1
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Lenzoni S, Sumich AL, Mograbi DC. Domain specificity of error monitoring: An ERP study in young and older adults. Psychophysiology 2024:e14579. [PMID: 38557996 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14579] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2022] [Revised: 03/02/2024] [Accepted: 03/16/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
Metacognition refers to the ability to monitor and control one's cognitive processes, which plays an important role in decision-making throughout the lifespan. It is still debated whether metacognitive abilities decline with age. Neuroimaging evidence suggests that metacognition is served by domain-specific mechanisms. These domains may differentially decline with increasing age. The current investigates whether the error-related negativity (ERN) and the error positivity (Pe) which reflect error detection and error awareness, respectively, differ across perceptual and memory domains in young and older adults. In total, 38 young adults and 37 older adults completed a classic Flanker Task (perceptual) and an adapted memory-based version. No difference in ERN amplitude was found between young and older adults and across domains. Perceptual ERN peaked earlier than Memory ERN. Memory ΔERN was larger than Perceptual ΔERN. Pe was smaller in older adults and ΔPe was larger for perceptual than memory flanker. Memory Pe peaked earlier in young as compared to older adults. Multivariate analyses of whole scalp data supported cross-domain differences. During the task, ERN decreased in young but not in older adults. Memory Pe decreased in young adults but increased in older adults while no significant change in perceptual Pe was found. The study's findings suggest that neural correlates of error monitoring differ across cognitive domains. Moreover, it was shown that error awareness declines in old age but its within-task dynamics vary across cognitive domains. Possible mechanisms underlying metacognition impairments in aging are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabrina Lenzoni
- Department of Psychology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
- Department of Psychology, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Department of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK
| | - Alexander L Sumich
- Department of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK
- Department of Psychology, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Daniel C Mograbi
- Department of Psychology, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
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2
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Clayson PE, Shuford JL, Rast P, Baldwin SA, Weissman DH, Larson MJ. Normal congruency sequence effects in psychopathology: A behavioral and electrophysiological examination using a confound-minimized design. Psychophysiology 2024; 61:e14426. [PMID: 37668221 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14426] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2023] [Revised: 08/14/2023] [Accepted: 08/14/2023] [Indexed: 09/06/2023]
Abstract
Clinical studies of adaptive control emphasize the role disruptions in control play in psychopathology. However, many studies used confound-laden designs and examined only one type of psychopathology. Recent studies of event-related potentials (ERPs) suggest that robust congruency sequence effects (CSEs)-a popular index of adaptive control-appear in confound-minimized designs. Thus, the present study sought to determine whether a confound-minimized CSE paradigm could identify adaptive control dysfunction in people with major depressive disorder (MDD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). We predicted that participants with MDD and GAD would show smaller ERP CSEs and that participants with OCD would show larger ERP CSEs than healthy controls. Data from 44 people with GAD, 51 people with MDD, 31 people with OCD, and 56 healthy comparison participants revealed normal CSEs as indexed by response times (RTs) and ERPs in the psychopathology groups. Moreover, psychiatric symptoms did not moderate these CSEs. Finally, we observed a strong mean-variance relationship in RT CSEs, such that participants with stronger post-recruitment of control in mean RT scores showed the most consistent post-conflict responses (i.e., the least intraindividual variability). These findings suggest that prior findings from confound-laden tasks indicating altered CSEs in psychopathology stem from processes that are unrelated to adaptive control. Future research should employ experimental designs that isolate these processes to advance our understanding of abnormal CSEs in psychopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter E Clayson
- Department of Psychology, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA
| | - John L Shuford
- Department of Psychology, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA
| | - Philippe Rast
- Department of Psychology, University of California - Davis, Davis, California, USA
| | - Scott A Baldwin
- Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, USA
| | - Daniel H Weissman
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Michael J Larson
- Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, USA
- Neuroscience Center, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, USA
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3
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Clayson PE, Mcdonald JB, Park B, Holbrook A, Baldwin SA, Riesel A, Larson MJ. Registered replication report of the construct validity of the error-related negativity (ERN): A multi-site study of task-specific ERN correlations with internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Psychophysiology 2023:e14496. [PMID: 38155370 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2021] [Revised: 11/16/2023] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 12/30/2023]
Abstract
Intact cognitive control is critical for goal-directed behavior and is widely studied using the error-related negativity (ERN). A common assumption in such studies is that ERNs recorded during different experimental paradigms reflect the same construct or functionally equivalent processes and that ERN is functionally distinct from other error-monitoring event-related brain potentials (ERPs; error positivity [Pe]), other neurophysiological indices of cognitive control (N2), and even other theoretically unrelated indices (visual N1). The present registered report represents a replication-plus-extension study of the psychometric validity of cognitive control ERPs and evaluated the convergent and divergent validity of ERN, Pe, N2, and visual N1 recorded during flanker, Stroop, and Go/no-go tasks. Data from 182 participants were collected from two study sites, and ERP psychometric reliability and validity were evaluated. Findings supported replication of convergent and divergent validity of ERN, Pe, and ΔPe (error minus correct)-these ERPs correlated more with themselves across tasks than with other ERPs measured during the same task. Convergent validity of ΔERN across tasks was not replicated, despite high internal consistency. ERN strongly correlated with N2 at levels similar or higher than those in support of convergent validity for other ERPs, and the present study failed to provide evidence of divergent validity for ERN and Pe from N2 or N1. ERN and ΔERN were unrelated to internalizing or externalizing symptoms. Findings underscore the importance of considering the psychometric validity of ERPs, as it provides a foundation for interpreting and comparing ERPs across tasks and studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter E Clayson
