Alcohol effects on performance monitoring and adjustment: affect modulation and impairment of evaluative cognitive control

Alcohol is known to impair self-regulatory control of behavior, though mechanisms for this effect remain unclear. Here, we tested the hypothesis that alcohol's reduction of negative affect (NA) is a key mechanism for such impairment. This hypothesis was tested by measuring the amplitude of the error-related negativity (ERN), a component of the event-related brain potential (ERP) posited to reflect the extent to which behavioral control failures are experienced as distressing, while participants completed a laboratory task requiring self-regulatory control. Alcohol reduced both the ERN and error positivity (Pe) components of the ERP following errors and impaired typical posterror behavioral adjustment. Structural equation modeling indicated that effects of alcohol on both the ERN and posterror adjustment were significantly mediated by reductions in NA. Effects of alcohol on Pe amplitude were unrelated to posterror adjustment, however. These findings indicate a role for affect modulation in understanding alcohol's effects on self-regulatory impairment and more generally support theories linking the ERN with a distress-related response to control failures.     

Oops!.. I did it again: an ERP and behavioral study of double-errors

To understand the sequealae of action monitoring failures, most previous studies have focused on neural (e.g., the ERN and Pe) and behavioral (e.g., post-error slowing) measures associated with correct trials that precede and follow errors. However, trials that precede and follow errors are not always correct, and no study to date has examined RT and ERP indices in double-error sequences that could shed additional light on multiple response monitoring failures. In the present study, we examined ERP and behavioral data surrounding double-errors to explore the possibility that double-errors could either result from the failed detection of the first error, or from a reduction in compensatory post-error behavioral adjustments. Results indicate a normal ERN and Pe surrounding double-errors; however, errors that followed errors were characterized by reduced post-error reaction time slowing. These data are discussed in terms of existing response monitoring data, and in terms of the utility of double-errors to shed light on distinct types of response monitoring failures.     

When the rules are reversed: Action-monitoring consequences of reversing stimulus–response mappings

How does switching tasks affect our ability to monitor and adapt our behavior? Largely independent lines of research have examined how individuals monitor their actions and adjust to errors, on the one hand, and how they are able to switch between two or more tasks, on the other. Few studies, however, have explored how these two aspects of cognitive?Cbehavioral flexibility interact. That is, how individuals monitor their actions when task rules are switched remains unknown. The present study sought to address this question by examining the action-monitoring consequences of response switching??a form of task switching that involves switching the response that is associated with a particular stimulus. We recorded event-related brain potentials (ERPs) while participants performed a modified letter flanker task in which the stimulus?Cresponse (S?CR) mappings were reversed between blocks. Specifically, we examined three ERPs??the N2, the error-related negativity (ERN), and the error positivity (Pe)??that have been closely associated with action monitoring. The findings revealed that S?CR reversal blocks were associated with dynamic alterations of action-monitoring brain activity: the N2 and ERN were enhanced, whereas the Pe was reduced. Moreover, participants were less likely to adapt their posterror behavior in S?CR reversal blocks. Taken together, these data suggest that response switching results in early enhancements of effortful control mechanisms (N2 and ERN) at the expense of reductions in later response evaluation processes (Pe). Thus, when rules change, our attempts at control are accompanied by less attention to our actions.     

Error-related electrocortical responses in 10-year-old children and young adults

Recent anatomical and electrophysiological evidence suggests that the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is relatively late to mature. This brain region appears to be critical for monitoring, evaluating, and adjusting ongoing behaviors. This monitoring elicits characteristic ERP components including the error-related negativity (ERN), error positivity (Pe) and correct-related negativity (CRN), with the ERN clearly relating to activation of the ACC; however, little attention has been paid to the examination of these ERP components in children. The present study examined developmental differences in the ERN, Pe, and CRN in normal 10-year-old children and young adults in a standard visual flanker task. We found that children had smaller ERNs than adults, with no between-group differences on the Pe, and some ambiguity concerning the CRN. Results provide electrophysiological support either for late maturation of the ACC or late involvement of the ACC in response monitoring. Results also suggest that there is some functional independence of response-monitoring ERP components. Error-related ERPs may be a useful tool in studying the development of this brain region and its role in behavior in normal and atypical development.     

