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albert kok

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University of Amsterdam

Richard van Dyck

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Binghamton University

Johanna Kissler

University of Canterbury/Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha

University of Exeter

Vilfredo De Pascalis

Thomas Jacobsen

Helmut Schmidt University

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Papers by albert kok

Attention as a characteristic of nonclinical dissociation: an event-related potential study

by Michiel de Ruiter and albert kok

Neuroimage, 2003

Individual differences in dissociative style (which is generally considered a risk factor for dis... more Individual differences in dissociative style (which is generally considered a risk factor for dissociative pathology) were studied in a nonclinical sample. It was hypothesized that high-dissociative participants would show enhanced attentional abilities toward both relevant and irrelevant stimulus features. In the experiment, threatening and affectively neutral words were classified on their affective valence and the presence of the letter A. To facilitate the full deployment of dissociative abilities, a feature (i.e., negative valence) was included that would automatically attract attention but not interfere with the processing of the central feature. Both the behavioral measures (i.e., reaction time) and the central neural measures (i.e., event-related potentials) showed that the ability to direct attention to the central feature was enhanced in the high dissociators. The high dissociators, moreover, showed evidence of directing attention to both affective valence and the letter A in the letter detection task. It is concluded that dissociative style does not correspond to a damaged or disturbed function but to an enhanced ability to direct and divide attention.

Lateralization of ERP components during verbal dichotic information processing

Sleep, 1984

Aging and inhibition: Multiple inhibitory systems

J Exp Child Psychol, 1997

KNAW Narcis. Back to search results. Publication Aging and inhibition: Multiple inhibitory system... more

Peak picking versus template matching in P300 detection

Images of mind: M.I. Posner and M.E. Raichle, W.H. Freeman and Company, Oxford, 1994. £19.95

Attention as a characteristic of nonclinical dissociation: an event-related potential study

NeuroImage, 2003

Individual differences in dissociative style (which is generally considered a risk factor for dis... more Individual differences in dissociative style (which is generally considered a risk factor for dissociative pathology) were studied in a nonclinical sample. It was hypothesized that high-dissociative participants would show enhanced attentional abilities toward both relevant and irrelevant stimulus features. In the experiment, threatening and affectively neutral words were classified on their affective valence and the presence of the letter A. To facilitate the full deployment of dissociative abilities, a feature (i.e., negative valence) was included that would automatically attract attention but not interfere with the processing of the central feature. Both the behavioral measures (i.e., reaction time) and the central neural measures (i.e., event-related potentials) showed that the ability to direct attention to the central feature was enhanced in the high dissociators. The high dissociators, moreover, showed evidence of directing attention to both affective valence and the letter A in the letter detection task. It is concluded that dissociative style does not correspond to a damaged or disturbed function but to an enhanced ability to direct and divide attention.

Early and Late Selection in Young and Old Adults: An Event-Related Potential Study

Psychophysiology, 1988

There were no differences in processing found between 24 young (aged 18-24 yrs) and 24 old (aged ... more There were no differences in processing found between 24 young (aged 18-24 yrs) and 24 old (aged 65-75 yrs) adults in a combined visual selection and memory search paradigm. Data suggest that old Ss achieved relatively fast reaction times (RTs) in the task at the cost of a high error percentage. These findings, and the morphology of event-related potentials (ERPs), suggest that old Ss performed the task more superficially than did young Ss. In both old and young Ss, high memory load was associated with decreased positivity in the P3 and slow wave ERP components. This finding is interpreted in terms of the concept of search negativity. The finding that N2 amplitude was larger in response to nontarget trials for both attended and unattended inputs is discussed in relation to theories about N2 as an indicator of automatic mismatch detection.

Effects of task complexity in young and old adults: Reaction time and P300 latency are not always dissociated

Psychophysiology, 1999

Twelve young and 11 elderly men (mean ages 21.1 and 70.1) performed a choice-reaction time (RT) t... more Twelve young and 11 elderly men (mean ages 21.1 and 70.1) performed a choice-reaction time (RT) task in which stimulus degradation and stimulus-response (S-R) compatibility were manipulated. The extant literature has suggested that the effects of age on RT are usually augmented (multiplicative) in more difficult task conditions, but also that the effects of age on the latency of the P300 component of the event-related brain potential (ERP) are constant (additive). The results indicated that the effects of age on RT were enhanced in more difficult conditions, whether the difficulty consisted of stimulus degradation or S-R incompatibility. However, the effects of age on P300 latency were enlarged as the stimuli were degraded, but not if the S-R mapping was incompatible. Thus, it appears that task content determines if effects of age on P300 latency are additive or multiplicative. A simple model is proposed that produces the obtained pattern of effects.