- Department of Psychology, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA
| | - Julia B Mcdonald
- Department of Psychology, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA
| | - Bohyun Park
- Department of Psychology, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA
| | - Amanda Holbrook
- Department of Psychology, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA
| | - Scott A Baldwin
- Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, USA
| | - Anja Riesel
- Department of Psychology, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Michael J Larson
- Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, USA
- Neuroscience Center, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, USA
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Antoniou K. The ups and downs of bilingualism: A review of the literature on executive control using event-related potentials. Psychon Bull Rev 2023; 30:1187-1226. [PMID: 36703091 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-023-02245-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/30/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Whether bilingualism enhances executive control (EC) is controversial. This article reviews 24 studies on the bilingual EC effect using event-related potentials (ERPs). It evaluates the evidence based on considerations of neural efficiency, different EC theories, and accounts regarding the locus of the bilingual effect. The review finds some evidence for a positive bilingual impact. This is more consistent for the P3 and response-locked ERPs. Moreover, when considering each component independently, evidence primarily supports a monitoring and secondarily an inhibition locus. Additionally, an N2/ERN (error-related negativity) dissociation (no bilingual N2 effect but positive ERN impact, evident as smaller ERN), coupled with the P3 results, suggest that monitoring may not be the (only) locus of a bilingual effect but (an)other post-monitoring mechanism(s). Attention disengagement also receives some support. Finally, results across studies are largely consistent with the Bilingualism Anterior to Posterior and Subcortical Shift model (BAPSS): Bilingual effects, when found, often manifest as shorter latencies, larger components or wider amplitude effects during earlier (N2, P3) but smaller components or narrower effects during later processing (stimulus-locked negativities and response-locked components). However, this evidence is not unequivocal. Many bilingual-monolingual comparisons reveal null or some suggest negative or opposite to prediction bilingual effects. Second, the scant evidence about which bilingual experiences impact EC is, generally, unclear, while some evidence indicates negative effects. Third, BAPSS is often not confirmed when multiple components are examined within subjects. Finally, this literature is challenged by confounds and small samples. Further research is required to conclude a positive bilingual effect on EC in ERPs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyriakos Antoniou
- Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Cyprus University of Technology, 15 Vragadinou Street, 3041, Limassol, Cyprus.
- Hellenic Open University, Patra, Greece.
- Center for Applied Neuroscience, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus.
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5
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Chueh TY, Hung CL, Chang YK, Huang CJ, Hung TM. Effects of cognitive demand during acute exercise on inhibitory control and its electrophysiological indices: A randomized crossover study. Physiol Behav 2023; 265:114148. [PMID: 36913988 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2023.114148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2022] [Revised: 02/15/2023] [Accepted: 03/06/2023] [Indexed: 03/13/2023]
Abstract
The aim of this study was to examine the effects of cognitive demand during acute exercise on the behavioral and electrophysiological correlates of inhibitory control. In a within- participants design, 30 male participants (age range = 18-27 years) performed 20-min sessions of high cognitive-demand exercise (HE), low cognitive-demand exercise (LE), and an active control (AC) on separate days in a randomized order. A moderate-to-vigorous intensity interval step exercise was used as the exercise intervention. During the exercise periods, the participants were instructed to respond to the target among competing stimuli to impose different cognitive demands with their feet. A modified flanker task was administered to assess inhibitory control before and after the interventions, and electroencephalography was used to derive stimulus-elicited N2 and P3 components. Behavioral data showed that the participants performed significantly shorter reaction time (RT), regardless of congruency and a reduced RT flanker effect following HE and LE compared with the AC condition with large (ds = -0.934 to -1.07) and medium effect sizes (ds = -0.502 to -0.507), respectively. Electrophysiological data revealed that compared with the AC condition, acute HE and LE had facilitative effects on stimuli evaluation, as indicated by significantly shorter N2 latency for congruent trials and P3 latency regardless of congruency with medium effect sizes (ds = -0.507 to -0.777). Compared with the AC condition, only acute HE elicited more efficient neural processes in conditions requiring high inhibitory control demand, as indicated by significantly shorter N2 difference latency, with a medium effect size (d = -0.528). Overall, the findings suggest that acute HE and LE facilitate inhibitory control and the electrophysiological substrates of target evaluation. Acute exercise with higher cognitive demand may be associated with more refined neural processing for tasks demanding greater amounts of inhibitory control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ting-Yu Chueh
- Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Kinesiology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Chiao-Ling Hung
- Department of Athletics, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Kai Chang
- Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan; Institute for Research Excellence and Learning Science, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Chung-Ju Huang
- Graduate Institute of Sport Pedagogy, University of Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Tsung-Min Hung
- Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Sport Pedagogy, University of Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan.