Mindful awareness of feelings increases neural performance monitoring

Mindfulness has been associated with enhanced performance monitoring; however, little is known about the processes driving this apparent neurocognitive benefit. Here, we tested whether focusing present-moment awareness toward the nonjudgmental experience of emotion facilitates rapid neural responses to negative performance outcomes (i.e., mistakes). In particular, we compared whether directing present-moment awareness toward emotions or thoughts would enhance the neurophysiological correlates of performance monitoring: the error-related negativity (ERN) and the error positivity (Pe). Participants were randomly assigned to either a thought-focused or an emotion-focused group, and first they completed a preinduction go/no-go task. Subsequently, the groups followed inductions that promoted mindful attention toward either thoughts or emotions, before completing a final postinduction go/no-go session. The results indicated that emotion-focused participants demonstrated higher neural sensitivity to errors in the time course of the ERN, whereas focusing on thoughts had no effect on performance monitoring. In contrast, neither induction procedure altered the amplitude of the later Pe component. Although our manipulations also induced changes in behavior, the ERN effects remained significant after controlling for performance. Thus, our results suggest that mindfulness meditation boosts early neural performance monitoring (ERN amplitude), specifically through meditation’s influence on affective processing.     

Development of action monitoring through adolescence into adulthood: ERP and source localization

In this study we examined the development of three action monitoring event-related potentials (ERPs) - the error-related negativity (ERN/Ne), error positivity (P(E)) and the N2 - and estimated their neural sources. These ERPs were recorded during a flanker task in the following groups: early adolescents (mean age = 12 years), late adolescents (mean age = 16 years), and adults (mean age = 29 years). The amplitudes of the ERN/Ne and N2 were greater in the adult and late adolescent groups than in the early adolescent group. Both of these components had neural sources in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Although P(E) was present across groups, P(E) amplitude was greater in the late adolescent group compared to the adult group and also had neural sources in the ACC. ERN/Ne amplitude was related to post-error slowing across age groups; it was related to task performance only in the adult group. These findings are discussed in light of the role of the maturation of the ACC in the development of action monitoring processes.     

Error detection and posterror behavior in depressed undergraduates

This study examined the influence of depression on error-monitoring and behavioral compensation after errors, two important aspects of cognitive control. Undergraduates differing in self-reported depression levels completed a modified Stroop task while error-related scalp potentials were recorded. Behaviorally, participants with higher depression scores were disproportionately slower and less accurate after errors in a task condition that included negative emotional words. Physiological results indicated that the amplitudes of the error-related negativity (ERN) and error positivity (Pe), two indices of error detection, were not correlated with depression score. ERN amplitudes predicted behavioral slowdown after errors, but only among more depressed participants in the negative-word condition. Together, the results imply that depression is associated not with an error detection deficit, but rather with alterations in subsequent performance changes, once errors have been identified.     

Affective and cognitive modulation of performance monitoring: Behavioral and ERP evidence

This study investigates the effects of negative affect on performance monitoring. EEG was acquired during a lateralized, numeric Stroop working memory task that featured task-irrelevant aversive and neutral pictures between stimuli. Performance accuracy showed a right-hemisphere advantage for stimuli that followed aversive pictures. Response-locked event-related potentials (ERPs) from accurate trials showed an early negative component (CRN; correct response/conflict-related negativity) followed by a positive wave comparable to the Pe (error positivity). The CRN was bi-peaked with an earlier peak that was sensitive to aversive pictures during early portions of the experiment and a later peak that increased with error likelihood later in the experiment. Pe amplitude was increased with aversive pictures early in the experiment and was sensitive to picture type, Stroop interference, and hemisphere of stimulus delivery during later trials. This suggests that ERP indices of performance monitoring, the CRN and Pe, are dynamically modulated by both affective and cognitive demands.     

