Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 27, 2026

Measurement of Fronto-limbic Activity Using an Emotional Oddball Task in Children with Familial High Risk for Schizophrenia
Published on: December 2, 2015
The feedback-related negativity (FRN) in adolescents
Tina M Zottoli1, Jillian Grose-Fifer
1Department of Psychology, The Graduate Center and John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York, New York, NY 10010, USA. Tina.zottoli@earthlink.net
Abstract:
This study examined age-related differences in the ERP correlates of external feedback processing (i.e., the feedback-related negativity [FRN]) in adolescent and young adult males, using a simple gambling task involving unpredictable monetary losses and gains of low and high magnitude. The FRN was larger after losses than gains, and was modulated by the magnitude of gains, but not the magnitude of losses, for all participants regardless of age. FRN amplitude was larger in adolescents than adults and also discriminated relatively less strongly between gains and losses in adolescents. In addition, the morphology of the waveform after high losses suggests that feedback in this condition may have been processed less efficiently by adolescents. Our results suggest that, although the FRN in adults and adolescents share some common characteristics, the neural processes that generate the FRN are still developing in midadolescence. These findings are discussed in the context of adolescent risk taking.
Related Concept Videos
Feedback Inhibition
Self-Evaluation: Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification
Negative and Positive Feedback
Social Foundations of Self II: The Generalized Other
Revisionist Views of Adolescent and Adult Cognition
Framing Effects
