Performance monitoring and error significance in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Performance monitoring has been consistently found to be overactive in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The present study examines whether performance monitoring in OCD is adjusted with error significance. Therefore, errors in a flanker task were followed by neutral (standard condition) or punishment feedbacks (punishment condition). In the standard condition patients had significantly larger error-related negativity (ERN) and correct-related negativity (CRN) ampliudes than controls. But, in the punishment condition groups did not differ in ERN and CRN amplitudes. While healthy controls showed an amplitude enhancement between standard and punishment condition, OCD patients showed no variation. In contrast, group differences were not found for the error positivity (Pe): both groups had larger Pe amplitudes in the punishment condition. Results confirm earlier findings of overactive error monitoring in OCD. The absence of a variation with error significance might indicate that OCD patients are unable to down-regulate their monitoring activity according to external requirements.
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany. tanja.endrass@rz.hu-berlin.de
Tanja
T
Endrass
Beate
B
Schuermann
Christan
C
Kaufmann
Rüdiger
R
Spielberg
Rainer
R
Kniesche
Norbert
N
Kathmann
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003265:Contingent Negative Variation / Q000502:physiology; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000379:methods; D005074:Evoked Potentials, Visual / Q000502:physiology; D025461:Feedback, Physiological / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D011678:Punishment; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology*; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D055815:Young Adult