On the utility of P3 amplitude as a measure of processing capacity

Psychophysiology, 2001

The present review focuses on the utility of the amplitude of P3 of as a measure of processing ca... more The present review focuses on the utility of the amplitude of P3 of as a measure of processing capacity and mental workload. The paper starts with a brief outline of the conceptual framework underlying the relationship between P3 amplitude and task demands, and the cognitive task manipulations that determine demands on capacity. P3 amplitude results are then discussed on the basis of an extensive review of the relevant literature. It is concluded that although it has often been assumed that P3 amplitude depends on the capacity for processing task relevant stimuli, the utility of P3 amplitude as a sensitive and diagnostic measure of processing capacity remains limited. The major factor that prompts this conclusion is that the two principal task variables that have been used to manipulate capacity allocation, namely task difficulty and task emphasis, have opposite effects on the amplitude of P3. I suggest that this is because, in many tasks, an increase in difficulty transforms the structure or actual content of the flow of information in the processing systems, thereby interfering with the very processes that underlie P3 generation. Finally, in an attempt to theoretically integrate the results of the reviewed studies, it is proposed that P3 amplitude reflects activation of elements in a eventcategorization network that is controlled by the joint operation of attention and working memory.

Perceptual factors affecting age-related differences in focused attention: Performance and psychophysiological analyses

Psychophysiology, 1996

Hemispheric distribution of ERP components and word naming in preschool children

Brain and Language, 1986

Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded at the left and right temporal and parietal sites d... more Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded at the left and right temporal and parietal sites during a word-naming task in 61 children ranging in age from 5.1 to 6.2 years. Principal component analysis (PCA) was performed on the average ERP waveforms. Analyses of the factor scores revealed that the P240, N380, and SW components were asymmetrically distributed over the hemispheres. Fast reading acquisition was associated with smaller N380 and larger SW activity than slow reading acquisition. Multiple regression analyses indicated that only right hemispheric ERP components were significantly associated with rate of reading acquisition. These findings are discussed in terms of right hemispheric involvement in early reading acquisition.

Effects of stop-signal probability in the stop-signal paradigm: The N2/P3 complex further validated

Brain and Cognition, 2004

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of frequency of occurrence of stop signals in th... more The aim of this study was to examine the effects of frequency of occurrence of stop signals in the stop-signal paradigm. Presenting stop signals less frequently resulted in faster reaction times to the go stimulus and a lower probability of inhibition. Also, go stimuli elicited larger and somewhat earlier P3 responses when stop signals occurred less frequently. Since the amplitude effect was more pronounced on trials when go signals were followed by fast than slow reactions, it probably reflected a stronger set to produce fast responses. N2 and P3 components to stop signals were observed to be larger and of longer latency when stop signals occurred less frequently. The amplitude enhancement of these N2 and P3 components were more pronounced for unsuccessful than for successful stop-signal trials. Moreover, the successfully inhibited stop trials elicited a frontocentral P3 whereas unsuccessfully inhibited stop trials elicited a more posterior P3 that resembled the classical P3b. P3 amplitude in the unsuccessfully inhibited condition also differed between waveforms synchronized with the stop signal and waveforms synchronized with response onset whereas N2 amplitude did not. Taken together these findings suggest that N2 reflected a greater significance of failed inhibitions after low probability stop signals while P3 reflected continued processing of the erroneous response after response execution.

Attentional orienting across the sensory modalities

Brain and Cognition, 2008

This event-related potential study investigated (i) to what extent incongruence between attention... more This event-related potential study investigated (i) to what extent incongruence between attention-directing cue and cued target modality affects attentional control processes that bias the system in advance to favor a particular stimulus modality and (ii) to what extent topdown attentional control mechanisms are generalized for the type of information that is to be attended. To this end, both visual and auditory word cues were used to instruct participants to direct attention to a specific visual (color) or auditory (pitch) stimulus feature of a forthcoming multisensory target stimulus. Effects of cue congruency were observed within 200 ms post-cue over frontal scalp regions and related to processes involved in shifting attention from the cue modality to the modality of the task-relevant target feature. Both directing visual attention and directing auditory attention were associated with dorsal posterior positivity, followed by sustained fronto-central negativity. However, this fronto-central negativity appeared to have an earlier onset and was more pronounced when the visual modality was cued. Together the present results suggest that the mechanisms involved in deploying attention are to some extent determined by the modality (visual, auditory) in which attention operates, and in addition, that some of these mechanisms can also be affected by cue congruency.

