Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institut für Psychologie, Rudower Chaussee 18, Berlin, Germany.
Neurobiol Aging. 2011 Jul;32(7):1320-30. doi: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2009.07.016. Epub 2009 Aug 28.
Changes of performance monitoring during and after learning of stimulus-response (S-R) associations were examined in younger and older adults using event-related brain potentials (ERPs). To determine whether age-related differences in performance monitoring are attenuated when learning performance is equalized between age groups, participants learned S-R associations until they reached a learning criterion. After completed learning, time pressure was introduced to assess whether time pressure pronounces age-related differences in performance monitoring. In the initial learning phase, performance monitoring was unspecific, indicated by similar-sized ERN/Ne (error-related/error negativity) and CRN (correct response-related negativity) amplitudes. With advanced learning, ERN/Ne and CRN amplitudes dissociated in younger participants, suggesting error-specific performance monitoring, whereas in older participants, performance monitoring remained unspecific. However, after completed learning and under time pressure, larger ERN/Ne than CRN amplitudes were observed in older participants, too. This finding suggests that error-specific performance monitoring develops with learning in younger, but not necessarily in older adults. The administration of time pressure seemed to force older adults to monitor error responses more specifically.
采用事件相关脑电位（ERP）技术，研究了年轻和年长个体在学习刺激-反应（S-R）联结的过程中和之后，其表现监控的变化情况。为了确定当学习成绩在不同年龄组之间相同时，是否会减轻与年龄相关的表现监控差异，参与者在达到学习标准之前学习 S-R 关联。完成学习后，引入时间压力，以评估时间压力是否会明显夸大与年龄相关的表现监控差异。在初始学习阶段，表现监控是无特异性的，这表现为错误相关正电波（ERN/Ne）和正确反应相关负电波（CRN）的振幅相似。随着学习的深入，年轻参与者的 ERN/Ne 和 CRN 振幅分离，表明具有错误特异性的表现监控，而年长参与者的表现监控仍然无特异性。然而，在完成学习并在时间压力下，年长参与者的 ERN/Ne 振幅比 CRN 振幅更大。这一发现表明，错误特异性表现监控在年轻参与者中随着学习而发展，但在年长参与者中并非如此。施加时间压力似乎迫使年长参与者更具体地监控错误反应。
