Electrophysiological Examination of Feedback-Based Learning in 8–11-Year-Old Children

Abstract

The study aimed at evaluating the extent to which the feedback related negativity (FRN), an ERP component associated with feedback processing, is related to learning in school-age children. Eighty typically developing children between the ages of 8 and 11 years completed a declarative learning task while their EEG was recorded. The study evaluated the predictive value of the FRN on learning retention as measured by accuracy on a follow-up test a day after the session. The FRN elicited by positive feedback was found to be predictive of learning retention in children. The relationship between the FRN and learning was moderated by age. The P3a was also found to be associated with learning, such that larger P3a to negative feedback was associated with better learning retention in children.

The contribution of theta and delta to feedback processing in children with developmental language disorder

“…Visual inspection of the averaged data across electrodes indicated a maximal feedback-related activation at FCz. This observation is in line with previous reports of maximum FRN peak at FCz in adults (e.g., [ 35 , 42 , 54 , 62 ] and children (e.g., [ 3 , 32 ]. EEG data from electrode FCz were analyzed for time- and time–frequency domains separately.…”

“…Furthermore, recent work has reported a decrease in post-feedback theta power and an increase in delta power with age [ 17 ]. These observations are consistent with the developmental pattern of the ACC, which is the underlying neuronal mechanism of theta activity [ 67 , 68 ] and with reports of age-related changes in the FRN [ 3 , 6 , 91 ], with larger FRN to negative feedback in children relative to adolescents and adults [ 3 , 5 , 32 ]. The connection between feedback-related delta and the striatum is strengthened by findings that individuals with dysfunctional striatum exhibit an atypical delta response to reward processing (e.g., [ 35 ].…”

“…It has been proposed that ineffective feedback processing contributes to the impaired learning observed in children with DLD (e.g., [ 1 , 2 , 57 ]. More specifically, when engaged in feedback-based learning, children with DLD have been shown to exhibit poor learning outcomes and differences in the electrophysiological markers of feedback processing, i.e., feedback-related negativity (FRN) and P3a event-related potential (ERP) components, when compared with their peers [ 2 , 3 , 6 ]. For example, in Arbel et al [ 2 ], a two-choice paired-associate declarative learning task was employed in which children were tasked with learning the correct associations between novel objects and names.…”

Declarative Learning Mechanisms Support Declarative but Not Probabilistic Feedback-Based Learning in Children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD)

“…Offline signal processing was carried out using custom MATLAB (The MathWorks, Inc., Natick, MA, USA) scripts in conjunction with the open-source EEGLAB toolbox [107]. EEG data were resampled at 250 Hz, filtered using a high-pass finite impulse response (FIR) at 0.1 Hz and a low-pass 40 Hz filter, and then re-referenced to the average activity of all electrodes [108]. The EEGLAB toolbox was used to extract data for the FRN from the fronto-central FCz electrode and for the N170 from the left parietal P7 for each task, participant, and condition.…”

Between Shifting and Feedback Processing in the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test in Children with Developmental Language Disorder

“…Successful completion of the WCST hinges on the ability to use feedback to initiate the shift by applying a different rule as well as to optimize behavior on a given rule within each set [ 16 ]. The ability to effectively interpret and utilize external feedback is a component of executive control [ 17 ]. Arbel et al [ 18 ] examined the effect of feedback on learning in children with DLD, finding that both behavioral and electrophysiological data suggest an impairment in feedback processing in this population.…”