differences in Dispositional Acceptance to Error Processing

Many of the observed benefits following mindfulness training are associated with changes to acceptance, characterized by having less reactivity to, and judgment of, one’s experiences. Acceptance may be particularly relevant to the processing of errors, as errors often enlist difficult cognitive and affective reactions. Error processing can be measured by error-related negativity (ERN), a negative deflection that directly reflects the brain’s signal of error processing. The present study examined whether error processing may be a neural correlate of acceptance at the dispositional level in non-clinical populations, outside the context of meditation training. Thirty-seven participants, with a mean age of 22 years (SD = 5.79), 48.6% female, completed a Go/No-Go (GNG) task while their performance was monitored with an electroencephalogram (EEG) to measure the ERN and the co-occurring behaviors of response inhibition. Acceptance was measured by the nonreactivity and nonjudging subscales of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ). Nonreactivity correlated with a less negative ERN (r = 0.43, p = 0.01, 95% CI = [0.11, 0.67]), and higher acceptance correlated with faster reaction time (r = − 0.48, p = 0.003, 95% CI = [− 0.70, − 0.18]), without any trade-offs in accuracy. Findings suggest that individuals higher in acceptance may process errors and competing responses with less neural activity while still displaying similar behavioral responses. Given the limited objective measures for assessing acceptance and the benefits associated with acceptance, the presence of these neural and behavioral correlates of acceptance may inform the clinical research of mindfulness interventions.

Discrete electrocortical predictors of anxiety and anxiety-related treatment response in youth with autism spectrum disorder

There are two established electroencephalogram (EEG) indices that putatively relate to anxiety symptoms: a) the error-related negativity (ERN), which reflects endogenous threat sensitivity, and b) resting-state EEG relative right frontal activity (rRFA), which relates to approach/withdrawal motivation. We examined these indices conjointly to better elucidate differential mechanisms underlying the common anxiety phenotype in youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), in relation to subjective reports of symptomatology and treatment response. EEG was recorded from 53 youth with ASD who participated in a 10-week social skills intervention (SSI). More negative ERN related to higher self-reported social anxiety symptoms at baseline, and predicted improvements in self-reported social anxiety symptoms following SSI. Although rRFA did not relate to anxiety symptoms at baseline, more rRFA predicted improvement in parent-reported anxiety domains but worsening in self-reported anxiety symptoms. This study provides evidence for unique neural mechanisms of anxiety symptoms and changes in anxiety after SSI in youth with ASD.

Error processing in the adolescent brain: Age-related differences in electrophysiology, behavioral adaptation, and brain morphology

Detecting errors and adjusting behaviour appropriately are fundamental cognitive abilities that are known to improve through adolescence. The cognitive and neural processes underlying this development, however, are still poorly understood. To address this knowledge gap, we performed a thorough investigation of error processing in a Flanker task in a cross-sectional sample of participants 8 to 19 years of age (n = 98). We examined age-related differences in event-related potentials known to be associated with error processing, namely the error-related negativity (ERN) and the error positivity (Pe), as well as their relationships with task performance, post-error adjustments and regional cingulate cortex thickness and surface area. We found that ERN amplitude increased with age, while Pe amplitude remained constant. A more negative ERN was associated with higher task accuracy and faster reaction times, while a more positive Pe was associated with higher accuracy, independently of age. When estimating post-error adjustments from trials following both incongruent and congruent trials, post-error slowing and post-error improvement in accuracy both increased with age, but this was only found for post-error slowing when analysing trials following incongruent trials. There were no age-independent associations between either ERN or Pe amplitude and cingulate cortex thickness or area measures.

