title: Post-error slowing as a consequence of disturbed low-frequency oscillatory phase entrainment.
abstract: A common finding across many reaction time tasks is that people slow down on trials following errors, a phenomenon known as post-error slowing. In the present study, we tested a novel hypothesis about the neural mechanism underlying post-error slowing. Recent research has shown that when task-relevant stimuli occur in a rhythmic stream, neuronal oscillations entrain to the task structure, thereby enhancing reaction speed. We hypothesized that under such circumstances post-error slowing results from an error-induced disturbance of this endogenous brain rhythm. To test this hypothesis, we measured oscillatory EEG dynamics while human subjects performed a demanding discrimination task under time pressure. We found that low-frequency neuronal oscillations entrained to the stimulus presentation rhythm, and that the low-frequency phase at stimulus onset predicted the speed of responding. Importantly, we found that this entrainment was disrupted following errors, and that the degree of phase disturbance was closely related to the degree of post-error slowing on the subsequent trial. These results describe a new mechanism underlying behavioral changes following errors.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, 2333AK Leiden, The Netherlands, and Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, 2333AK Leiden, The Netherlands r.l.van.den.brink@fsw.leidenuniv.nl.
authors.forename: Ruud L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: van den Brink
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, 2333AK Leiden, The Netherlands, and.
authors.forename: Syanah C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Wynn
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, 2333AK Leiden, The Netherlands, and Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, 2333AK Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Sander
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nieuwenhuis
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D058256:Brain Waves / Q000502:physiology*; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: EEG; entrainment; errors; low-frequency; oscillations; post-error slowing