Diminished error-related negativity and error positivity in children and adults with externalizing problems and...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychology
• Psychopathology

Background:

• Externalizing problems are linked to difficulties in adjusting behavior due to impaired error processing.
• Event-related potentials, specifically error-related negativity (ERN) and error positivity (Pe), are key neural indicators of error processing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if error processing, measured by ERN and Pe amplitudes, is reduced in individuals with externalizing problems compared to healthy controls.
• To analyze potential moderating factors such as diagnosis type, age, task, feedback, and comorbidity on error processing.

Main Methods:

• Conducted a systematic literature search across PubMed, PsycInfo, and Scopus databases.
• Included 32 meta-analyses examining ERN and Pe amplitudes in children and adults with externalizing problems using tasks like the Eriksen flanker, go/no-go, or stop-signal task.
• Utilized random-effects models to analyze data from 23 studies for ERN (1739 participants) and 27 studies for Pe (1456 participants).

Main Results:

• A significant reduction in ERN amplitude (g = 0.44) and Pe amplitude (g = -0.27) was observed in individuals with externalizing problems.
• The cognitive task moderated Pe amplitude differences, with the go/no-go task showing a larger effect than the Eriksen flanker task.
• Publication bias was detected for both ERN and Pe, though ERN analysis indicated present evidential value, while Pe analysis was inconclusive.

Conclusions:

• Findings confirm compromised error processing in externalizing psychopathology.
• Reduced ERN and Pe amplitudes suggest diminished prefrontal cortex activation during performance monitoring in individuals with externalizing problems.
• Further research is needed to explore other disorder- and patient-related factors that may contribute to heterogeneity in error processing.