Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-jr42d Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-18T00:00:22.644Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Error-processing abnormalities in pediatric anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorders

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 June 2015

Kate D. Fitzgerald  and
Stephan F. Taylor
Kate D. Fitzgerald*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
Stephan F. Taylor
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
*
*Address for correspondence, Kate Fitzgerald, MD, University of Michigan – Psychiatry, 4250 Plymouth Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. (Email: krd@med.umich.edu)
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorders are among the earliest occurring psychopathology and may derive from atypical maturation of neural networks for error processing. Psychological models have alternately suggested that over-detection of errors, excessive caring about errors, or failure of errors to elicit regulatory control could associate with the expression of anxiety. In this review article, the potential relevance of error processing for anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorders is described in the context of neurophysiological and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) research demonstrating altered brain response to errors in pediatric and adult patients. Finally, hypotheses about developmentally sensitive mechanisms of anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorders are drawn from the extant literature, and avenues for clinical translation are discussed.

Keywords

Anterior cingulateanxietydevelopmentdorsolateral prefrontal cortexerror-processingerror-related negativityobsessive-compulsivepediatricventromedial prefrontal cortex
Type
Review Articles
Information
CNS Spectrums , Volume 20 , Special Issue 4: Pediatric Neuroimaging , August 2015 , pp. 346 - 354
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. Kessler, RC, Berglund, P, Demler, O, Jin, R, Merikangas, KR, Walters, EE. Lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2005; 62(6): 593–602.Google Scholar
2. Kessler, RC, Ormel, J, Petukhova, M, et al. Development of lifetime comorbidity in the World Health Organization world mental health surveys. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2011; 68(1): 90–100.Google Scholar
3. Casey, BJ, Pattwell, SS, Glatt, CE, Lee, FS. Treating the developing brain: implications from human imaging and mouse genetics. Annu Rev Med. 2013; 64: 427–439.Google Scholar
4. Olvet, DM, Hajcak, G. The error-related negativity (ERN) and psychopathology: toward an endophenotype. Clin Psychol Rev. 2008; 28(8): 1343–1354.Google Scholar
5. Moser, JS, Moran, TP, Schroder, HS, Donnellan, MB, Yeung, N. On the relationship between anxiety and error monitoring: a meta-analysis and conceptual framework. Front Hum Neurosci. 2013; 7: 466.Google Scholar
6. Pitman, RK. A cybernetic model of obsessive-compulsive psychopathology. Compr Psychiatry. 1987; 28(4): 334–343.Google Scholar
7. Gehring, WJ, Himle, J, Nisenson, LG. Action-monitoring dysfunction in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Psychol Sci. 2000; 11(1): 1–6.Google Scholar
8. Endrass, T, Ullsperger, M. Specificity of performance monitoring changes in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2014; 46(Pt 1): 124–138.Google Scholar
9. Hajcak, G, Franklin, ME, Foa, EB, Simons, RF. Increased error-related brain activity in pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder before and after treatment. Am J Psychiatry. 2008; 165(1): 116–123.Google Scholar
10. Hanna, GL, Carrasco, M, Harbin, SM, et al. Error-related negativity and tic history in pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2012; 51(9): 902–910.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
11. Carrasco, M, Hong, C, Nienhuis, JK, et al. Increased error-related brain activity in youth with obsessive-compulsive disorder and other anxiety disorders. Neurosci Lett. 2013; 541: 214–218.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
12. Lahat, A, Lamm, C, Chronis-Tuscano, A, Pine, DS, Henderson, HA, Fox, NA. Early behavioral inhibition and increased error monitoring predict later social phobia symptoms in childhood. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2014; 53(4): 447–455.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
