title: Response-related negativities following correct and incorrect responses: evidence from a temporospatial principal component analysis.
abstract: Two ERP components have been observed following correct and incorrect responses, the error-related negativity (ERN/Ne) and the correct-related negativity (CRN). The function of these components is still under debate. We used a visual size discrimination task at three difficulty levels and utilized a temporospatial principal component analysis (PCA) to examine whether ERN/Ne and CRN could be explained by one or more factors. While ERN/Ne decreased with higher task difficulty, amplitudes increased for correct responses at parietal electrodes. PCA revealed two temporospatial factors: a centrally distributed factor differing between correct and incorrect responses and a more frontoparietally distributed factor contributing to both ERN/Ne and CRN. These data support the notion that ERN/Ne and CRN might reflect a combination of two underlying processes: an error-sensitive and an outcome-independent aspect of response monitoring.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany. endrass@gmail.com
authors.forename: Tanja
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Endrass
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Klawohn
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gruetzmann
authors.forename: Moritz
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ischebeck
authors.forename: Norbert
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kathmann
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012649:Self Concept; D055815:Young Adult