Amplitude and latency of feedback-related negativity: aging and sex differences

Feedback-related negativity (FRN) is an electrophysiological index associated with impulsivity. However, the age and sex effects on FRN are not well understood. Using the single-outcome gambling task, this study investigated age-related and sex-related differences between the FRN in middle and late adolescents and adults. Forty healthy adolescents (15-17 years old) and 28 healthy adults (20-25 years old) were recruited in the event-related potentials study. The electrophysiological response to gains and losses of low and high magnitude were recorded during the single-outcome gambling task. The FRN significantly delayed in middle and late adolescents compared with adults (232.875 vs. 211.714 ms). Adults are more sensitive to the magnitude of feedback (larger amounts: 50 cents vs. small amounts: 10 cents) than valence (gain: +50/10 vs. loss: -50/10). However, middle and late adolescents are neither sensitive to magnitude nor to valence. Men showed significantly more negative FRN amplitude than women both in adolescents and adults. In addition, the hostility subscore of the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire was negatively correlated with FRN amplitude. The results of this study suggested that the age-related differences did exist between the FRN in adolescents and those in adults. Men require more neural activity than women to achieve similar feedback both in adolescents and adults.