Long-term academic stress increases the late component of error processing: an ERP study

Jianhui Wu; Yiran Yuan; Hongxia Duan; Shaozheng Qin; Tony W Buchanan; Kan Zhang; Liang Zhang

doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2014.03.002

Long-term academic stress increases the late component of error processing: an ERP study

Biol Psychol. 2014 May:99:77-82. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2014.03.002. Epub 2014 Mar 18.

Authors

Jianhui Wu¹, Yiran Yuan², Hongxia Duan³, Shaozheng Qin⁴, Tony W Buchanan⁵, Kan Zhang⁶, Liang Zhang⁷

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. Electronic address: wujh@psych.ac.cn.
² Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. Electronic address: yuanyr@psych.ac.cn.
³ Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. Electronic address: duanhx@psych.ac.cn.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA. Electronic address: szqin@stanford.edu.
⁵ Department of Psychology, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO, USA. Electronic address: tbuchan7@slu.edu.
⁶ Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. Electronic address: zhangk@psych.ac.cn.
⁷ Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. Electronic address: zhangl@psych.ac.cn.

PMID: 24657630
DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2014.03.002

Abstract

Exposure to long-term stress has a variety of consequences on the brain and cognition. Few studies have examined the influence of long-term stress on event related potential (ERP) indices of error processing. The current study investigated how long-term academic stress modulates the error related negativity (Ne or ERN) and the error positivity (Pe) components of error processing. Forty-one male participants undergoing preparation for a major academic examination and 20 non-exam participants completed a Go-NoGo task while ERP measures were collected. The exam group reported higher perceived stress levels and showed increased Pe amplitude compared with the non-exam group. Participants' rating of the importance of the exam was positively associated with the amplitude of Pe, but these effects were not found for the Ne/ERN. These results suggest that long-term academic stress leads to greater motivational assessment of and higher emotional response to errors.

Keywords: ERP; Error processing; Long-term academic stress; Ne/ERN; Pe.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Brain Mapping
Choice Behavior / physiology
Electroencephalography
Evoked Potentials / physiology*
Female
Humans
Inhibition, Psychological
Male
Neuropsychological Tests
Photic Stimulation
Reaction Time
Stress, Psychological / physiopathology*
Surveys and Questionnaires
Young Adult