An event-related potential investigation of error monitoring in adults with a history of psychosis

• Deficits in neural systems may underlie symptoms of psychopathology across clinical disorders.
• Individuals with a history of psychosis, regardless of diagnosis, exhibit abnormalities in electrophysiological brain activity and appraisal of self-performance during error monitoring.
• Abnormalities are specific to errors and are associated with self-reported cognitive and perceptual aberrations.

ObjectivePrevious research suggests that deficits in error monitoring contribute to psychosis and poor functioning. Consistent with the NIMH Research Domain Criteria initiative, this study examined electrophysiological brain activity, appraisal of self-performance, and personality traits related to psychosis during error monitoring in individuals with and without a history of psychosis across disorders.MethodsError-related negativity (ERN), correct response negativity (CRN), error positivity (Pe), and correct response positivity (Pc) were recorded in 14 individuals with a history of psychosis (PSY) and 12 individuals with no history of psychosis (CTR) during a flanker task. Participants continuously rated their performance and completed the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Brief Revised (SPQ-BR).ResultsCompared with CTR, PSY exhibited reduced ERN and Pe amplitudes and was also less accurate at evaluating their performance. Group differences were specific to error trials. Across all participants, smaller Pe amplitudes were associated with greater scores on the SPQ-BR Cognitive-Perceptual factor and less accuracy in subjective identification of errors.ConclusionsIndividuals with a history of psychosis, regardless of diagnosis, demonstrated abnormal neural activity and imprecise confidence in response during error monitoring.SignificanceResults suggest that disruptions in neural circuitry may underlie specific clinical symptoms across diagnostic categories.