Abstract (eng)
The aim of the current study was to investigate the neural correlates of feedback processing in a competitive situation. To this end, electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded concurrently from two participants while they were performing a simple stimulus-response task in two conditions. In the first condition, the two participants played one after the other against a computer opponent, and in the second condition the two participants played the stimulus-response task at the same time against each other. In both conditions participants were presented with their own feedback, the feedback of the opponent, as well as the total score of both players after each trial. A significant FRN amplitude variation was present not only in response to the players’ own negative feedback, but also in response to the negative feedback of the human opponent, although this amounted due to the antagonistic situation to a positive feedback for the observers themselves. This result supports the proposal of the error specificity of the FRN amplitude by de Bruijn et al. (2012). A significant FRN amplitude variation, however, was not observed in response to the negative feedback of the computer opponent. This result was attributed to the decreased motivational significance of the same. The P300 amplitude differentiated both between the players’ own negative feedback and the negative feedback of the human opponent, as well as between the own negative feedback and the negative feedback of the computer opponent. Higher P300 amplitudes were observed in response to the players’ own negative feedback. The observed correlations between the FRN and P300 amplitudes and questions concerning emotion, concentration, and motivation during the game support the relationship of the amplitude level of FRN and P300 components with the motivational-affective significance of events. Additionally, larger FRN amplitudes have been found in players with high self-reported verbal aggression.