13. McDermott, JM, Perez-Edgar, K, Henderson, HA, Chronis-Tuscano, A, Pine, DS, Fox, NA. A history of childhood behavioral inhibition and enhanced response monitoring in adolescence are linked to clinical anxiety. Biol Psychiatry. 2009; 65(5): 445–448.Google Scholar
14. Foti, D, Kotov, R, Bromet, E, Hajcak, G. Beyond the broken error-related negativity: functional and diagnostic correlates of error processing in psychosis. Biol Psychiatry. 2012; 71(10): 864–872.Google Scholar
15. Geburek, AJ, Rist, F, Gediga, G, Stroux, D, Pedersen, A. Electrophysiological indices of error monitoring in juvenile and adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)—a meta-analytic appraisal. Int J Psychophysiol. 2013; 87(3): 349–362.Google Scholar
16. Proudfit, GH, Inzlicht, M, Mennin, DS. Anxiety and error monitoring: the importance of motivation and emotion. Front Hum Neurosci. 2013; 7: 636.Google Scholar
17. Bishop, SJ. Neurocognitive mechanisms of anxiety: an integrative account. Trends Cogn Sci. 2007; 11(7): 307–316.Google Scholar
18. Meyer, A, Weinberg, A, Klein, DN, Hajcak, G. The development of the error-related negativity (ERN) and its relationship with anxiety: evidence from 8 to 13 year-olds. Dev Cogn Neurosci. 2012; 2(1): 152–161.Google Scholar
19. Ladouceur, CD, Dahl, RE, Birmaher, B, Axelson, DA, Ryan, ND. Increased error-related negativity (ERN) in childhood anxiety disorders: ERP and source localization. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2006; 47(10): 1073–1082.Google Scholar
20. Meyer, A, Hajcak, G, Torpey, DC, et al. Increased error-related brain activity in six-year-old children with clinical anxiety. J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2013; 41(8): 1257–1266.Google Scholar
21. Muris, P, van der Pennen, E, Sigmond, R, Mayer, B. Symptoms of anxiety, depression, and aggression in non-clinical children: relationships with self-report and performance-based measures of attention and effortful control. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev. 2008; 39(4): 455–467.Google Scholar
22. Edwards, BG, Calhoun, VD, Kiehl, KA. Joint ICA of ERP and fMRI during error-monitoring. Neuroimage. 2012; 59(2): 1896–1903.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
23. Mathalon, DH, Whitfield, SL, Ford, JM. Anatomy of an error: ERP and fMRI. Biol Psychology. 2003; 64(1): 119–141.Google Scholar
24. Debener, S, Ullsperger, M, Siegel, M, Fiehler, K, von Cramon, DY, Engel, AK. Trial-by-trial coupling of concurrent electroencephalogram and functional magnetic resonance imaging identifies the dynamics of performance monitoring. J Neurosci. 2005; 25(50): 11730–11737.Google Scholar
25. Agam, Y, Hämäläinen, MS, Lee, AK, et al. Multimodal neuroimaging dissociates hemodynamic and electrophysiological correlates of error processing. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011; 108(42): 17556–17561.Google Scholar
26. Doñamayor, N, Heilbronner, U, Münte, TF. Coupling electrophysiological and hemodynamic responses to errors. Hum Brain Mapp. 2012; 33(7): 1621–1633.Google Scholar
27. Ridderinkhof, KR, Ullsperger, M, Crone, EA, Nieuwenhuis, S. The role of the medial frontal cortex in cognitive control. Science. 2004; 306(5695): 443–447.Google Scholar
28. Sridharan, D, Levitin, DJ, Menon, V. A critical role for the right fronto-insular cortex in switching between central-executive and default-mode networks. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008; 105(34): 12569–12574.Google Scholar
29. Allman, JM, Hakeem, A, Erwin, JM, Nimchinsky, E, Hof, P. The anterior cingulate cortex: the evolution of an interface between emotion and cognition. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2001; 935: 107–117.Google Scholar
30. Critchley, HD. Neural mechanisms of autonomic, affective, and cognitive integration. J Comp Neurol. 2005; 493(1): 154–166.Google Scholar
31. Dolan, RJ. Emotion, cognition, and behavior. Science. 2002; 298(5596): 1191–1194.Google Scholar
32. Cavanaugh, JF, Shackman, AJ. Frontal midline theta reflects anxiety and cognitive control: meta-analytic evidence. J Physiol Paris. In press. DOI: 10.1016/j.jphysparis.2014.04.003.Google Scholar
33. Kerns, JG, Cohen, JD, MacDonald, AW 3rd, Cho, RY, Stenger, VA, Carter, CS. Anterior cingulate conflict monitoring and adjustments in control. Science. 2004; 303(5660): 1023–1026.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