Topographic and functional characteristics of early and late CNV components

Biological Psychology, 1984

Effects of degradation of visual stimuli on components of the event-related potential (ERP) in go/nogo reaction tasks

Biological Psychology, 1986

Abstract In the present experiments, event-related potentials (ERPs) were measured to randomly pr... more

Age-related changes in involuntary and voluntary attention as reflected in components of the event-related potential (ERP)

Biological Psychology, 2000

The present paper provides an overview of age-related changes in both involuntary and voluntary a... more The present paper provides an overview of age-related changes in both involuntary and voluntary attention in adult subjects as manifested in scalp-recorded ERPs. A decline in orienting with old age was inferred from a substantial reduction with age in the magnitude of deviance-related ERP components like MMN, target as well as nontarget P3s, novelty P3 and N400. A review of focused attention studies further suggested that old and young subjects do not differ substantially in the quality of attentional operations. In old subjects early selection processes, as reflected in their selection potentials, have a somewhat slower onset than in young subjects, especially in conditions in which selection is based upon complex discrimination of stimulus features. Futhermore, the global pattern emerging from visual and memory search studies is that search-related negativities in the ERPs are smaller and of longer duration in old than in young subjects over the central and anterior scalp sites. These effects could indicate that controlled search is less intense or takes more time per search operation in old than in young subjects. At more posterior scalp sites there was tendency towards an enhanced search-related negativity that could reflect a specific difficulty (or compensatory increase in mental effort) of old subjects in spatially locating targets in complex visual fields.

P3 scalp topography to target and novel visual stimuli in children of alcoholics

Alcohol, 1998

The P3 event-related potential (ERP) component was recorded from 7- to 18-year-old children of al... more The P3 event-related potential (ERP) component was recorded from 7- to 18-year-old children of alcoholics (COAs, n = 50) and age- and sex-matched control children (n = 50) using a visual oddball paradigm, involving nontarget (76%), target (12%), and novel (12%) stimuli. Topographic maps of P3 and associated scalp current density were obtained to supplement a topographic profile analysis. COAs manifested a smaller amplitude P3 to target stimuli over the centroparietal, parietal, and occipital scalp locations than controls. Also, COAs exhibited a smaller amplitude P3 to novel stimuli over the occipital scalp than controls. There were no significant differences between COAs and controls in the P3 scalp topography, indicating that differences in intracranial source strength rather than in source configuration were responsible for the between-group amplitude differences. Also, no significant group differences were observed in the P3 peak latency or in behavioral performance. These results support the notion that the visual P3 may provide a vulnerability marker of alcoholism.

Nonspatial intermodal selective attention is mediated by sensory brain areas: Evidence from event��related potentials

Psychophysiology, Sep 1, 2001

The present study focuses on the question of whether inter-and intramodal forms of attention are ... more

A computational account of altered error processing in older age: dopamine and the error-related negativity

Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, Mar 1, 2002

When participants commit errors or receive feedback signaling that they have made an error, a neg... more When participants commit errors or receive feedback signaling that they have made an error, a negative brain potential is elicited. According to Holroyd and Coles's (in press) neurocomputational model of error processing, this error-related negativity (ERN) is elicited when the brain first detects that the consequences of an action are worse than expected. To study age-related changes in error processing, we obtained performance and ERN measures of younger and high-functioning older adults. Experiment 1 demonstrated ...

A computational account of altered error processing in older age: dopamine and the error-related negativity

Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, Mar 1, 2002

When participants commit errors or receive feedback signaling that they have made an error, a neg... more When participants commit errors or receive feedback signaling that they have made an error, a negative brain potential is elicited. According to Holroyd and Coles's (in press) neurocomputational model of error processing, this error-related negativity (ERN) is elicited when the brain first detects that the consequences of an action are worse than expected. To study age-related changes in error processing, we obtained performance and ERN measures of younger and high-functioning older adults. Experiment 1 demonstrated ...