The effects of co‐occurring ADHD symptoms on electrophysiological correlates of cognitive control in young people with Tourette syndrome

Efficient cognitive control is implicated in tic control in young people with Tourette syndrome (TS). Attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) frequently co‐occurs with TS and is associated with impaired cognitive control. Young people with TS and ADHD (TS+ADHD) show poorer cognitive control performance than those with TS, but how co‐occurring ADHD affects underlying neural activity is unknown. We investigated this issue by examining behavioural and event‐related potential (ERP) correlates of cognitive control in young people with these conditions. Participants aged 9–17 with TS (n = 17), TS+ADHD (n = 17), ADHD (n = 11), and unaffected controls (n = 20) performed a visual Go/Nogo task during electroencephalography (EEG) recording. Behavioural performance measures (D‐prime, RT, reaction time variability, post‐error slowing) and ERP measures (N2, P3, error‐related negativity (ERN), error positivity (Pe)) were analysed in a 2 (TS‐yes, TS‐no) × 2 (ADHD‐yes, ADHD‐no) factorial analysis to investigate the effects of TS, ADHD, and their interaction. The results of these analyses showed that ADHD was associated with poorer performance and reduced amplitude of all ERPs, reflecting widespread cognitive control impairments. Tourette syndrome was associated with slowed RTs, which might reflect a compensatory slowing of motor output to facilitate tic control. There was no interaction between the TS and ADHD factors for any behavioural or ERP measure, indicating the impairing effects of ADHD on behaviour and electrophysiological markers of cognitive control were present in TS+ADHD and that RT slowing associated with TS was unaffected by co‐occurring ADHD symptoms.     

Cognitive performance in older adults with stable heart failure: Longitudinal evidence for stability and improvement

Cognitive impairment is prevalent in heart failure (HF), though substantial variability in the pattern of cognitive impairment is found across studies. To clarify the nature of cognitive impairment in HF, we examined longitudinal trajectories across multiple domains of cognition in HF patients using latent growth class modeling. 115 HF patients completed a neuropsychological battery at baseline, 3-months and 12-months. Participants also completed the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II). Latent class growth analyses revealed a three-class model for attention/executive function, four-class model for memory, and a three-class model for language. The slope for attention/executive function and language remained stable, while improvements were noted in memory performance. Education and BDI-II significantly predicted the intercept for attention/executive function and language abilities. The BDI-II also predicted baseline memory. The current findings suggest that multiple performance-based classes of neuropsychological test performance exist within cognitive domains, though case-controlled prospective studies with extended follow-ups are needed to fully elucidate changes and predictors of cognitive function in HF.     

Assessment of executive function in ADHD adolescents: contribution of performance tests and rating scales

This study aimed to analyze performance on measures of neuropsychological and behavioral executive functions (EF) in adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and to evaluate the utility of performance-based tests for predicting scores on behavioral EF ratings. One hundred eighteen adolescents (75 ADHD and 43 controls) aged 12–16 years performed neuropsychological tests and completed a behavior rating scale of EF. The ADHD group presented significantly lower scores than controls on Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) and all indexes of the WISC-IV, except the verbal comprehension index (VCI). The ADHD group had significantly lower scores on performance-based tests of working memory, planning and inhibition, and on EF rating scales. Scores on the cognitive EF working memory, planning and flexibility modestly predicted performance on behavioral EF. The results suggest that the combined use of performance-based tests and rating scales provides valuable complementary information that can improve the assessment of executive domains in ADHD.     

The cognitive functioning of older adult instrumental musicians and non-musicians

This study examined similarities and differences in the cognitive profiles of older adult instrumental musicians and non-musicians. We compared neuropsychological test scores among older adult non-musicians, low-activity musicians (<10 years of lessons), and high-activity musicians (≥10 years of lessons), controlling for self-reported physical and social activity, years of education, and overall health. Significant differences among groups were found on tasks of visual spatial ability, naming, and executive functioning. No significant differences were found on tests of attention/processing speed, or episodic memory. The current study supports late life cognitive benefits of early musical training, but only in select cognitive domains, including language, executive functioning, and visual spatial ability. The results are discussed in the context of cognitive reserve and aging.     