34. Barbas, H. Connections underlying the synthesis of cognition, memory, and emotion in primate prefrontal cortices. Brain Res Bull. 2000; 52(5): 319–330.Google Scholar
35. Roy, M, Shohamy, D, Wager, TD. Ventromedial prefrontal-subcortical systems and the generation of affective meaning. Trends Cogn Sci. 2012; 16(3): 147–156.Google Scholar
36. Myers-Schulz, B, Koenigs, M. Functional anatomy of ventromedial prefrontal cortex: implications for mood and anxiety disorders. Mol Psychiatry. 2012; 17(2): 132–141.Google Scholar
37. Taylor, SF, Martis, B, Fitzgerald, KD, et al. Medial frontal cortex activity and loss-related responses to errors. J Neurosci. 2006; 26(15): 4063–4070.Google Scholar
38. Rubia, K, Smith, AB, Taylor, E, Brammer, M. Linear age-correlated functional development of right inferior fronto-striato-cerebellar networks during response inhibition and anterior cingulate during error-related processes. Hum Brain Mapp. 2007; 28(11): 1163–1177.Google Scholar
39. Velanova, K, Wheeler, ME, Luna, B. Maturational changes in anterior cingulate and frontoparietal recruitment support the development of error processing and inhibitory control. Cereb Cortex. 2008; 18(11): 2505–2522.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
40. Fitzgerald, KD, Perkins, SC, Angstadt, M, et al. The development of performance-monitoring function in the posterior medial frontal cortex. Neuroimage. 2010; 49(4): 3463–3473.Google Scholar
41. Davies, PL, Segalowitz, SJ, Gavin, WJ. Development of response-monitoring ERPs in 7- to 25-year-olds. Dev Neuropsychol. 2004; 25(3): 355–376.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
42. Yeung, N, Cohen, JD, Botvinick, MM. The neural basis of error detection: conflict monitoring and the error-related negativity. Psychol Rev. 2004; 111(4): 931–959.Google Scholar
43. Carter, CS, Braver, TS, Barch, DM, Botvinick, MM, Noll, D, Cohen, JD. Anterior cingulate cortex, error detection, and the online monitoring of performance. Science. 1998; 280(5364): 747–749.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
44. Perkins, SC, Welsh, RC, Stern, ER, Taylor, SF, Fitzgerald, KD. Topographic analysis of the development of individual activation patterns during performance monitoring in medial frontal cortex. Dev Cogn Neurosci. 2013; 6: 137–148.Google Scholar
45. Perlman, SB, Pelphrey, KA. Regulatory brain development: balancing emotion and cognition. Soc Neurosci. 2010; 5(5–6): 533–542.Google Scholar
46. Fair, DA, Dosenbach, NU, Church, JA, et al. Development of distinct control networks through segregation and integration. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007; 104(33): 13507–13512.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
47. Steinbeis, N, Haushofer, J, Fehr, E, Singer, T. Development of behavioral control and associated vmPFC-DLPFC connectivity explains children’s increased resistance to temptation in intertemporal choice. Cereb Cortex. In press. DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhu167.Google Scholar
48. Ursu, S, Stenger, VA, Shear, MK, Jones, MR, Carter, CS. Overactive action monitoring in obsessive-compulsive disorder: evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging. Psychol Sci. 2003; 14(4): 347–353.Google Scholar
49. Fitzgerald, KD, Welsh, RC, Gehring, WJ, et al. Error-related hyperactivity of the anterior cingulate cortex in obsessive compulsive disorder. Biol Psychiatry. 2005; 57(3): 287–294.Google Scholar
50. Maltby, N, Tolin, DF, Worhunsky, P, O’Keefe, T M, Kiehl, KA. Dysfunctional action monitoring hyperactivates frontal-striatal circuits in obsessive-compulsive disorder: an event-related fMRI study. Neuroimage. 2005; 24(2): 495–503.Google Scholar
51. Yucel, M, Harrison, BJ, Wood, SJ, et al. Functional and biochemical alterations of the medial frontal cortex in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2007; 64(8): 946–955.Google Scholar
52. Stern, ER, Welsh, RC, Fitzgerald, KD, et al. Hyperactive error responses and altered connectivity in ventromedial and frontoinsular cortices in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Biol Psychiatry. 2011; 69(6): 583–591.Google Scholar
53. Fitzgerald, KD, Stern, ER, Angstadt, M, et al. Altered function and connectivity of the medial frontal cortex in pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder. Biol Psychiatry. 2010; 68(11): 1039–1047.Google Scholar
