The Error-Related Negativity Predicts Self-Control Failures in Daily Life

Abstract

Adaptive behavior critically depends on performance monitoring (PM), the ability to monitor action outcomes and the need to adapt behavior. PM-related brain activity has been linked to guiding decisions about whether action adaptation is warranted. The present study examined whether PM-related brain activity in a flanker task, as measured by electroencephalography (EEG), was associated with adaptive behavior in daily life. Specifically, we were interested in the employment of self-control, operationalized as self-control failures (SCFs), and measured using ecological momentary assessment. Analyses were conducted using an adaptive elastic net regression to predict SCFs from EEG in a sample of 131 participants. The model was fit using within-subject averaged response-locked EEG activity at each electrode and time point within an epoch surrounding the response. We found that higher amplitudes of the error-related negativity (ERN) were related to fewer SCFs. This suggests that lower error-related activity may relate to lower recruitment of interventive self-control in daily life. Altered cognitive control processes, like PM, have been proposed as underlying mechanisms for various mental disorders. Understanding how alterations in PM relate to regulatory control might therefore aid in delineating how these alterations contribute to different psychopathologies.

New insights into neural networks of error monitoring and clinical implications: a systematic review of ERP studies in neurological diseases

“…Recently, it has been shown that errorbased learning can be more effective than errorless learning approaches in rehabilitation for brain injury patients, improving patient's self-awareness and allowing skill transfer (Ownsworth et al, 2017), thus highlighting the relevance of error detection and correction for clinical conditions. Critically, Overmeyer et al (2021) showed that ERN can predict selfcontrol in real life behavior. Assessing error-related integrity in brain injury patients may be indicative of self-monitoring abilities within specific cognitive domains and thus guide the choice of rehabilitation techniques.…”

Metacognition and Self-Control: An Integrative Framework

“…In fact, individuals who do not show the typical ERN in the ACC during self-control conflicts also show worse self-control in a food choice task (van der Laan et al, 2014). In addition, a reduced error-related activity in a broader conflict-monitoring network (involving the anterior mid-cingulate cortex, the presupplementary motor area, and anterior insula) during a conflict task in the laboratory even predicts a higher likelihood of failure in daily self-control conflicts, above and beyond what can be predicted by self-reported trait selfcontrol (Krönke et al, 2018;Krönke et al, 2020;Overmeyer et al, 2021). But please note, that as in other research correlating computer-based indicators of cognitive control and more ecologically valid measures of self-control, there association is not unambiguous: Here, a recent study showed that the ERN and other event-related potential failed to predict personal goal progress (Saunders et al, 2022).…”

The Interplay Between Affective Processing and Sense of Agency During Action Regulation: A Review

“…Therefore, sensitivity to affective feedback is assumed to be one determinant of action regulation success (van de Vijver et al, 2011 ; Kaiser et al, 2021 ). Diminished sensitivity toward affective feedback has been associated with maladaptive behavior, such as diminished self-control in daily life (Overmeyer et al, 2021 ). Additionally, blunted neural reactivity toward errors or reward feedback has been observed in several psychological disorders which are characterized by self-regulatory problems, such as substance abuse or pathological gambling (Euser et al, 2013 ; Gorka et al, 2019 ; Li et al, 2020 ).…”