Attention as a characteristic of nonclinical dissociation: an event-related potential study

by Michiel de Ruiter and albert kok

Neuroimage, 2003

Individual differences in dissociative style (which is generally considered a risk factor for dis... more Individual differences in dissociative style (which is generally considered a risk factor for dissociative pathology) were studied in a nonclinical sample. It was hypothesized that high-dissociative participants would show enhanced attentional abilities toward both relevant and irrelevant stimulus features. In the experiment, threatening and affectively neutral words were classified on their affective valence and the presence of the letter A. To facilitate the full deployment of dissociative abilities, a feature (i.e., negative valence) was included that would automatically attract attention but not interfere with the processing of the central feature. Both the behavioral measures (i.e., reaction time) and the central neural measures (i.e., event-related potentials) showed that the ability to direct attention to the central feature was enhanced in the high dissociators. The high dissociators, moreover, showed evidence of directing attention to both affective valence and the letter A in the letter detection task. It is concluded that dissociative style does not correspond to a damaged or disturbed function but to an enhanced ability to direct and divide attention.

Lateralization of ERP components during verbal dichotic information processing

Sleep, 1984

Aging and inhibition: Multiple inhibitory systems

J Exp Child Psychol, 1997

KNAW Narcis. Back to search results. Publication Aging and inhibition: Multiple inhibitory system... more

Peak picking versus template matching in P300 detection

Images of mind: M.I. Posner and M.E. Raichle, W.H. Freeman and Company, Oxford, 1994. £19.95

Attention as a characteristic of nonclinical dissociation: an event-related potential study

NeuroImage, 2003

Individual differences in dissociative style (which is generally considered a risk factor for dis... more Individual differences in dissociative style (which is generally considered a risk factor for dissociative pathology) were studied in a nonclinical sample. It was hypothesized that high-dissociative participants would show enhanced attentional abilities toward both relevant and irrelevant stimulus features. In the experiment, threatening and affectively neutral words were classified on their affective valence and the presence of the letter A. To facilitate the full deployment of dissociative abilities, a feature (i.e., negative valence) was included that would automatically attract attention but not interfere with the processing of the central feature. Both the behavioral measures (i.e., reaction time) and the central neural measures (i.e., event-related potentials) showed that the ability to direct attention to the central feature was enhanced in the high dissociators. The high dissociators, moreover, showed evidence of directing attention to both affective valence and the letter A in the letter detection task. It is concluded that dissociative style does not correspond to a damaged or disturbed function but to an enhanced ability to direct and divide attention.

Early and Late Selection in Young and Old Adults: An Event-Related Potential Study

Psychophysiology, 1988

There were no differences in processing found between 24 young (aged 18-24 yrs) and 24 old (aged ... more There were no differences in processing found between 24 young (aged 18-24 yrs) and 24 old (aged 65-75 yrs) adults in a combined visual selection and memory search paradigm. Data suggest that old Ss achieved relatively fast reaction times (RTs) in the task at the cost of a high error percentage. These findings, and the morphology of event-related potentials (ERPs), suggest that old Ss performed the task more superficially than did young Ss. In both old and young Ss, high memory load was associated with decreased positivity in the P3 and slow wave ERP components. This finding is interpreted in terms of the concept of search negativity. The finding that N2 amplitude was larger in response to nontarget trials for both attended and unattended inputs is discussed in relation to theories about N2 as an indicator of automatic mismatch detection.

Effects of task complexity in young and old adults: Reaction time and P300 latency are not always dissociated

Psychophysiology, 1999

Twelve young and 11 elderly men (mean ages 21.1 and 70.1) performed a choice-reaction time (RT) t... more Twelve young and 11 elderly men (mean ages 21.1 and 70.1) performed a choice-reaction time (RT) task in which stimulus degradation and stimulus-response (S-R) compatibility were manipulated. The extant literature has suggested that the effects of age on RT are usually augmented (multiplicative) in more difficult task conditions, but also that the effects of age on the latency of the P300 component of the event-related brain potential (ERP) are constant (additive). The results indicated that the effects of age on RT were enhanced in more difficult conditions, whether the difficulty consisted of stimulus degradation or S-R incompatibility. However, the effects of age on P300 latency were enlarged as the stimuli were degraded, but not if the S-R mapping was incompatible. Thus, it appears that task content determines if effects of age on P300 latency are additive or multiplicative. A simple model is proposed that produces the obtained pattern of effects.