Effects of menstrual cycle phase on associations between the error-related negativity and checking symptoms in women

The menstrual cycle is known to impact mood and cognitive function and has been shown to lead to variability in symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorders and anxiety. Using a within-subject design, the present study examined ovarian hormones, the error-related negativity (ERN), and self-reported checking symptoms in both the mid-follicular and mid-luteal phases of the menstrual cycle. ERN amplitude and checking symptom severity did not vary between the follicular and luteal phases. However, a more negative ERN was associated with greater checking symptoms in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle, even when controlling for ERN amplitude in the follicular phase. Moreover, changes in checking symptoms between phases were associated with phase-related changes in the ERN. Finally, a significant mediation model was found such that the ERN measured in the luteal phase mediated the association between progesterone in the luteal phase and checking symptoms in the luteal phase. Collectively, the present findings suggest that levels of progesterone in the luteal phase could impact checking symptoms by modulating response monitoring and sensitivity to errors, and that fluctuation in the ERN between menstrual cycle phases may play an important role in the expression of anxious and obsessive-compulsive symptoms.

The Association of Childhood Fitness to Proactive and Reactive Action Monitoring.

Several studies have claimed that the positive association between childhood fitness and cognitive control is attributable to differences in the child’s cognitive control strategy, which can involve either proactive or reactive control. The present study tested this hypothesis by manipulating the probability of trial types during a modified flanker task. Preadolescent children performed mostly congruent and mostly incongruent conditions of the flanker task, with post-error task performance and error negativity/error-related negativity (Ne/ERN) being assessed. Results indicated that greater aerobic fitness was related to greater post-error accuracy and larger Ne/ERN amplitudes in the mostly congruent condition. These findings suggest that higher-fit children might be able to transiently upregulate cognitive control by recruiting reactive control in the mostly congruent condition. Further, greater fitness was related to greater modulation of Ne/ERN amplitude between conditions, suggesting that higher-fit children engaged in more proactive control in the mostly incongruent condition. This study supports the hypothesis that greater childhood fitness is associated with a more flexible shift between reactive and proactive modes of cognitive control to adapt to varying task demands.

Altered relationship between electrophysiological response to errors and gray matter volumes in an extended network for error‐processing in pediatric obsessive‐compulsive disorder

Pediatric patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) show an increased electrophysiological response to errors that is thought to be localized to the posterior medial prefrontal cortex (pMFC). However, the relation of this response, the error-related negativity (ERN), to underlying brain structures remains unknown. In an examination of 20 pediatric OCD patients and 20 healthy youth, we found that more negative ERN amplitude was correlated with lower gray matter (GM) density in pMFC and orbital frontal cortex. The association of the ERN with pMFC gray matter volume was driven by the patient group. In addition, a group difference in the association of ERN with gray matter in right insula was observed, showing an association of these measures in healthy youth (more negative ERN amplitude was associated with lower GM density in insula), but not in patients. These findings provide preliminary evidence linking gray matter volumes in an extended network for error processing to the ERN, and suggest that structural alterations in this network may underlie exaggeration of the ERN in pediatric OCD.

Alterations in error-related brain activity and post-error behavior over time

This study examines the relation between the error-related negativity (ERN) and post-error behavior over time in healthy young adults (N=61). Event-related brain potentials were collected during two sessions of an identical flanker task. Results indicated changes in ERN and post-error accuracy were related across task sessions, with more negative ERN associated with greater improvements in post-error accuracy. This relationship was independent of any cross-sectional relationships between overall task performance, individual difference factors, including personality and self-efficacy, and indices of self-regulatory action monitoring. These results indicate that the relation between ERN and post-error accuracy remains intact and consistent regardless of variation in this set of individual difference factors previously associated with both of these indices of self-regulatory action monitoring, providing support for the strength, robustness, and persistence of this relationship in the process of adaptively controlling behavior to enhance task performance.

Punishment sensitivity modulates the processing of negative feedback but not error-induced learning.