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6
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Schaefer S, Riediger M, Li SC, Lindenberger U. Too easy, too hard, or just right: Lifespan age differences and gender effects on task difficulty choices. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL DEVELOPMENT 2023. [DOI: 10.1177/01650254231160126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/13/2023]
Abstract
In everyday life, individuals often need to make choices about the difficulty level of tasks they wish to perform. Here, we investigate age- and gender-related differences in the monitoring of discrepancies between the difficulty of a given task and one’s own performance level, and in the likelihood to select task difficulties that match one’s performance level. Male and female children, teenagers, younger adults, and older adults (total N = 160) were asked to play a modified version of the BINGO game. Task difficulty was operationalized as the number of cards played simultaneously. We expected that (a) discrepancies between individuals’ self-selected difficulty levels and their objectively assessed maximum manageable task difficulty (MMTD) would be lowest in early adulthood; (b) children and teenagers, on average, would select relatively difficult task difficulties; and (c) males would overestimate their performance levels, on average, to a greater extent than females. As predicted, younger adults selected task difficulties closest to their MMTD. All other age groups, including older adults, chose task difficulties above their MMTD. The expected gender differences were restricted to children, with boys showing more pronounced performance overestimations than girls. Children and teenagers fluctuated more in their difficulty choices than adults, and many of them, especially boys, occasionally chose difficulty levels far beyond their performance capabilities. We conclude that task-difficulty choices are an interesting topic for lifespan studies. Future research should systematically vary the physical risk involved in a task, and also include the presence of peers.
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Moving beyond response times with accessible measures of manual dynamics. Sci Rep 2022; 12:19065. [PMID: 36351962 PMCID: PMC9646795 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-20579-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2021] [Accepted: 09/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Button-press measures of response time (RT) and accuracy have long served a central role in psychological research. However, RT and accuracy provide limited insight into how cognitive processes unfold over time. To address this limitation, researchers have used hand-tracking techniques to investigate how cognitive processes unfold over the course of a response, are modulated by recent experience, and function across the lifespan. Despite the efficacy of these techniques for investigating a wide range of psychological phenomena, widespread adoption of hand-tracking techniques within the field is hindered by a range of factors, including equipment costs and the use of specialized software. Here, we demonstrate that the behavioral dynamics previously observed with specialized motion-tracking equipment in an Eriksen flanker task can be captured with an affordable, portable, and easy-to-assemble response box. Six-to-eight-year-olds and adults (N = 90) completed a computerized version of the flanker task by pressing and holding a central button until a stimulus array appeared. Participants then responded by releasing the central button and reaching to press one of two response buttons. This method allowed RT to be separated into initiation time (when the central button was released) and movement time (time elapsed between initiation and completion of the response). Consistent with previous research using motion-tracking techniques, initiation times and movement times revealed distinct patterns of effects across trials and between age groups, indicating that the method used in the current study presents a simple solution for researchers from across the psychological and brain sciences looking to move beyond RTs.