On the utility of P3 amplitude as a measure of processing capacity

Psychophysiology, 2001

The present review focuses on the utility of the amplitude of P3 of as a measure of processing ca... more The present review focuses on the utility of the amplitude of P3 of as a measure of processing capacity and mental workload. The paper starts with a brief outline of the conceptual framework underlying the relationship between P3 amplitude and task demands, and the cognitive task manipulations that determine demands on capacity. P3 amplitude results are then discussed on the basis of an extensive review of the relevant literature. It is concluded that although it has often been assumed that P3 amplitude depends on the capacity for processing task relevant stimuli, the utility of P3 amplitude as a sensitive and diagnostic measure of processing capacity remains limited. The major factor that prompts this conclusion is that the two principal task variables that have been used to manipulate capacity allocation, namely task difficulty and task emphasis, have opposite effects on the amplitude of P3. I suggest that this is because, in many tasks, an increase in difficulty transforms the structure or actual content of the flow of information in the processing systems, thereby interfering with the very processes that underlie P3 generation. Finally, in an attempt to theoretically integrate the results of the reviewed studies, it is proposed that P3 amplitude reflects activation of elements in a eventcategorization network that is controlled by the joint operation of attention and working memory.

Perceptual factors affecting age-related differences in focused attention: Performance and psychophysiological analyses

Psychophysiology, 1996

Hemispheric distribution of ERP components and word naming in preschool children

Brain and Language, 1986

Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded at the left and right temporal and parietal sites d... more Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded at the left and right temporal and parietal sites during a word-naming task in 61 children ranging in age from 5.1 to 6.2 years. Principal component analysis (PCA) was performed on the average ERP waveforms. Analyses of the factor scores revealed that the P240, N380, and SW components were asymmetrically distributed over the hemispheres. Fast reading acquisition was associated with smaller N380 and larger SW activity than slow reading acquisition. Multiple regression analyses indicated that only right hemispheric ERP components were significantly associated with rate of reading acquisition. These findings are discussed in terms of right hemispheric involvement in early reading acquisition.

Effects of stop-signal probability in the stop-signal paradigm: The N2/P3 complex further validated

Brain and Cognition, 2004

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of frequency of occurrence of stop signals in th... more The aim of this study was to examine the effects of frequency of occurrence of stop signals in the stop-signal paradigm. Presenting stop signals less frequently resulted in faster reaction times to the go stimulus and a lower probability of inhibition. Also, go stimuli elicited larger and somewhat earlier P3 responses when stop signals occurred less frequently. Since the amplitude effect was more pronounced on trials when go signals were followed by fast than slow reactions, it probably reflected a stronger set to produce fast responses. N2 and P3 components to stop signals were observed to be larger and of longer latency when stop signals occurred less frequently. The amplitude enhancement of these N2 and P3 components were more pronounced for unsuccessful than for successful stop-signal trials. Moreover, the successfully inhibited stop trials elicited a frontocentral P3 whereas unsuccessfully inhibited stop trials elicited a more posterior P3 that resembled the classical P3b. P3 amplitude in the unsuccessfully inhibited condition also differed between waveforms synchronized with the stop signal and waveforms synchronized with response onset whereas N2 amplitude did not. Taken together these findings suggest that N2 reflected a greater significance of failed inhibitions after low probability stop signals while P3 reflected continued processing of the erroneous response after response execution.

Attentional orienting across the sensory modalities

Brain and Cognition, 2008

This event-related potential study investigated (i) to what extent incongruence between attention... more This event-related potential study investigated (i) to what extent incongruence between attention-directing cue and cued target modality affects attentional control processes that bias the system in advance to favor a particular stimulus modality and (ii) to what extent topdown attentional control mechanisms are generalized for the type of information that is to be attended. To this end, both visual and auditory word cues were used to instruct participants to direct attention to a specific visual (color) or auditory (pitch) stimulus feature of a forthcoming multisensory target stimulus. Effects of cue congruency were observed within 200 ms post-cue over frontal scalp regions and related to processes involved in shifting attention from the cue modality to the modality of the task-relevant target feature. Both directing visual attention and directing auditory attention were associated with dorsal posterior positivity, followed by sustained fronto-central negativity. However, this fronto-central negativity appeared to have an earlier onset and was more pronounced when the visual modality was cued. Together the present results suggest that the mechanisms involved in deploying attention are to some extent determined by the modality (visual, auditory) in which attention operates, and in addition, that some of these mechanisms can also be affected by cue congruency.

