Feedback-related negativity reflects omission of monetary gains: evidence from ERP gambling study (2018)

Neurosci Lett. 2018 Sep 6. pii: S0304-3940(18)30606-2. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2018.09.007.

Yaple Z1, Shestakova A2, Klucharev V3.

Abstract

Feedback processing is an important aspect of learning. In the human brain, feedback processing is often examined by measuring an event-related potential, the feedback-related negativity component. Typically, the feedback-related negativity component is investigated by directly comparing gain with loss feedback randomized across trials; however, this method does not control for confounds associated with unexpected feedback. For this study we used a blocked designed gambling task to investigate the sensitivity of feedback-related negativity to positive and negative feedback separately for gains and losses. While there appeared to be no significant feedback-related negativity in the loss domain, results revealed an enlarged feedback-related negativity during the omission of gains compared to the reception of gains. These findings further support the reward positivity hypothesis which declares that the feedback-related negativity is associated with outcomes processing in the context of gains in contrast with the context of losses, irrespective of unexpectedness.

KEYWORDS:  EEG; ERP; feedback; feedback-related negativity; gambling; reward; reward positivity hypothesis

PMID: 30195974

DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2018.09.007