Externalizing psychopathology and gain–loss feedback in a simulated gambling task: Dissociable components of brain response revealed by time-frequency analysis.

Abstract

Externalizing is a broad construct that reflects propensity toward a variety of impulse control problems, including antisocial personality disorder and substance use disorders. Two event-related potential responses known to be reduced among individuals high in externalizing proneness are the P300, which reflects post-perceptual processing of a stimulus, and the error-related negativity (ERN), which indexes performance monitoring based on endogenous representations. The current study employed a simulated gambling task to examine the relationship between externalizing proneness and the feedback-related negativity (FRN), a brain response that indexes performance monitoring related to exogenous cues, which is thought to be highly related to the ERN. Timefrequency (TF) analysis was used to disentangle the FRN from the accompanying P300 response to feedback cues by parsing the overall feedback-locked potential into distinctive theta (4-7 Hz) and delta (< 3 Hz) TF components. Whereas delta-P300 amplitude was reduced among individuals high in externalizing proneness, theta-FRN response was unrelated to externalizing. These findings suggest that, in contrast with previously reported deficits in endogenously-based performance monitoring (as indexed by the ERN), individuals high in externalizing tendencies show intact monitoring of exogenous cues (as indexed by the FRN). The results also contribute to a growing body of evidence indicating that the P300 is attenuated across a broad range of task conditions in high-externalizing individuals. Keywordsexternalizing; disinhibition; performance monitoring; feedback-related; negativity; event-related potential; time-frequency Impulse control problems of differing types, including child and adult antisocial behavior and abuse of alcohol and other drugs, exhibit high rates of comorbidity in the population, * Corresponding author: Edward M. Bernat, Department of Psychology, 1107 W. Call St., Florida State University, Tallahassee FL 32306-4301, ebernat@fsu.edu. 2 Age and gender were assessed as potential mediators of observed brain response relationships with externalizing proneness. Age did not significantly correlate with scores on the ESI-100, and was thus not assessed further. Gender showed significant relations with ESI-100 scores, t(147)=3.11, p<.002, and with delta-P300 amplitude, F(1,145)=11.12, p<.001. However, when included as a factor in the GLM examining effects of Externalizing and Feedback condition on delta-P300, gender showed no interaction with Externalizing (F < 1), and effects related to Externalizing were unchanged. In sum, neither age nor gender appeared to moderate the delta-P300/ Externalizing relationship. NIH Public AccessAuthor Manuscript J Abnorm Psychol. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2012 May 1. NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript leading to suggestions that these disorders may be etiologically related (for early proposals of this sort, see: Achenbach & Edelbrock, 1978;Jessor & Jessor, 1977). Recently, r...

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Fairness influences early signatures of reward-related neural processing

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Dysfunctional error-related processing in female psychopathy

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