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8
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Boen R, Quintana DS, Ladouceur CD, Tamnes CK. 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. Psychophysiology 2022; 59:e14003. [PMID: 35128651 PMCID: PMC9285728 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2021] [Revised: 12/22/2021] [Accepted: 12/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Rune Boen
- NORMENT, Division of Mental Health and Addiction Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo Oslo Norway
- PROMENTA Research Center, Department of Psychology University of Oslo Oslo Norway
| | - Daniel S. Quintana
- NORMENT, Division of Mental Health and Addiction Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo Oslo Norway
- Department of Psychology University of Oslo Oslo Norway
- KG Jebsen Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders University of Oslo Oslo Norway
- NevSom, Department of Rare Disorders Oslo University Hospital Oslo Norway
| | - Cecile D. Ladouceur
- Department of Psychiatry University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Pennsylvania USA
| | - Christian K. Tamnes
- NORMENT, Division of Mental Health and Addiction Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo Oslo Norway
- PROMENTA Research Center, Department of Psychology University of Oslo Oslo Norway
- Department of Psychiatric Research Diakonhjemmet Hospital Oslo Norway
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9
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Heise MJ, Mon SK, Bowman LC. Utility of Linear Mixed Effects Models for Event-Related Potential Research with Infants and Children. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2022; 54:101070. [PMID: 35395594 PMCID: PMC8987653 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2022.101070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2021] [Revised: 12/02/2021] [Accepted: 01/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Event-related potentials (ERPs) are advantageous for investigating cognitive development. However, their application in infants/children is challenging given children’s difficulty in sitting through the multiple trials required in an ERP task. Thus, a large problem in developmental ERP research is high subject exclusion due to too few analyzable trials. Common analytic approaches (that involve averaging trials within subjects and excluding subjects with too few trials, as in ANOVA and linear regression) work around this problem, but do not mitigate it. Moreover, these practices can lead to inaccuracies in measuring neural signals. The greater the subject exclusion, the more problematic inaccuracies can be. We review recent developmental ERP studies to illustrate the prevalence of these issues. Critically, we demonstrate an alternative approach to ERP analysis—linear mixed effects (LME) modeling—which offers unique utility in developmental ERP research. We demonstrate with simulated and real ERP data from preschool children that commonly employed ANOVAs yield biased results that become more biased as subject exclusion increases. In contrast, LME models yield accurate, unbiased results even when subjects have low trial-counts, and are better able to detect real condition differences. We include tutorials and example code to facilitate LME analyses in future ERP research. Linear Mixed Effects models (LMEs) have advantages for event-related potential analyses. For infant/child ERPs especially, LME is superior to traditional ANOVA models. In simulated ERP data, ANOVAs returned biased results, but LME was unbiased. In real, child ERP data, LME detected condition differences where ANOVA did not. Tutorial and sample codes given to guide use of LMEs in future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan J Heise
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, USA; Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, USA.
| | - Serena K Mon
- Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, USA
| | - Lindsay C Bowman
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, USA; Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, USA
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10
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Abstract
Self-knowledge is a type of personal semantic knowledge that concerns one's self-image and personal identity. It has most often been operationalized as the summary of one's personality traits ("I am a stubborn person"). Interestingly, recent studies have revealed that the neural correlates of self-knowledge can be dissociated from those of general semantic and episodic memory in young adults. However, studies of "dedifferentiation" or loss of distinctiveness of neural representations in ageing suggest that the neural correlates of self-knowledge might be less distinct from those of semantic and episodic memory in older adults. We investigated this question in an event-related potential (ERP) study with 28 young and 26 older adults while they categorised personality traits for their self-relevance (self-knowledge conditions), and their relevance to certain groups of people (general semantic condition). Participants then performed a recognition test for previously seen traits (episodic condition). The amplitude of the late positive component (LPC), associated with episodic recollection processes, differentiated the self-knowledge, general semantic, and episodic conditions in young adults, but not in older adults. However, in older adults, participants with higher composite episodic memory scores had more differentiated LPC amplitudes across experimental conditions. Moreover, consistent with the fact that age-related neural dedifferentiation may be material and region specific, in both age groups some differences between memory types were observed for the N400 component, associated with semantic processing. Taken together, these findings suggest that declarative memory subtypes are less distinct in ageing, but that the amount of differentiation varies with episodic memory function.
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11
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Overhoff H, Ko YH, Feuerriegel D, Fink GR, Stahl J, Weiss PH, Bode S, Niessen E. Neural correlates of metacognition across the adult lifespan. Neurobiol Aging 2021; 108:34-46. [PMID: 34487950 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2021.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2021] [Revised: 07/14/2021] [Accepted: 08/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Metacognitive accuracy describes the degree of overlap between the subjective perception of one's decision accuracy (i.e. confidence) and objectively observed performance. With older age, the need for accurate metacognitive evaluation increases; however, error detection rates typically decrease. We investigated the effect of ageing on metacognitive accuracy using event-related potentials (ERPs) reflecting error detection and confidence: the error/correct negativity (Ne/c) and the error/correct positivity (Pe/c). Sixty-five healthy adults (20 to 76 years) completed a complex Flanker task and provided confidence ratings. We found that metacognitive accuracy declined with age beyond the expected decline in task performance, while the adaptive adjustment of behaviour was well preserved. Pe amplitudes following errors varied by confidence rating, but they did not mirror the reduction in metacognitive accuracy. Ne amplitudes decreased with age for low confidence errors. The results suggest that age-related difficulties in metacognitive evaluation could be related to an impaired integration of decision accuracy and confidence information processing. Ultimately, training the metacognitive evaluation of fundamental decisions in older adults might constitute a promising endeavour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helen Overhoff
- Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3), Research Center Jülich, Jülich, Germany; Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia; Department of Individual Differences and Psychological Assessment, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
| | - Yiu Hong Ko
- Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3), Research Center Jülich, Jülich, Germany; Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia; Department of Individual Differences and Psychological Assessment, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Daniel Feuerriegel
- Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Gereon R Fink
- Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3), Research Center Jülich, Jülich, Germany; Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Jutta Stahl
- Department of Individual Differences and Psychological Assessment, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Peter H Weiss
- Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3), Research Center Jülich, Jülich, Germany; Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Stefan Bode
- Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Eva Niessen
- Department of Individual Differences and Psychological Assessment, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
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12
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Overbye K, Walhovd KB, Fjell AM, Tamnes CK, Huster RJ. Electrophysiological and behavioral indices of cognitive conflict processing across adolescence. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2021; 48:100929. [PMID: 33549993 PMCID: PMC7868601 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2021.100929] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2020] [Revised: 01/15/2021] [Accepted: 01/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Cognitive control enables goal-oriented adaptation to a fast-changing environment and has a protracted development spanning into young adulthood. The neurocognitive processes underlying this development are poorly understood. In a cross-sectional sample of participants 8-19 years old (n = 108), we used blind source separation of EEG data recorded in a Flanker task to derive electrophysiological measures of attention and conflict processing, including a N2-like frontal negative component and a P3-like parietal positive component. Outside the recording session, we examined multiple behavioral measures of interference control derived from the Flanker, Stroop, and Anti-saccade tasks. We found a positive association between age and P3 amplitude, but no relationship between age and N2 amplitude. A stronger N2 was age-independently related to better performance on Stroop and Anti-saccade measures of interference control. A Gratton effect was found on the Flanker task, with slower reaction times on current congruent and better accuracy on current incongruent trials when preceded by incongruent as opposed to congruent trials. The Gratton effect on accuracy was positively associated with age. Together, the findings suggest a multifaceted developmental pattern of the neurocognitive processes involved in conflict processing across adolescence, with a more protracted development of the P3 compared to the N2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Knut Overbye
- Center for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
| | - Kristine B Walhovd
- Center for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Anders M Fjell
- Center for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Christian K Tamnes
- PROMENTA Research Center, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; Department of Psychiatric Research, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, Norway; NORMENT, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Rene J Huster
- Multimodal Imaging and Cognitive Control Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience Cluster, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
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13
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Gyurkovics M, Levita L. Dynamic Adjustments of Midfrontal Control Signals in Adults and Adolescents. Cereb Cortex 2021; 31:795-808. [PMID: 33026426 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaa258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2020] [Revised: 07/10/2020] [Accepted: 08/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
During task performance, our level of cognitive control is dynamically adjusted to task demands as reflected, for example, by the congruency sequence effect (CSE) in conflict tasks. Although brain areas related to cognitive control show protracted maturation across adolescence, previous studies found that adolescents show similar behavioral CSEs to adults. In the present study, we investigated whether there are age-related changes in the neural underpinnings of dynamic control adjustments using electroencephalography. Early adolescents (ages 12-14, N = 30) and young adults (ages 25-27, N = 29) completed a confound-minimized flanker task optimized for the detection of sequential control adjustments. The CSE was observed in midfrontal theta power thought to capture anterior cingulate cortex-mediated monitoring processes but was not modulated significantly by age. Adolescents, however, showed a smaller congruency effect in the power and cross-trial temporal consistency of midfrontal theta oscillations than adults. No age differences were observed in phase-based connectivity between midfrontal and lateral frontal regions in the theta band. These findings provide strong support for the role of midfrontal theta oscillations in conflict monitoring and reactive control and suggest that the cognitive system of early adolescents initially responds less reliably to the occurrence of conflict than that of adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mate Gyurkovics
- Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Liat Levita
- Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
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14
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Cespón J, Carreiras M. Is there electrophysiological evidence for a bilingual advantage in neural processes related to executive functions? Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 118:315-330. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.07.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2020] [Revised: 07/11/2020] [Accepted: 07/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
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15
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Thurm F, Li SC, Hämmerer D. Maturation- and aging-related differences in electrophysiological correlates of error detection and error awareness. Neuropsychologia 2020; 143:107476. [PMID: 32360297 PMCID: PMC7322543 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2020.107476] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2018] [Revised: 04/21/2020] [Accepted: 04/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
