2 research outputs found
Error-preceding brain activity reflects (mal-)adaptive adjustments of cognitive control: a modeling study
Errors in choice tasks are preceded by gradual changes in brain activity presumably related to fluctuations in cognitive control that promote the occurrence of errors. In the present paper, we use connectionist modeling to explore the hypothesis that these fluctuations reflect (mal-)adaptive adjustments of cognitive control. We considered ERP data from a study in which the probability of conflict in an Eriksen-flanker task was manipulated in sub-blocks of trials. Errors in these data were preceded by a gradual decline of N2 amplitude. After fitting a connectionist model of conflict adaptation to the data, we analyzed simulated N2 amplitude, simulated response times (RTs), and stimulus history preceding errors in the model, and found that the model produced the same pattern as obtained in the empirical data. Moreover, this pattern is not found in alternative models in which cognitive control varies randomly or in an oscillating manner. Our simulations suggest that the decline of N2 amplitude preceding errors reflects an increasing adaptation of cognitive control to specific task demands, which leads to an error when these task demands change. Taken together, these results provide evidence that error-preceding brain activity can reflect adaptive adjustments rather than unsystematic fluctuations of cognitive control, and therefore, that these errors are actually a consequence of the adaptiveness of human cognition
Performance monitoring in medication-naïve children with Tourette Syndrome
Background: Tourette syndrome (TS) is a childhood-onset neurodevelopmental disorder and its impact on cognitive development needs further study. Evidence from neuropsychological, neuroimaging and electrophysiological studies suggest that the decline in tic severity and the ability to suppress tics relate to the development of self-regulatory functions in late childhood and adolescence. Hence, tasks measuring performance monitoring might provide insight into the regulation of tics in children with TS. Method: Twenty-five children with TS, including 14 with comorbid Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), 39 children with ADHD and 35 typically developing children aged 8-12 years were tested with a modified Eriksen-Flanker task during a 34-channel electroencephalography (EEG) recording. Task performance, as well as stimulus-locked and response-locked event-related potentials (ERP) were analyzed and compared across groups. Results: Participants did not differ in their behavioral performance. Children with TS showed higher amplitudes of an early P3 component of the stimulus-locked ERPs in ensemble averages and in separate trial outcomes, suggesting heightened orienting and/or attention during stimulus evaluation. In response-locked averages, children with TS had a slightly higher positive complex before the motor response, likely also reflecting a late P3. Groups did not differ in post-response components, particularly in the error-related negativity (ERN) and error-related positivity (Pe).Conclusions: These findings suggest that children with TS may employ additional attentional resources as a compensatory mechanism to maintain equal behavioral performance