Action monitoring, error detection, and the basal ganglia: an ERP study

Abstract

The error negativity (Ne or ERN) is an event-related brain potential component, which is assumed to reflect error detection. Recently it has been hypothesized that the basal ganglia are assumed to play a crucial role in error detection. In the present study we ask whether the Ne is altered in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), who have an impaired function of the basal ganglia. We recorded the Ne in patients and in matched controls, while they performed different tasks that require a relatively high cognitive control, which is supposed to pose particular problems on PD. The Ne was in fact smaller in the patients than in the controls in all tasks. Our results suggest an impairment of error detection in PD for different types of demanding tasks. This supports the hypothesis that the basal ganglia do play an important role for error detection in action monitoring.

Errors in reward prediction are reflected in the event-related brain potential

“…These results parallel previous findings that the amplitude of the response ERN increases with increasing accuracy [7], because the system expects correct responses under conditions in which errors are few [4]. When taken together with the results of previous studies NEUROREPORT [4,22,23] (but see also [24]), these findings support the hypothesis that the ERN reflects a reward prediction error associated with the mesencephalic dopamine system. However, it has also been proposed that the feedback ERN reflects the affective significance or emotional valence of the eliciting stimulus [9,14].…”

Dissociation between conflict detection and error monitoring in the human anterior cingulate cortex

“…(and also in Parkinson's patients; ref. 37). Thus, the present data provide further confirmation of a performance-monitoring circuit that includes PFC, ACC, and the basal ganglia.…”

“…The second interpretation relies on an alternate conception of ERN and CRN as related, but not identical, components (36,37). In this view, the CRN is thought to signal the outcome of a general, response-related monitoring process, and the ERN reflects this generic monitoring process plus error-specific activity.…”

Frontal Feedback-Related Potentials in Nonhuman Primates: Modulation during Learning and under Haloperidol

“…It has been shown that genotypic characteristics of subjects concerning D 2 receptor regulation (DRD2-TAQ-IA polymorphism) are correlated with learning strategies and with stronger activations of ACC and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex for performance feedbacks (Klein et al, 2007). Furthermore, several studies showed attenuated ERN in Parkinsonian patients, including at early stages of the disease (Falkenstein et al, 2001;Ito, 2004;Stemmer et al, 2007;Willemssen et al, 2008). However, the link between dopamine and FRP remains unresolved and its sensitivity to other neuromodulators needs to be further investigated (Jocham and Ullsperger, 2009).…”