Error-related scalp potentials elicited by hand and foot movements : evidence for an output-independent error-processing system in humans

The error-related negativity (ERN) is a fronto-centrally distributed component of the event-related brain potential (ERP) that occurs when human subjects make errors in a variety of experimental tasks. In the present study, we recorded ERPs from 128 scalp electrodes while subjects performed a choice reaction time task using either their hands or feet. We applied the brain electric source analysis technique to compare ERNs elicited by hand and foot errors. The scalp distributions of these error potentials suggest that they share the same neural generator and, therefore, that the ERN process is output-independent. Together with other findings, the results are consistent with the hypothesis that the ERN is generated within the anterior cingulate cortex and is elicited by the activation of a generic error-processing system. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd

Decision-making in blackjack : an electrophysiological analysis

Previous studies have identified a negative potential in the event-related potential (ERP), the error-related negativity (ERN), which is claimed to be triggered by a deviation from a reward expectation. Furthermore, this negativity is related to shifts in risk taking, strategic behavioral adjustments, and inhibition. We used a computer Blackjack gambling task to further examine the process associated with the ERN. Our findings are in line with the view that the ERN process is related to the degree of reward expectation. Furthermore, increased ERN amplitude is associated with the negative evaluation of ongoing decisions, and the amplitude of the ERN is directly related to risk-taking and decision-making behavior. However, the findings suggest that an explanation exclusively based on the deviation from a reward expectation may be insufficient and that the intention of the participants and the importance of a negative event for learning and behavioral change are crucial to the understanding of ERN phenomena

Neural dynamics of error processing in medial frontal cortex.

Contains fulltext : 56338.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)Adaptive behavior requires an organism to evaluate the outcome of its actions, such that future behavior can be adjusted accordingly and the appropriate response selected. During associative learning, the time at which such evaluative information is available changes as learning progresses, from the delivery of performance feedback early in learning to the execution of the response itself during learned performance. Here, we report a learning-dependent shift in the timing of activation in the rostral cingulate zone of the anterior cingulate cortex from external error feedback to internal error detection. This pattern of activity is seen only in the anterior cingulate, not in the presupplementary motor area. The dynamics of these reciprocal changes are consistent with the claim that the rostral cingulate zone is involved in response selection on the basis of the expected outcome of an action. Specifically, these data illustrate how the anterior cingulate receives evaluative information, indicating that an action has not produced the desired result

Factors Associated with Revision Surgery after Internal Fixation of Hip Fractures

Background: Femoral neck fractures are associated with high rates of revision surgery after management with internal fixation. Using data from the Fixation using Alternative Implants for the Treatment of Hip fractures (FAITH) trial evaluating methods of internal fixation in patients with femoral neck fractures, we investigated associations between baseline and surgical factors and the need for revision surgery to promote healing, relieve pain, treat infection or improve function over 24 months postsurgery. Additionally, we investigated factors associated with (1) hardware removal and (2) implant exchange from cancellous screws (CS) or sliding hip screw (SHS) to total hip arthroplasty, hemiarthroplasty, or another internal fixation device. Methods: We identified 15 potential factors a priori that may be associated with revision surgery, 7 with hardware removal, and 14 with implant exchange. We used multivariable Cox proportional hazards analyses in our investigation. Results: Factors associated with increased risk of revision surgery included: female sex, [hazard ratio (HR) 1.79, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.25-2.50; P = 0.001], higher body mass index (fo

Whole-genome sequencing reveals host factors underlying critical COVID-19

Critical COVID-19 is caused by immune-mediated inflammatory lung injury. Host genetic variation influences the development of illness requiring critical care1 or hospitalization2,3,4 after infection with SARS-CoV-2. The GenOMICC (Genetics of Mortality in Critical Care) study enables the comparison of genomes from individuals who are critically ill with those of population controls to find underlying disease mechanisms. Here we use whole-genome sequencing in 7,491 critically ill individuals compared with 48,400 controls to discover and replicate 23 independent variants that significantly predispose to critical COVID-19. We identify 16 new independent associations, including variants within genes that are involved in interferon signalling (IL10RB and PLSCR1), leucocyte differentiation (BCL11A) and blood-type antigen secretor status (FUT2). Using transcriptome-wide association and colocalization to infer the effect of gene expression on disease severity, we find evidence that implicates multiple genes—including reduced expression of a membrane flippase (ATP11A), and increased expression of a mucin (MUC1)—in critical disease. Mendelian randomization provides evidence in support of causal roles for myeloid cell adhesion molecules (SELE, ICAM5 and CD209) and the coagulation factor F8, all of which are potentially druggable targets. Our results are broadly consistent with a multi-component model of COVID-19 pathophysiology, in which at least two distinct mechanisms can predispose to life-threatening disease: failure to control viral replication; or an enhanced tendency towards pulmonary inflammation and intravascular coagulation. We show that comparison between cases of critical illness and population controls is highly efficient for the detection of therapeutically relevant mechanisms of disease

The Training of Complex Task Performance

To establish the rules that governs the effectivenness of part-task training in the learning of complex perceptual-motor tasks such as the ‘Space Fortress’ game, we compared two part-task training regimes with a control training regime basd on whole-task practice. In previous research, these part-task training regimes were shown to improve subjects\u27 performance. We compared the rate of learning and the final performance of subjects trained with these regimes, as well as the extent to which the acquired skills were susceptible to inference by a battery of concurrently performed tasks. Thirty-three subjects participated in the study. The quality of subject performance varied with the training regime. The best performance was achieve by subjects trained with the hierarchicalapproach, which devotes part of the training time to practice on a series of sub-tasks presumed to develop the elements of the subjects\u27 optimal strategy. Subjects trained with the integratedapproach were continually exposed to the wholegame, while components of the game were emphasized by means of instructions and feedback. These subjects obtained lower scores than did subjects in the hierachical group, although they were superior to control subjects. However, the resistance to the interference produced by the concurrent tasks was most pronounced for subjects in the integrated group. Thus part-task training was superior to whole-task training. However, in the choice of training regimes it is important to consider which aspect of performance is to be optimized because robustness to inference in dual-task conditions is not necessarily correlated to higher levels of performance in single-task practice

Event-Related Brain Potentials and Error-Related Processing: An Analysis of Incorrect Responses to Go and No-Go Stimuli

Recent research has suggested that there is a component of the event‐related brain potential, the error‐related negativity (ERN), that is associated with error detection and remedial actions such as error inhibition, immediate error correction, or error compensation. The present experiment used a go/no‐go task to define more precisely the functional significance of this component. In this task, an ERN was observed for incorrect responses on go trials (errors of choice) and for response on no‐go trials (errors of action). Because errors of action cannot be corrected immediately by executing another response, these results indicate that the process manifested by the ERN is not dependent on immediate error correction. Other aspects of the data converge in suggesting that the ERN process is more U related to error detection and that the connections between detection and remedial actions may depend on the task situation