Neural correlates of performance monitoring in adult patients with Gilles de la Tourette syndrome: A study of event-related potentials

•Reaction times on incongruent trials of the flanker task were slower in GTS patients than controls.•GTS patients showed more negative Ne/ERN amplitudes than matched controls.•GTS patients showed more frontally distributed N2 and Ne/ERN compared to controls. Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (GTS) is a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical neurophysiology 2020-03, Vol.131 (3), p.597-608
Main Authors: Warren, Claire, Seer, Caroline, Lange, Florian, Kopp, Bruno, Müller-Vahl, Kirsten
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Basal ganglia
Event-related potentials
Executive function
Gilles de la Tourette syndrome
Interference resolution
Performance monitoring
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Summary:•Reaction times on incongruent trials of the flanker task were slower in GTS patients than controls.•GTS patients showed more negative Ne/ERN amplitudes than matched controls.•GTS patients showed more frontally distributed N2 and Ne/ERN compared to controls. Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (GTS) is a neuropsychiatric condition characterized by motor and vocal tics. There is undoubtedly basal ganglia involvement, which are also important for cognitive processes including performance monitoring and interference resolution. We investigated these functions in adult patients with GTS compared to healthy controls (HCs). We compared a group of N = 23 adult patients with GTS to N = 27 HC on a flanker task during an EEG recording. Reaction times and error rates were recorded, as well as N2 and Ne/ERN amplitudes. The N2 is an index of interference resolution. The Ne/ERN is a negative fronto-central component, occurring when participants make mistakes. Patients’ reaction times were enhanced on incongruent trials compared to HC. Electrophysiological data revealed more frontal components, as well as significantly increased Ne/ERN amplitudes in patients with GTS compared to HC (p = 0.026). Altered electrophysiological correlates of error processing in adult patients with GTS compared to HC cannot be attributed to differential error probabilities. Potentially, patients recruit compensatory resources from frontal networks to maintain behavioural performance. This study gives further insight into cognitive deficits of patients with GTS, and the underlying neural processes of these functions.
ISSN:1388-2457
1872-8952
DOI:10.1016/j.clinph.2019.11.019