Beyond the FN: A spatio-temporal analysis of the neural correlates of feedback processing in a virtual Blackjack game

• The spatio-temporal distribution of ERPs related to feedback processing is examined.
• Feedback processing is associated with transient and sustained activity in the ERPs.
• Feedback processing involves cingulate, medial frontal, lateral temporal and occipital regions.

Studies using event-related brain potentials (ERPs) to examine feedback processing in gambling tasks have focused almost exclusively on components elicited between 200 and 500 ms after feedback over the frontal-central region of the scalp (i.e., P2, feedback negativity (FN), and P3a). In contrast, studies examining the functional neuroanatomy of feedback processing reveal activation in a distributed network that includes the anterior and posterior cingulate, the lateral and medial orbitofrontal cortex, the occipital cortex, and the basal ganglia. In the current study, we used ERPs in combination with spatial principal components-massive univariate analysis and distributed source analysis to examine the time course, topography, and neural generators of ERPs elicited in a virtual Blackjack game from 0 to 2000 ms after feedback was delivered. The ERP data revealed the P2–FN–P3a complex, as well as, broadly distributed transient and slow wave activity that was sensitive to the magnitude and valence of an outcome. The ERPs reflected activation in the anterior and posterior cingulate, in addition to the occipital, temporal and medial frontal cortices. These data demonstrate that ERPs can provide valuable insight into the timing of neural recruitment within a distributed cortical network during the first two seconds of feedback processing.