Investigating the EEG Error-Related Negativity in College Students with ADHD, Anxiety, and Depression

Authors' Affiliations

Mariacristina Canini, Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN. Marissa R. Jones, Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN. Ben Sawyer, Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN. Ethan Ashworth, Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN. Eric W. Sellers, Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN.

Location

Ballroom

Start Date

4-12-2019 9:00 AM

End Date

4-12-2019 2:30 PM

Poster Number

61

Faculty Sponsor’s Department

Psychology

Name of Project's Faculty Sponsor

Dr. Eric Sellers

Classification of First Author

Undergraduate Student

Type

Poster: Competitive

Project's Category

Psychology

Abstract or Artist's Statement

Error-related Negativity (ERN) is an event-related potential elicited by the commission of errors. It appears as a negative deflection peaking between 50ms and 100ms after an erroneous response. Previous literature demonstrated that individuals who suffer from either anxiety or depression display a higher ERN amplitude compared to a control group. It has also been shown that people with ADHD display a lower ERN amplitude, suggesting that traits of this disorder, such as impulsivity, impair sensitivity to errors. Based on these findings, we investigated which disorder has more weight on the variance in amplitude of the ERN. We recruited thirty-eight students at East Tennessee State University and gathered data on their level of anxiety, depression, and ADHD through completion of three surveys: the Beck Anxiety Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory, and the ADHD self-report scale. Subsequently, participants were asked to perform a modified Flanker task while their EEG neural activity was collected through a 32-channel EEG cap. ERN amplitude for error responses was significantly higher than ERN amplitude for correct responses. In addition, error responses produced a large P300 component of the event-related potential.

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Apr 12th, 9:00 AM Apr 12th, 2:30 PM

Investigating the EEG Error-Related Negativity in College Students with ADHD, Anxiety, and Depression

Ballroom

Error-related Negativity (ERN) is an event-related potential elicited by the commission of errors. It appears as a negative deflection peaking between 50ms and 100ms after an erroneous response. Previous literature demonstrated that individuals who suffer from either anxiety or depression display a higher ERN amplitude compared to a control group. It has also been shown that people with ADHD display a lower ERN amplitude, suggesting that traits of this disorder, such as impulsivity, impair sensitivity to errors. Based on these findings, we investigated which disorder has more weight on the variance in amplitude of the ERN. We recruited thirty-eight students at East Tennessee State University and gathered data on their level of anxiety, depression, and ADHD through completion of three surveys: the Beck Anxiety Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory, and the ADHD self-report scale. Subsequently, participants were asked to perform a modified Flanker task while their EEG neural activity was collected through a 32-channel EEG cap. ERN amplitude for error responses was significantly higher than ERN amplitude for correct responses. In addition, error responses produced a large P300 component of the event-related potential.