Slow and Fast Responses: Two Mechanisms of Trial Outcome Processing Revealed by EEG Oscillations

Abstract

Cognitive control includes maintenance of task-specific processes related to attention, and non-specific regulation of motor threshold. Depending upon the nature of the behavioral tasks, these mechanisms may predispose to different kinds of errors, with either increased or decreased response time (RT) of erroneous responses relative to correct responses. Specifically, slow responses are related to attentional lapses and decision uncertainty, these conditions tending to delay RTs of both erroneous and correct responses. Here we studied if RT may be a valid approximation distinguishing trials with high and low levels of sustained attention and decision uncertainty. We analyzed response-related and feedback-related modulations in theta, alpha and beta band activity in the auditory version of the two-choice condensation task, which is highly demanding for sustained attention while involves no inhibition of prepotent responses. Depending upon response speed and accuracy, trials were divided into slow correct, slow erroneous, fast correct and fast erroneous. We found that error-related frontal midline theta (FMT) was present only on fast erroneous trials. The feedback-related FMT was equally strong on slow erroneous and fast erroneous trials. Late post-response posterior alpha suppression was stronger on erroneous slow trials. Feedback-related frontal beta was present only on slow correct trials. The data obtained cumulatively suggests that RT allows distinguishing the two types of trials, with fast trials related to higher levels of attention and low uncertainty, and slow trials related to lower levels of attention and higher uncertainty.

Power of Feedback-Induced Beta Oscillations Reflect Omission of Rewards: Evidence From an EEG Gambling Study

“…In the current study, beta oscillations were relatively low in frequency (12–20 Hz) and late in time (700–1000 ms) compared to previous studies ( Marco-Pallerés et al, 2008 , 2015 ; HajiHosseini et al, 2012 ; Leicht et al, 2013 ; Mas-Herrero et al, 2015 ; see Luft, 2014 for review). To date, only few studies investigating feedback processing have reported an increase in low beta power at around 800 ms ( HajiHosseini et al, 2012 ; Leicht et al, 2013 ; Luft, 2014 ; Pornpattananangkul and Nusslock, 2016 ; Novikov et al, 2017 ). For example, when comparing low to high probable rewards HajiHosseini et al (2012) revealed an increase in low beta power between 700 and 000 ms, resembling a similar pattern of activity in the current experiment.…”

“…The selection of the specific frequency band, latency interval, and electrode positions was purely data-driven and based on statistical analysis of the ERSP data averaged over the experimental conditions (the analysis was orthogonal to our main analysis). The ERSP data was tested against zero using permutational statistics on t-score maps transformed with the TFCE (threshold-free cluster enhancement) algorithm (see Novikov et al, 2015 , 2017 for prior examples; also see Smith and Nichols, 2009 ). For more details, see Supplementary Materials .…”

An Overview of Models for Response Times and Processes in Cognitive Tests

“…However, there is some literature on how the type of incorrect response is an indication for response time and for the underlying processes. For example, Novikov et al (2017) hypothesize based on the literature that errors either stem from lack of cognitive control (deemed to be premature responses) and would lead to short response times (error speeding) or from attentional lapses and uncertainty. The study by Novikov et al (2017) concerns an auditory discrimination task and the use of EEG to locate oscillations in different regions of interest in the brain.…”

“…For example, Novikov et al (2017) hypothesize based on the literature that errors either stem from lack of cognitive control (deemed to be premature responses) and would lead to short response times (error speeding) or from attentional lapses and uncertainty. The study by Novikov et al (2017) concerns an auditory discrimination task and the use of EEG to locate oscillations in different regions of interest in the brain. On average the response times were shorter for correct responses than for incorrect responses, a common finding for complex attentional tasks (Wilding, 1971; Luce, 1986) and slow errors are found to be an indication of attentional lapses and uncertainty.…”

Enhanced Theta-Band Coherence Between Midfrontal and Posterior Parietal Areas Reflects Post-feedback Adjustments in the State of Outcome Uncertainty

“…The condensation task, which we used both in our previous studies (Novikov et al, 2015, 2017) and in the current study, is different from the aforementioned classical tasks as it implies a complex S-R mapping rule that involves feature conjunctions rather than single stimulus features(Posner, 1964; Gottwald and Garner, 1975). Our task involves two features with two levels each, and both features should be accounted for simultaneously in order to select a correct response from two possibilities; none of the features alone is enough to solve the task.…”