title: Levels of error processing in Huntington's disease: a combined study using event-related potentials and voxel-based morphometry.
abstract: Huntington's Disease (HD) is a neurogenetic disorder accompanied by an atrophy of the striatum and hence of the dopaminergic (DA) system. Neural processes subserving error processing presumably depend on the DA system. We assessed error processing in manifest HD and in presymptomatic HD-gene-mutation-carriers (pHD) with event-related potentials reflecting error processing (the error negativity or error-related negativity and the error positivity derived from a flanker-task. We found a reduction of the Ne in the case of HD compared to pHD reflecting dopamine system pathology. Despite the Ne being reduced in HD, behavioral adaptation was possible. In addition, the error-rates did not differ between the groups. Optimized voxel-based morphometry revealed that grey matter volume in the medial frontal gyrus is correlated with the Ne amplitude in symptomatic patients. In addition, the effect of a Ne-reduction was related to the grey matter underneath the medial frontal gyrus, which is in line with two theories of the Ne. In contrast, the Pe did not differ between the groups, suggesting that the Pe is decoupled from the DA system. Interestingly we found a reduction of a late slow negativity on correct responses, which possibly reflects decreased preparatory processes in HD compared to pHD as induced by the DA alterations in HD. In conclusion a deterioration in error processing in HD compared to pHD is mainly reflected by the Ne. The deterioration might rely on two factors: a neurofunctional and a neuroanatomical.
authors.affiliation: Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, WHO Collaborating Centre for Occupational Health and Human Factors, Dortmund, Germany. beste@ifado.de
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Beste
authors.forename: Carsten
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Saft
authors.forename: Carsten
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Konrad
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Andrich
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Habbel
authors.forename: Inga
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Schepers
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jansen
authors.forename: Bettina
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pfleiderer
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Falkenstein
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006816:Huntington Disease / Q000503:physiopathology*; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*