The P300 as a Marker of Waning Attention and Error Propensity
Avijit Datta
Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge CB2 7EF, UK cam.ac.uk
Hull York Medical School, York Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, York YO31 8HE, UK nhs.uk
Search for more papers by this authorRhodri Cusack
Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge CB2 7EF, UK cam.ac.uk
Search for more papers by this authorKari Hawkins
Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge CB2 7EF, UK cam.ac.uk
Search for more papers by this authorJoost Heutink
Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge CB2 7EF, UK cam.ac.uk
Search for more papers by this authorChris Rorden
Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge CB2 7EF, UK cam.ac.uk
Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA sc.edu
Search for more papers by this authorIan H. Robertson
Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge CB2 7EF, UK cam.ac.uk
Department of Psychology and Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland tcd.ie
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Tom Manly
Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge CB2 7EF, UK cam.ac.uk
Search for more papers by this authorAvijit Datta
Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge CB2 7EF, UK cam.ac.uk
Hull York Medical School, York Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, York YO31 8HE, UK nhs.uk
Search for more papers by this authorRhodri Cusack
Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge CB2 7EF, UK cam.ac.uk
Search for more papers by this authorKari Hawkins
Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge CB2 7EF, UK cam.ac.uk
Search for more papers by this authorJoost Heutink
Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge CB2 7EF, UK cam.ac.uk
Search for more papers by this authorChris Rorden
Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge CB2 7EF, UK cam.ac.uk
Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA sc.edu
Search for more papers by this authorIan H. Robertson
Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge CB2 7EF, UK cam.ac.uk
Department of Psychology and Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland tcd.ie
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Tom Manly
Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge CB2 7EF, UK cam.ac.uk
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
Action errors can occur when routine responses are triggered inappropriately by familiar cues. Here, EEG was recorded as volunteers performed a “go/no-go” task of long duration that occasionally and unexpectedly required them to withhold a frequent, routine response. EEG components locked to the onset of relevant go trials were sorted according to whether participants erroneously responded to immediately subsequent no-go trials or correctly withheld their responses. Errors were associated with a significant relative reduction in the amplitude of the preceding P300, that is, a judgement could be made bout whether a response-inhibition error was likely before it had actually occurred. Furthermore, fluctuations in P300 amplitude across the task formed a reliable associate of individual error propensity, supporting its use as a marker of sustained control over action.
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