Developmental change in feedback processing as reflected by phasic heart rate changes

Heart rate was recorded from 3 age groups (8-10, 12, and 20-26 years) while they performed a probabilistic learning task. Stimuli had to be sorted by pressing a left versus right key, followed by positive or negative feedback. Adult heart rate slowed following negative feedback when stimuli were consistently mapped onto the left or right key (response-dependent condition) but not when responses to stimuli were always followed by negative feedback (uninformative condition). Young children's heart rate showed slowing following both response-dependent and uninformative negative feedback. These findings suggest that the ability to assess the relevance of performance feedback improves with age, resulting in improved adjustment to dynamical changes in the task environment.