Cogprints

Losing the error related negativity (ERN): an indicator for willed action

Stemmer, Brigitte and Witzke, Wolfgang and Schoenle, Paul Walter (2001) Losing the error related negativity (ERN): an indicator for willed action. [Preprint]

Full text available as:

[img] PDF
216Kb

Abstract

When people make errors in a discrimination task, a negative-going waveform can be observed in scalp-recorded EEG that has been coined the error-related negativity (ERN). We hypothesized that the ERN only occurs with slips, that is unwilled action errors, but not if an error is committed willingly and intentionally. We investigated the occurrence of the ERN in a choice reaction time task that has been shown to produce an ERN and in an error simulation task where subjects had to fake errors while the EEG was recorded. We observed a loss of the ERN when errors were committed in willed actions but not in unwilled actions thus supporting the idea that the production of the ERN is tied to slips in unwilled actions but not mistakes in willed actions.

Item Type:Preprint
Keywords:error detection, event related potentials, ERP, ERN, error related negativity, EEG, simulation, P300, intention, willed action, faking
Subjects:Psychology > Cognitive Psychology
Neuroscience > Neurophysiology
Neuroscience > Neuropsychology
ID Code:1536
Deposited By: Stemmer, Dr. Brigitte
Deposited On:02 Jun 2001
Last Modified:11 Mar 2011 08:54

References in Article

Select the SEEK icon to attempt to find the referenced article. If it does not appear to be in cogprints you will be forwarded to the paracite service. Poorly formated references will probably not work.

Dehaene, S., Posner, M.I. and Tucker, D.M., Localization of a neural system for error detection and compensation, Psychol. Sci., 5 (1994) 303-305 .

Falkenstein, M., Hohnsbein, J. and Hoormann, J., Effects of errors in choice reaction tasks on the ERP under focused and divided attention. In C.H.M. Brunia, A. W. K. Gaillard and A. Kok (Eds.), Psychophysiological Brain Research, Tilburg University Press, Tilburg, The Netherlands, 1990, pp. 192-195.

Falkenstein, M., Hohnsbein, J., Hoormann, J. and Blanke, L., Effects of crossmodeal divided attention on late ERP components. II. Error processing in choice reaction tasks, Electroencephalogr. Clin. Neurophysiol., 78 (1991) 447-455.

Falkenstein, M., Hoormann, J., Christ, S. and Hohnsbein, J., ERP component on reaction errors and their functional significance: a tutorial, Biol. Psychol., 51 (2000) 81-107.

Gehring, W.J., The error-related negativity: Evidence for a neural mechanism for error-related processing. Doctoral dissertation. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, 1992.

Gehring, W.J., Coles, M.G.H., Meyer, D.E. and Donchin, E., The error-related negativity: An event-related potential accompanying errors, Psychophysiology, 27 (1990), 34.

Gehring, W.J., Goss, B., Coles, M.G.H., Meyer, D.E. and Donchin, E., A neural system for error detection and compensation, Psychol. Sci., 4 (1993) 385-390.

Miltner, W.H.R., Braun, C.H. and Coles, N.G.H., Event-related potentials following incorrect feedback in a time-estimation task: Evidence for a "generic" neural system for error detection, J. Cogn. Neurosci., 9 (1997) 788-798.

Stemmer, B., Segalowitz, S.J., Witzke, W., Lacher, S. and Schönle, P.W., Do patients with damage to the anterior cingulate and adjacent regions produce an error-related negativity (ERN)? Psychophysiology, 37 (2000) S95.

Vidal, F., Hasbroucq, T., Grapperon, J. and Bonnet, M., Is the 'error negativity' specific to errors? Biol. Psychol., 51 (2000) 109-128.

Metadata

Repository Staff Only: item control page