Autistic traits and neuropsychological performance in 6- to-10-year-old children: a population-based study

Clinical studies of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) provide evidence for poorer neuropsychological performance within specific domains compared to age, gender, and sometimes IQ-matched controls. Since recent evidence suggests that autistic symptoms form a spectrum that extends into the general population, it was our goal to evaluate the nature of the relationship between autistic traits and neuropsychological performance across the continuum in the general population. We examined neuropsychological performance across five different domains in 1019 6-to-10-year-old children participating in a population-based study of child development. Autistic traits were assessed when the children were 6 years of age using the Social Responsiveness Scale and ASD diagnoses were obtained via medical records. Neuropsychological functioning was measured using the NEPSY-II-NL and included the domains of attention and executive function, memory and learning, sensorimotor functioning, language, and visuospatial functioning. We found that children with higher autistic traits showed significantly lower neuropsychological performance in all domains investigated and that this association remained even after excluding children with the highest autistic traits or confirmed ASD. When comparing 41 children with confirmed ASD diagnosis to typically developing controls, children with ASD showed significantly lower neuropsychological performance across all domains. Taken together, our results suggest that children with both ASD and subclinical autistic traits have lower neuropsychological performance. Thus, this may provide an understanding of why some children without an ASD diagnosis may require some additional assistance within academic settings.     

Individual differences in working memory capacity predict action monitoring and the error-related negativity

Neuroscience suggests that the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is responsible for conflict monitoring and the detection of errors in cognitive tasks, thereby contributing to the implementation of attentional control. Though individual differences in frontally mediated goal maintenance have clearly been shown to influence outward behavior in interference-rich contexts, it is unclear whether corresponding differences exist in neural responses that arise out of the ACC. To investigate this possibility, we conducted an electrophysiological study using a variant of the Simon Task, recording event-related potentials (ERPs) in healthy normal individuals with varying working memory capacity (high vs. low spans; a behavioral proxy for variability in goal maintenance). Primary analyses focused on the magnitude of the error-related negativity (ERN), a response-locked ERP component associated with the commission of errors thought to arise because of action monitoring in the ACC. Our results revealed that frontally mediated working memory capacity may alter error monitoring by the ACC, with high spans showing a greater ERN than low spans. These individual differences were also observed in the posterror positivity, a response-locked ERP component associated with updating cognitive strategies, suggesting greater awareness of errors with increased working memory capacity. These results are interpreted within 2-process models of attentional control, suggesting individuals with greater working memory capacity may better maintain task goals by more strongly biasing neural activity in frontal-executive networks.     

The impact of borderline personality disorder and anxiety on neuropsychological performance in major depression

Previous studies of neuropsychological performance in borderline personality disorder (BPD) have exhibited mixed results. The high rate of co-occurring major depressive disorder (MDD) in BPD makes it difficult to specify whether neuropsychological deficits in BPD predominantly reflect co-occurring MDD or unique aspects of their psychopathology. To address this issue, 22 participants with borderline personality disorder and concurrent major depressive disorder (BPD-MDD) and 33 participants with MDD and no concurrent personality disorder were compared on a neuropsychological battery that assessed seven domains of performance: general intellectual functioning, motor skill, psychomotor speed, attention, memory, working memory, and executive function. Neuropsychological performance did not differ between BPD-MDD and MDD. However, BPD-MDD participants reported higher levels of anger, anxiety, and of overall emotional distress compared to MDD. When levels of anxiety were controlled, BPD-MDD participants exhibited superior general intellectual performance, psychomotor speed, and attention. Deficits found in previous BPD samples may reflect their susceptibility to co-occurring MDD. The impact of anxiety on neuropsychological performance in BPD, though, indicates a need for future experimental studies of the effects of mood on cognitive function to determine whether mood dysregulation, rather than core depressive symptoms, underlie cognition impairments in BPD.     