Accumulating evidence suggests that individual differences in punishment and reward sensitivity are associated with functional alterations in neural systems underlying error and feedback processing. In particular, individuals highly sensitive to punishment have been found to be characterized by larger mediofrontal error signals as reflected in the error negativity/error-related negativity (Ne/ERN) and the feedback-related negativity (FRN). By contrast, reward sensitivity has been shown to relate to the error positivity (Pe). Given that Ne/ERN, FRN, and Pe have been functionally linked to flexible behavioral adaptation, the aim of the present research was to examine how these electrophysiological reflections of error and feedback processing vary as a function of punishment and reward sensitivity during reinforcement learning. We applied a probabilistic learning task that involved three different conditions of feedback validity (100%, 80%, and 50%). In contrast to prior studies using response competition tasks, we did not find reliable correlations between punishment sensitivity and the Ne/ERN. Instead, higher punishment sensitivity predicted larger FRN amplitudes, irrespective of feedback validity. Moreover, higher reward sensitivity was associated with a larger Pe. However, only reward sensitivity was related to better overall learning performance and higher post-error accuracy, whereas highly punishment sensitive participants showed impaired learning performance, suggesting that larger negative feedback-related error signals were not beneficial for learning or even reflected maladaptive information processing in these individuals. Thus, although our findings indicate that individual differences in reward and punishment sensitivity are related to electrophysiological correlates of error and feedback processing, we found less evidence for influences of these personality characteristics on the relation between performance monitoring and feedback-based learning.

The influence of emotions due to verbal admonishment and encouragement on performance monitoring

This study investigated the relationship between emotion and performance monitoring as reflected in the error negativity/error-related negativity (Ne/ERN). Data were collected by using a spatial Stroop task from 15 female students of a university tennis club. After errors, participants received verbal feedback-recorded admonishments or encouragements spoken by their team captain. In a control condition no feedback was given after errors. Verbal admonishment decreased the ERN relative to the control condition, indicating impaired performance monitoring in line with somewhat larger compatibility effects in this condition. Source localization indicated a shift of the ERN toward more rostral zones within the anterior cingulate cortex indicating the involvement of affective processes.

Low-frequency EEG oscillations associated with information processing in schizophrenia

Numerous studies have described attenuated event-related potential (ERP) component amplitudes in schizophrenia (e.g., P300, Mismatch Negativity (MMN), Error Negativity/Error-Related Negativity (Ne/ERN)). Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have typically shown decreased recruitment of diverse brain areas during performance of tasks that elicit the above ERP components. Recent research suggests that phase-resetting of slow-oscillations (e.g., in the delta and theta bands) underlies the potentials observed in ERP averages. Several studies have reported that slow-oscillations are increased in amplitude in people with schizophrenia at rest. Few studies have examined event-related low-frequency oscillations in schizophrenia. We examined event-related evoked and induced delta and theta activity in 17 people with schizophrenia and 17 healthy controls in two go/no-go task variants. We analyzed stimulus-related and response-related oscillations associated with correct-hits, correct-rejects and false-alarms. Our results reveal a pattern of reduced delta and theta activity for task-relevant events in schizophrenia. The findings indicate that while low-frequency oscillations are increased in amplitude at rest, they are not coordinated effectively in schizophrenia during various information processing tasks including target-detection, response-inhibition and error-detection. This slow-oscillation coordination abnormality may help explain the decreased recruitment of brain areas seen in fMRI studies.

Action monitoring and depressive symptom reduction in major depressive disorder

Introduction Action monitoring has been reported to be disturbed in Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). Well-known markers for this action monitoring process are the error negativity/error-related negativity (Ne/ERN) and error positivity (Pe), both event-related potentials (ERP) generated in the anterior cingulate cortex. This study aims to explore the impact of symptom severity reduction on the Ne/ERN and Pe in MDD. Methods Behavioural and ERP measurements were obtained in 15 MDD patients during performance on a speeded flankers task during the early stages of a depressive episode and compared with those recorded after 7 weeks of treatment. The same schedule was used in 15 healthy controls. Results Whereas overall Ne/ERN and Pe peak amplitudes did not improve from sessions 1 to 2 in the patients, positive correlations emerged between between-session changes in symptom severity and Ne/ERN amplitudes. No such correlations were observed for the Pe. ERP amplitudes in the controls also remained unchanged between both sessions. Significant group differences were observed between MDD patients and controls for the Pe, but not for the Ne/ERN. Conclusions Whereas a clear association was observed between the level of symptom reduction and the level of improvement in Ne/ERN amplitudes in a MDD sample, no overall Ne/ERN enhancements were observed during symptom remission. Subsequent research is needed to further investigate the possible impact of depressive symptom reduction on the action monitoring in MDD. Several factors that might explain the absence of Ne/ERN group differences between patients and healthy controls in the current sample will also be discussed.

