Applying electrophysiological methods to investigate the brain mechanisms involved in the processing of rewards, punishments, and performance feedback

dc.contributor.authorBaker, Travis Edward
dc.contributor.supervisorHolroyd, Clay Brian
dc.date.accessioned2010-02-26T21:44:33Z
dc.date.available2010-02-26T21:44:33Z
dc.date.copyright2007en
dc.date.issued2010-02-26T21:44:33Z
dc.degree.departmentDept. of Psychologyen
dc.degree.levelMaster of Science M.Sc.en
dc.description.abstractTo elucidate the neural generator of the feedback error-related negativity (fERN), which is an event-related brain potential (ERP) component elecited following negative feedback, this study utilized a converging method approach by applying electrophysiological methods to replicate a reward task modeled after a functional magnetic resonance imaging, single-cell recording, and primate studies that activated the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) with negative feedback. This study involved two ERP experiments. The first involved a replication of the reward task and the second experiment involved a modification of the reward task that separated the valence and instructional aspects of the feedback stimulus. Experiment 1 demonstrated that methodological issues can arise when using ERP methods to replicate a paradigm used in other neuroimaging techniques. Experiment 2 was conducted to control for these methodological issues. For experiment 2, the reward condition following a switch movement elicited a large N2 component, which consequently overlapped with the fERN. I concluded that if participants are incorrectly expecting negative feedback after switch trials, the `unexpected' positive feedback following the switch trails violated their expectation, thereby eliciting a large N2, and not a fERN. This hypothesis will be tested in several follow up experiments by modifying the paradigm in Experiment 2 so that all the possible combinations of condition mappings can be applied.en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1828/2280
dc.languageEnglisheng
dc.language.isoenen
dc.rightsAvailable to the World Wide Weben
dc.subjectreward and punishmenten
dc.subject.lcshUVic Subject Index::Humanities and Social Sciences::Psychologyen
dc.titleApplying electrophysiological methods to investigate the brain mechanisms involved in the processing of rewards, punishments, and performance feedbacken
dc.typeThesisen

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