The error-related negativity (ERN/Ne) as well as the early and late error positivity (Pe) are electrophysiological correlates known to reflect error detection and error awareness. Despite much evidence on age differences in mastering response conflicts, the development and the functional distinctiveness of these components across the lifespan is still unclear. Here we investigated maturation- and aging-related differences in the ERN/Ne, the early and late Pe during a response conflict task in a lifespan sample that included 45 children, 42 adolescents, 39 younger and 34 older adults. Lifespan age differences were characterized by marked declines of all three components in older age, whereas clear maturation effects from childhood to adolescence were only observed for error detection reflected in the ERN/Ne component. Furthermore, using regression analyses, we examined functional relationships of the error monitoring components to behavioral indicators of task performance. Across all age groups, both the ERN/Ne and the early Pe were related to response accuracy, but only the early Pe was further associated with performance in a covariate task indicative of perceptual processing and attention capacities. Our results suggest that the ERN/Ne, the early and late Pe reflect distinct but complementary processes of error monitoring across the lifespan.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franka Thurm
- Chair of Lifespan Developmental Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
| | - Shu-Chen Li
- Chair of Lifespan Developmental Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany; Centre for Tactile Internet with Human-in-the-Loop (CeTI), TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Dorothea Hämmerer
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Magdeburg, Germany; Institute of Cognitive Neurology and Dementia Research, Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany; Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences, Magdeburg, Germany; Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK; Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, London, UK
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16
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Electrophysiological Correlates of an Alcohol-Cued Go/NoGo Task: A Dual-Process Approach to Binge Drinking in University Students. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2019; 16:ijerph16224550. [PMID: 31752082 PMCID: PMC6888589 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16224550] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2019] [Revised: 11/10/2019] [Accepted: 11/14/2019] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Binge drinking is a common pattern of alcohol consumption in adolescence and youth. Neurocognitive dual-process models attribute substance use disorders and risk behaviours during adolescence to an imbalance between an overactivated affective-automatic system (involved in motivational and affective processing) and a reflective system (involved in cognitive inhibitory control). The aim of the present study was to investigate at the electrophysiological level the degree to which the motivational value of alcohol-related stimuli modulates the inhibition of a prepotent response in binge drinkers. First-year university students (n = 151, 54 % females) classified as binge drinkers (n = 71, ≥6 binge drinking episodes, defined as 5/7 standard drinks per occasion in the last 180 days) and controls (n = 80, <6 binge drinking episodes in the last 180 days) performed a beverage Go/NoGo task (pictures of alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks were presented according to the condition as Go or NoGo stimuli; Go probability = 0.75) during event-related potential recording. In binge drinkers but not controls, the amplitude of the anterior N2-NoGo was larger in response to nonalcohol than in response to alcohol pictures. No behavioural difference in task performance was observed. In terms of dual-process models, binge drinkers may require increased activation to monitor conflict in order to compensate for overactivation of the affective-automatic system caused by alcohol-related bias.
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17
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Clayson PE, Wynn JK, Infantolino ZP, Hajcak G, Green MF, Horan WP. Reward processing in certain versus uncertain contexts in schizophrenia: An event-related potential (ERP) study. JOURNAL OF ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY 2019; 128:867-880. [PMID: 31657597 PMCID: PMC6822386 DOI: 10.1037/abn0000469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Disturbances in motivation are prominent in the clinical presentation of people with schizophrenia and might reflect a disturbance in reward processing. Recent advances in affective neuroscience have subdivided reward processing into distinct components, but there are two limitations of the prior work in schizophrenia. First, studies typically focus on only one component rather than on the unfolding of reward processing across multiple stages. Second, studies have not considered the impact of certainty effects, which represent an important contextual factor that impacts processing. We examined whether individuals with schizophrenia show the typical certainty effects across three phases of reward processing: cue evaluation, feedback anticipation, and feedback receipt. Electroencephalography from 74 healthy controls and 92 people with schizophrenia was recorded during a cued gambling task under conditions in which cues indicated forthcoming reward outcomes that were certain or uncertain. Controls demonstrated the expected certainty effects across each stage. Initial cue evaluation (cue P300) was intact in the schizophrenia group, but people with schizophrenia showed diminished certainty effects during feedback anticipation (stimulus-preceding negativity [SPN]) and receipt (feedback reward positivity [fRewP] and feedback P300). During feedback receipt, event-related potentials in people with schizophrenia were similar to controls for the uncertain context but larger than controls for the certain context. Essentially, people with schizophrenia appeared to process certain feedback as though it were uncertain. These findings show, for the first time, that the fundamental distinction between certain and uncertain contexts is altered in schizophrenia at a neural level. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter E. Clayson
- Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
| | - Jonathan K. Wynn
- Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
| | | | - Greg Hajcak
- Department of Psychology and Biomedical Sciences, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL
| | - Michael. F. Green
- Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
| | - William P. Horan
- Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
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18