Error processing in major depressive disorder: Evidence from event-related potentials

In a previous study we showed that errors following errors activate a strategic (prefrontal) mechanism. In an error trial (trial n) following an erroneous previous trial (trial n − 1) healthy control subjects were found to have enlarged (more negative) amplitudes of the error related negativity (ERN)/error negativity ( N e), an electrophysiological correlate of response monitoring, in response to a negative feedback signal. Contrary to that, patients with major depressive disorder showed smaller (less negative) ERN/ N e amplitudes. It has been discussed controversially whether errors of choice (e.g., pressing an incorrect response button in an Eriksen flanker task) and errors of commission (e.g., pressing a button when one is not supposed to in a Go/Nogo task) are related to different ERN/ N e mechanisms. In the present study, we examined whether our previous result only holds for errors of choice in an Eriksen flankers task or extends to errors of commission in a Go/Nogo task, as well. Ten patients with DSM-IV major depressive disorder and 10 matched controls participated in a Go/Nogo task with performance feedback which signaled monetary reward. Patients with major depressive disorder again showed a less negative ERN/ N e amplitude in error trials following error trials. This result might reflect impaired response monitoring processes in major depressive disorder resulting from an impaired activation of a central reward pathway and/or a deficit in strategic reasoning.

External Behavior Monitoring Mirrors Internal Behavior Monitoring

Abstract: The discovery of mirror neurons in monkeys has reshaped thinking about how the brain processes observed actions. There is growing evidence that these neurons, which show similar firing patterns for action execution and observation, also exist in humans. Many parts of the motor system required to perform a specific action are activated during the observation of the same action. We hypothesized that behavior monitoring that occurs during action execution is mirrored during action observation. To test this, we measured error negativity/error-related negativity (Ne/ERN) while participants performed and observed a Go/NoGo task. The Ne/ERN is an event-related potential that is thought to reflect an error detection process in the brain. In addition to finding an Ne/ERN for performed errors, we found that an Ne/ERN was also generated for observed errors. The Ne/ERN for observed errors may reflect a system that plays a key role in imitation and observational learning.

A multimodal examination of anterior cingulate cortex correlates of trial-to-trial performance impairments in schizophrenia

Action monitoring has been reported to be disturbed in Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). Well-known markers for this action monitoring process are the error negativity/error-related negativity (Ne/ERN) and error positivity (Pe), both event-related potentials (ERP) generated in the anterior cingulate cortex. This study aims to explore the impact of symptom severity reduction on the Ne/ERN and Pe in MDD.Behavioural and ERP measurements were obtained in 15 MDD patients during performance on a speeded flankers task during the early stages of a depressive episode and compared with those recorded after 7 weeks of treatment. The same schedule was used in 15 healthy controls.Whereas overall Ne/ERN and Pe peak amplitudes did not improve from sessions 1 to 2 in the patients, positive correlations emerged between between-session changes in symptom severity and Ne/ERN amplitudes. No such correlations were observed for the Pe. ERP amplitudes in the controls also remained unchanged between both sessions. Significant group differences were observed between MDD patients and controls for the Pe, but not for the Ne/ERN.Whereas a clear association was observed between the level of symptom reduction and the level of improvement in Ne/ERN amplitudes in a MDD sample, no overall Ne/ERN enhancements were observed during symptom remission. Subsequent research is needed to further investigate the possible impact of depressive symptom reduction on the action monitoring in MDD. Several factors that might explain the absence of Ne/ERN group differences between patients and healthy controls in the current sample will also be discussed.