title: Error negativity and response control.
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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Patricia E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Pailing
authors.forename: Sidney J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Segalowitz
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dywan
authors.forename: Patricia L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Davies
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D007206:Individuality; D008297:Male; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology