Department of Occupational Therapy, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.
Department of Molecular, Cellular & Integrative Neurosciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.
Psychophysiology. 2022 Mar;59(3):e13972. doi: 10.1111/psyp.13972. Epub 2021 Nov 24.
This study aims to use structural equation modeling (SEM) to investigate the role of error processing in behavioral adaptation in children by testing relationships between error-related and stimulus-related event-related potentials (ERPs) obtained from two sessions of a speeded Eriksen flanker task. First, path models of averaged ERP components and mean response times (N1 → P2 → N2 → P3 → RTs) while controlling for trait effects, age, and sex, on each was examined separately for correct and incorrect trials from each session. While the model demonstrated acceptable fit statistics, the four models yielded diverse results. Next, path models for correct and incorrect trials were tested using latent variables defined by factoring together respective measures of ERP component amplitudes from each session. Comparison of correct and incorrect models revealed significant differences in the relationships between the successive measures of neural processing after controlling for trait effects. Moreover, latent variable models controlling for both trait and session-specific state variables yielded excellent model fit while models without session-specific state variables did not. In the final model, the error-related neural activity (i.e., the ERN and Pe) from incorrect trials was found to significantly relate to the stream of neural processes contributing to trials with the correct behavior. Importantly, the relationship between RT and error detection in the final model signifies a brain-and-behavior feedback loop. These findings provided empirical evidence that supports the adaptive orienting theory of error processing by demonstrating how the neural signals of error processing influence behavioral adaptations that facilitate correct behavioral performance.
本研究旨在通过测试在两个快速 Eriksen 侧翼任务回合中获得的与错误相关和与刺激相关的事件相关电位（ERP）之间的关系，利用结构方程模型（SEM）研究错误处理在儿童行为适应中的作用。首先，在分别控制特质效应、年龄和性别的情况下，对每个回合的正确和错误试次的平均 ERP 成分和平均反应时（N1→P2→N2→P3→RTs）的路径模型进行了单独检验。虽然模型表现出可接受的拟合统计数据，但四个模型的结果却各不相同。接下来，使用来自每个回合的各自 ERP 成分振幅的因子分析来定义潜在变量，并对正确和错误试次的路径模型进行了测试。在控制特质效应后，对正确和错误模型的比较揭示了神经处理连续测量之间的关系存在显著差异。此外，在控制特质和特定回合状态变量的潜在变量模型中，模型拟合度非常好，而没有特定回合状态变量的模型则不行。在最终模型中，发现来自错误试次的错误相关神经活动（即 ERN 和 Pe）与导致正确行为的试次的神经过程流显著相关。重要的是，最终模型中 RT 和错误检测之间的关系标志着大脑和行为的反馈回路。这些发现提供了实证证据，支持错误处理的适应性导向理论，表明错误处理的神经信号如何影响促进正确行为表现的行为适应。
