Associations of neural error‐processing with symptoms and traits in a dimensional sample recruited across the obsessive–compulsive spectrum
Year: 2022
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: The error-related negativity (ERN), a neural response to errors, has been associated with several forms of psychopathology and assumed to represent a neural risk marker for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and anxiety disorders. Yet, it is still unknown which specific symptoms or traits best explain ERN variation. This study investigated performance-monitoring in participants (N = 100) recruited across a spectrum of obsessive-compulsive characteristics (n = 26 patients with OCD; n = 74 healthy participants including n = 24 with low, n = 24 with medium, and n = 26 with high OC-characteristics). Several compulsivity- and anxiety-associated characteristics were assessed and submitted to exploratory principal axis factor analysis. Associations of raw measures and derived factors with ERN and correct-related negativity (CRN) were examined. Patients with OCD showed increased ERN amplitudes compared to healthy participants. The ERN was associated with a variety of traits related to anxiety and negative affect. Factor analysis results revealed a most prominent association of the ERN with a composite measure of anxiety and neuroticism, whereas the CRN was specifically associated with compulsivity. Results support differential associations for the ERN and CRN and demonstrate that a dimensional recruitment approach and use of composite measures can improve our understanding of characteristics underlying variation in neural performance monitoring.
Source: Psychophysiology
DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14164
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,900
Funder: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
Award: G33809067
OpenAlex ID: W4293399638