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Petanjek Z, Sedmak D, Džaja D, Hladnik A, Rašin MR, Jovanov-Milosevic N. The Protracted Maturation of Associative Layer IIIC Pyramidal Neurons in the Human Prefrontal Cortex During Childhood: A Major Role in Cognitive Development and Selective Alteration in Autism. Front Psychiatry 2019; 10:122. [PMID: 30923504 PMCID: PMC6426783 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2018] [Accepted: 02/18/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The human specific cognitive shift starts around the age of 2 years with the onset of self-awareness, and continues with extraordinary increase in cognitive capacities during early childhood. Diffuse changes in functional connectivity in children aged 2-6 years indicate an increase in the capacity of cortical network. Interestingly, structural network complexity does not increase during this time and, thus, it is likely to be induced by selective maturation of a specific neuronal subclass. Here, we provide an overview of a subclass of cortico-cortical neurons, the associative layer IIIC pyramids of the human prefrontal cortex. Their local axonal collaterals are in control of the prefrontal cortico-cortical output, while their long projections modulate inter-areal processing. In this way, layer IIIC pyramids are the major integrative element of cortical processing, and changes in their connectivity patterns will affect global cortical functioning. Layer IIIC neurons have a unique pattern of dendritic maturation. In contrast to other classes of principal neurons, they undergo an additional phase of extensive dendritic growth during early childhood, and show characteristic molecular changes. Taken together, circuits associated with layer IIIC neurons have the most protracted period of developmental plasticity. This unique feature is advanced but also provides a window of opportunity for pathological events to disrupt normal formation of cognitive circuits involving layer IIIC neurons. In this manuscript, we discuss how disrupted dendritic and axonal maturation of layer IIIC neurons may lead into global cortical disconnectivity, affecting development of complex communication and social abilities. We also propose a model that developmentally dictated incorporation of layer IIIC neurons into maturing cortico-cortical circuits between 2 to 6 years will reveal a previous (perinatal) lesion affecting other classes of principal neurons. This "disclosure" of pre-existing functionally silent lesions of other neuronal classes induced by development of layer IIIC associative neurons, or their direct alteration, could be found in different forms of autism spectrum disorders. Understanding the gene-environment interaction in shaping cognitive microcircuitries may be fundamental for developing rehabilitation and prevention strategies in autism spectrum and other cognitive disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zdravko Petanjek
- Department of Anatomy and Clinical Anatomy, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
- Center of Excellence for Basic, Clinical and Translational Neuroscience, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Dora Sedmak
- Department of Anatomy and Clinical Anatomy, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
- Center of Excellence for Basic, Clinical and Translational Neuroscience, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Domagoj Džaja
- Department of Anatomy and Clinical Anatomy, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
- Center of Excellence for Basic, Clinical and Translational Neuroscience, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Ana Hladnik
- Department of Anatomy and Clinical Anatomy, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
- Center of Excellence for Basic, Clinical and Translational Neuroscience, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Mladen Roko Rašin
- Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, Rutgers University, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway, NJ, United States
| | - Nataša Jovanov-Milosevic
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
- Center of Excellence for Basic, Clinical and Translational Neuroscience, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
- Department of Medical Biology, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
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19
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Pfabigan DM, Wucherer AM, Wang X, Pan X, Lamm C, Han S. Cultural influences on the processing of social comparison feedback signals-an ERP study. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2018; 13:1317-1326. [PMID: 30395315 PMCID: PMC6277742 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsy097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2018] [Revised: 10/14/2018] [Accepted: 10/28/2018] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
This study investigated cultural differences regarding social connectedness in association with social vs non-social comparison feedback. We performed electroencephalography in 54 Chinese and 49 Western adults while they performed a time estimation task in which response-accuracy feedback was either delivered pertaining to participants' own performance (non-social reference frame) or to the performance of a reference group (social reference frame). Trait interdependence and independence were assessed using a cultural orientations questionnaire. Applying a principal component approach, we observed divergent effects for the two cultural groups during feedback processing. In particular, Feedback-Related Negativity results indicated that non-social (vs social) reference feedback was more salient/motivating for Chinese participants, while Westerners showed the opposite pattern. The results suggest that Chinese individuals perceive a non-social context as more salient than a social comparison context, possibly due to their extensive experience of social comparisons in daily life. The reverse pattern was found in Western participants, for whom a social comparison context is less common and presumably more salient. The cultural differences in neural responses to social vs non-social feedback might be caused by culturally diverse cognitive traits, as well as by exposure to culturally defined behaviour on a systemic level-such as the education system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela M Pfabigan
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Anna M Wucherer
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Xuena Wang
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Xinyue Pan
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Claus Lamm
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Shihui Han
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China
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20
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Konijnenberg C, Jondalen NM, Husby MF, Melinder A. ERP correlates of cognitive control in children prenatally exposed to methadone or buprenorphine. Dev Neuropsychol 2018; 43:642-655. [PMID: 29979890 DOI: 10.1080/87565641.2018.1493592] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Much is still unknown about the potential long-term effects of prenatal methadone and buprenorphine exposure. We examined neural correlates of cognitive control in 19 prenatally methadone and buprenorphine exposed and 21 nondrug exposed children, aged 9-11 years. Children performed a modified version of the Eriksen Flanker task, which taps into selective attention, conflict response, and response inhibition mechanisms. We investigated behavioral responses and the ERP components N1, P2, N2, P3, and the late positive component (LPC). Children in the exposed group showed normal cognitive control function. However, an atypical ERP response related to perceptual and attention allocation processes was found in the exposed group.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolien Konijnenberg
- a Department of Psychology , Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences , Lillehammer , Norway.,b Cognitive Developmental Research Unit, Department of Psychology , University of Oslo , Oslo , Norway