Topographic and functional characteristics of early and late CNV components

Biological Psychology, 1984

Effects of degradation of visual stimuli on components of the event-related potential (ERP) in go/nogo reaction tasks

Biological Psychology, 1986

Abstract In the present experiments, event-related potentials (ERPs) were measured to randomly pr... more

Age-related changes in involuntary and voluntary attention as reflected in components of the event-related potential (ERP)

Biological Psychology, 2000

The present paper provides an overview of age-related changes in both involuntary and voluntary a... more The present paper provides an overview of age-related changes in both involuntary and voluntary attention in adult subjects as manifested in scalp-recorded ERPs. A decline in orienting with old age was inferred from a substantial reduction with age in the magnitude of deviance-related ERP components like MMN, target as well as nontarget P3s, novelty P3 and N400. A review of focused attention studies further suggested that old and young subjects do not differ substantially in the quality of attentional operations. In old subjects early selection processes, as reflected in their selection potentials, have a somewhat slower onset than in young subjects, especially in conditions in which selection is based upon complex discrimination of stimulus features. Futhermore, the global pattern emerging from visual and memory search studies is that search-related negativities in the ERPs are smaller and of longer duration in old than in young subjects over the central and anterior scalp sites. These effects could indicate that controlled search is less intense or takes more time per search operation in old than in young subjects. At more posterior scalp sites there was tendency towards an enhanced search-related negativity that could reflect a specific difficulty (or compensatory increase in mental effort) of old subjects in spatially locating targets in complex visual fields.

P3 scalp topography to target and novel visual stimuli in children of alcoholics

Alcohol, 1998

The P3 event-related potential (ERP) component was recorded from 7- to 18-year-old children of al... more The P3 event-related potential (ERP) component was recorded from 7- to 18-year-old children of alcoholics (COAs, n = 50) and age- and sex-matched control children (n = 50) using a visual oddball paradigm, involving nontarget (76%), target (12%), and novel (12%) stimuli. Topographic maps of P3 and associated scalp current density were obtained to supplement a topographic profile analysis. COAs manifested a smaller amplitude P3 to target stimuli over the centroparietal, parietal, and occipital scalp locations than controls. Also, COAs exhibited a smaller amplitude P3 to novel stimuli over the occipital scalp than controls. There were no significant differences between COAs and controls in the P3 scalp topography, indicating that differences in intracranial source strength rather than in source configuration were responsible for the between-group amplitude differences. Also, no significant group differences were observed in the P3 peak latency or in behavioral performance. These results support the notion that the visual P3 may provide a vulnerability marker of alcoholism.

Nonspatial intermodal selective attention is mediated by sensory brain areas: Evidence from event��related potentials

Psychophysiology, Sep 1, 2001

The present study focuses on the question of whether inter-and intramodal forms of attention are ... more

A computational account of altered error processing in older age: dopamine and the error-related negativity

Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, Mar 1, 2002

When participants commit errors or receive feedback signaling that they have made an error, a neg... more When participants commit errors or receive feedback signaling that they have made an error, a negative brain potential is elicited. According to Holroyd and Coles's (in press) neurocomputational model of error processing, this error-related negativity (ERN) is elicited when the brain first detects that the consequences of an action are worse than expected. To study age-related changes in error processing, we obtained performance and ERN measures of younger and high-functioning older adults. Experiment 1 demonstrated ...

A computational account of altered error processing in older age: dopamine and the error-related negativity

Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, Mar 1, 2002

When participants commit errors or receive feedback signaling that they have made an error, a neg... more When participants commit errors or receive feedback signaling that they have made an error, a negative brain potential is elicited. According to Holroyd and Coles's (in press) neurocomputational model of error processing, this error-related negativity (ERN) is elicited when the brain first detects that the consequences of an action are worse than expected. To study age-related changes in error processing, we obtained performance and ERN measures of younger and high-functioning older adults. Experiment 1 demonstrated ...