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Error negativity and response control

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 February 2002

PATRICIA E. PAILING
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
SIDNEY J. SEGALOWITZ
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
JANE DYWAN
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
PATRICIA L. DAVIES
Affiliation:
Department of Occupational Therapy, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
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Abstract

Error trials are associated with faster responses than correct trials in simple discrimination tasks suggesting that errors result from impulsive responding. We investigated the relationship between error negativity (Ne/ERN), an event-related potential associated with error detection, and two behavioral indices of response control: response time (RT) differences between incorrect and correct trials (an index of impulsivity) and percentage of errors. Response-locked ERPs were collected from 17 young adults during a visual flanker task. Consistent with previous findings, participants were significantly faster on error trials. However, participants who exhibited larger Ne/ERN peak amplitudes had significantly smaller RT differences, suggesting a more controlled response strategy. Furthermore, Ne/ERN latencies were positively associated with percentage of errors. These findings are consistent with the view that the Ne/ERN reflects the activity of a monitoring system that is closely linked to remedial systems responsible for individual differences in response control or impulsive behavior.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
2002 Society for Psychophysiological Research

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