54. Huyser, C, Veltman, DJ, Wolters, LH, de Haan, E, Boer, F. Developmental aspects of error and high-conflict-related brain activity in pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder: a fMRI study with a Flanker task before and after CBT. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2011; 52(12): 1251–1260.Google Scholar
55. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 4th ed., text rev. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association; 2000.Google Scholar
56. Gilbert, P. The evolved basis and adaptive functions of cognitive distortions. Br J Med Psychol. 1998; 71(Pt 4): 447–463.Google Scholar
57. Szechtman, H, Woody, E. Obsessive-compulsive disorder as a disturbance of security motivation. Psychol Rev. 2004; 111(1): 111–127.Google Scholar
58. Schwartz, JM. A role for volition and attention in the generation of new brain circuitry: toward a neurobiology of mental force. Journal of Conciousness Studies. 1999; 6(8–9): 115–142.Google Scholar
59. van den Heuvel, OA, Veltman, DJ, Groenewegen, HJ, et al. Disorder-specific neuroanatomical correlates of attentional bias in obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, and hypochondriasis. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2005; 62(8): 922–933.Google Scholar
60. Goldin, PR, Manber, T, Hakimi, S, Canli, T, Gross, JJ. Neural bases of social anxiety disorder: emotional reactivity and cognitive regulation during social and physical threat. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2009; 66(2): 170–180.Google Scholar
61. Moser, JS, Moran, TP, Jendrusina, AA. Parsing relationships between dimensions of anxiety and action monitoring brain potentials in female undergraduates. Psychophysiology. 2012; 49(1): 3–10.Google Scholar
62. Righi, S, Mecacci, L, Viggiano, MP. Anxiety, cognitive self-evaluation and performance: ERP correlates. J Anxiety Disord. 2009; 23(8): 1132–1138.Google Scholar
63. Fitzgerald, KD, Liu, Y, Stern, ER, et al. Reduced error-related activation of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex across pediatric anxiety disorders. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2013; 52(11): 1183–1191.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
64. Woolley, J, Heyman, I, Brammer, M, Frampton, I, McGuire, PK, Rubia, K. Brain activation in paediatric obsessive compulsive disorder during tasks of inhibitory control. Br J Psychiatry. 2008; 192(1): 25–31.Google Scholar
65. Gehring, WJ, Liu, Y, Orr, JM, Carp, J. The error-related negativity (ERN/Ne). In: Luck SK, Kappenman E, eds. Oxford Handbook of Event-Related Potential Components. New York: Oxford University Press; 2012: 231–291.Google Scholar
66. Whiteside, SP, Port, JD, Abramowitz, JS. A meta-analysis of functional neuroimaging in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Psychiatry Res. 2004; 132(1): 69–79.Google Scholar
67. Beucke, JC, Sepulcre, J, Talukdar, T, et al. Abnormally high degree connectivity of the orbitofrontal cortex in obsessive-compulsive disorder. JAMA Psychiatry. 2013; 70(6): 619–629.Google Scholar
68. Spunt, RP, Lieberman, MD, Cohen, JR, Eisenberger, NI. The phenomenology of error processing: the dorsal ACC response to stop-signal errors tracks reports of negative affect. J Cogn Neurosci. 2012; 24(8): 1753–1765.Google Scholar
69. Ferdinand, NK, Kray, J. Developmental changes in performance monitoring: how electrophysiological data can enhance our understanding of error and feedback processing in childhood and adolescence. Behav Brain Res. 2014; 263: 122–132.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
70. Santesso, DL, Segalowitz, SJ, Schmidt, LA. Error-related electrocortical responses are enhanced in children with obsessive-compulsive behaviors. Dev Neuropsychol. 2006; 29(3): 431–445.Google Scholar
71. Torpey, DC, Hajcak, G, Kim, J, Kujawa, AJ, Dyson, MW, Olino, TM, Klein, DN. Error-related brain activity in young children: associations with parental anxiety and child temperamental negative emotionality. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2013; 54(8): 854–862.Google Scholar
72. Bress, JN, Meyer, A, Hajcak, G. Differentiating anxiety and depression in children and adolescents: Evidence from event-related brain potentials. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol. 2015; 44(2): 238–249.Google Scholar
73. Achenbach, TM. The Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessemnt (ASEBA): Development, Findings, Theory, and Applications. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont Research Center for Children, Youth & Families, 2009.Google Scholar