On the ERN and the significance of errors

TLDR

The error‑related negativity (ERN) is an event‑related brain potential that appears when subjects commit errors and is thought to play a functional role in response monitoring. The study examined whether the ERN is sensitive to the value of errors by manipulating motivational significance in two experiments. Experiment 1 compared low‑ and high‑monetary‑value errors to assess trial‑value effects on the ERN, while Experiment 2 had subjects perform a flanker task under evaluation and control conditions. The ERN was significantly larger on high‑value trials in Experiment 1 and during evaluation in Experiment 2, with no corresponding effects on correct‑response negativity or behavioral differences across conditions.

Abstract

Abstract The error‐related negativity (ERN) is an event‐related brain potential observed when subjects commit errors. To examine whether the ERN is sensitive to the value of errors, the motivational significance of errors was manipulated in two experiments. In Experiment 1, low and high monetary value errors were compared to evaluate the effect of trial value on the ERN. In Experiment 2, subjects performed a flanker task both while their performance was being evaluated and during a control condition. Consistent with the notion that the error‐detection system is sensitive to the significance of errors, the ERN was significantly larger on high‐value trials in Experiment 1 and during evaluation in Experiment 2. There were no corresponding effects on the correct response negativity, and no behavioral differences between conditions were evident in either experiment. These results are discussed in terms of the functional role of the ERN in response monitoring.