| | - Nils Martin Jondalen
- b Cognitive Developmental Research Unit, Department of Psychology , University of Oslo , Oslo , Norway
| | - Mikael Falkhaugen Husby
- b Cognitive Developmental Research Unit, Department of Psychology , University of Oslo , Oslo , Norway
| | - Annika Melinder
- b Cognitive Developmental Research Unit, Department of Psychology , University of Oslo , Oslo , Norway.,c Oslo University Hospital, Child and Adolescent Mental Health , Oslo , Norway
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21
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Grammer JK, Gehring WJ, Morrison FJ. Associations between developmental changes in error-related brain activity and executive functions in early childhood. Psychophysiology 2017; 55. [PMID: 29238990 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2017] [Revised: 10/28/2017] [Accepted: 11/10/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Behavioral evidence indicates that skills associated with children's cognitive control (e.g., response inhibition and attentional control) undergo rapid development during early childhood. A particularly important time is the transition to elementary school. Yet, at present, relatively little is known about developmental changes in the brain processes linked to cognitive control during this period, including those associated with error monitoring, including the error-related negativity (ERN) and the error positivity (Pe). Moreover, understanding how ERP correlates of cognitive control relate to behavioral measures of these skills over time is also limited. In the present study, repeated assessments of 4- to 6-year-old children's (N = 49, mean age = 5 years 10 months) performance on a go/no-go task were collected to examine developmental changes in error processing and response inhibition across 6 months. Data revealed the presence of both the ERN and Pe at each time point, but also showed individual differences in the test-retest associations for each component. Behavioral changes in response inhibition on the go/no-go task and a standardized measure of attentional control were associated with changes in electrophysiological measures of error processing. Additional analyses comparing children of the same age who had completed the go/no-go task once to those who participated longitudinally revealed that, with repeated assessments, children exhibited behavioral changes in performance that could be attributed to both development and to the effects of practice, such as strategic accommodation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennie K Grammer
- Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - William J Gehring
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
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22
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Von Gunten CD, Volpert-Esmond HI, Bartholow BD. Temporal dynamics of reactive cognitive control as revealed by event-related brain potentials. Psychophysiology 2017; 55. [PMID: 28960342 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2017] [Revised: 07/19/2017] [Accepted: 08/22/2017] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Reactive cognitive control refers to a complementary set of cognitive operations by which individuals monitor for and detect the presence of goal-interfering conflict (i.e., conflict monitoring/evaluation) and, subsequently, initiate attention-focusing and response selection processes to bolster goal-directed action in the face of such conflict (regulative control). The purpose of the current study was to characterize the nature of conflict adaptation in both components of this dynamic process across sequences of trials and, more broadly, across time as participants complete a cognitive control task. Fifty-two young adults completed a standard arrow flanker task while behavioral and ERP data were recorded. Multilevel modeling of sequences of compatible and incompatible trials over time showed that, whereas response time data demonstrated a typical conflict adaptation effect throughout the task, N2 and frontal slow wave (FSW) indices of conflict monitoring and regulative control, respectively, demonstrated significant conflict adaptation only during the early part of the task. Moreover, although differential change in N2 and FSW over time suggested that conflict monitoring and regulative control were dissociable, a reciprocal relation between them was maintained throughout the task and was not present in a component theoretically unrelated to conflict adaptation (visual attention-related N1). Findings are discussed in terms of compensatory processes that help to maintain goal-directed performance even as control-related neural responses become fatigued.
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Affiliation(s)
- Curtis D Von Gunten
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, USA
| | | | - Bruce D Bartholow
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, USA
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23
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Harty S, Murphy PR, Robertson IH, O'Connell RG. Parsing the neural signatures of reduced error detection in older age. Neuroimage 2017; 161:43-55. [PMID: 28811254 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.08.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2017] [Revised: 08/04/2017] [Accepted: 08/09/2017] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent work has demonstrated that explicit error detection relies on a neural evidence accumulation process that can be traced in the human electroencephalogram (EEG). Here, we sought to establish the impact of natural aging on this process by recording EEG from young (18-35 years) and older adults (65-88 years) during the performance of a Go/No-Go paradigm in which participants were required to overtly signal their errors. Despite performing the task with equivalent accuracy, older adults reported substantially fewer errors, and the timing of their reports were both slower and more variable. These behavioral differences were linked to three key neurophysiological changes reflecting distinct parameters of the error detection decision process: a reduction in medial frontal delta/theta (2-7 Hz) activity, indicating diminished top-down input to the decision process; a slower rate of evidence accumulation as indexed by the rate of rise of a centro-parietal signal, known as the error positivity; and a higher motor execution threshold as indexed by lateralized beta-band (16-30 Hz) activity. Our data provide novel insight into how the natural aging process affects the neural underpinnings of error detection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siobhán Harty
- Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience and School of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland; Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3UD, United Kingdom.
| | - Peter R Murphy
- Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience and School of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland; Department of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Ian H Robertson
- Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience and School of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Redmond G O'Connell
- Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience and School of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
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