Absorbed in the task: Personality measures predict engagement during task performance as tracked by error negativity and asymmetrical frontal activity

We hypothesized that interactions between traits and context predict task engagement, as measured by the amplitude of the error-related negativity (ERN), performance, and relative frontal activity asymmetry (RFA). In Study 1, we found that drive for reward, absorption, and constraint independently predicted self-reported persistence. We hypothesized that, during a prolonged monotonous task, absorption would predict initial ERN amplitudes, constraint would delay declines in ERN amplitudes and deterioration of performance, and drive for reward would predict left RFA when a reward could be obtained. Study 2, employing EEG recordings, confirmed our predictions. The results showed that most traits that have in previous research been related to ERN amplitudes have a relationship with the motivational trait persistence in common. In addition, trait—context combinations that are likely associated with increased engagement predict larger ERN amplitudes and RFA. Together, these results support the hypothesis that engagement may be a common underlying factor predicting ERN amplitude.     

Variation in working memory capacity and cognitive control: goal maintenance and microadjustments of control

Variation in working memory capacity (WMC) and cognitive control was examined in four experiments. In the experiments high- and low-WMC individuals performed a choice reaction time task (Experiment 1), a version of the antisaccade task (Experiment 2), a version of the Stroop task (Experiment 3), and an arrow version of the flanker task (Experiment 4). An examination of response time distributions suggested that high- and low-WMC individuals primarily differed in the slowest responses in each experiment, consistent with the notion that WMC is related to active maintenance abilities. Examination of two indicators of microadjustments of control (posterror slowing and conflict adaptation effects) suggested no differences between high- and low-WMC individuals. Collectively these results suggest that variation in WMC is related to some, but not all, cognitive control operations. The results are interpreted within the executive attention theory of WMC.     

The impact of Parkinson's disease on sequence learning: perceptual pattern learning and executive function

The current study examined the contribution of brain areas affected by Parkinson's disease (PD) to sequence learning, with a specific focus on response-related processes, spatial attentional control, and executive functioning. Patients with mild PD, patients with moderate PD, and healthy age-matched participants performed three tasks-a sequence learning task with a spatial pattern that was incidental to response selection, a spatial cuing task, and neuropsychological tests of executive function. Whereas moderate PD patients failed to show significant sequence learning, mild PD patients performed comparably with controls. Neither group of PD patients was impaired in the control of spatial attention. Sequence learning was correlated with neuropsychological measures of executive function but not with the ability to control spatial attention. These results suggest that the contribution of the brain areas affected by PD to sequence learning extends beyond motor learning to include the learning of perceptual patterns and involves executive function, including cognitive flexibility and set shifting.     

Apolipoprotein E and cognitive performance: a meta-analysis

The epsilon4 allele of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene is a known risk factor for Alzheimer's disease and may also affect cognitive performance in normal aging. Evidence of the presence and magnitude of epsilon4-related cognitive deficits was examined with a meta-analysis of the available literature. Thirty-eight studies were included, and cognitive performance was collapsed into 8 domains. Results indicated significant APOE-epsilon4 group differences for global cognitive functioning, episodic memory, and executive functioning, in favor of non-epsilon4 carriers. In addition, older age and APOE-epsilon4 heterozygosity was associated with smaller epsilon4-related impairments. The meta-analysis results suggest that APOE-epsilon4 genotype does affect cognitive performance in healthy aging, although the influence is relatively small and specific to certain domains of cognitive performance.     

Performance monitoring and the causal attribution of errors

The present study investigated the role of causal attribution for performance monitoring in the medial frontal cortex. To this end, we compared internally and externally-caused errors in a selective attention task with respect to error-related EEG activity and error-induced adjustments of speed and attentional selectivity. Both error types evoked early negativities and later positivities in the response-locked event-related potential. However, whereas internally-caused errors caused posterror slowing, externally-caused errors were followed by reduced attentional selectivity. Moreover, the amount of reduced attentional selectivity was related to the amplitude of the early negativity on externally-caused errors. This suggests that posterror adjustments are initiated on the basis of perceived causality and, thus, causal attribution of errors.