Attentional Control Moderates Relations Between Negative Affect and Neural Correlates of Action Monitoring in Adolescence

This study examined the moderating role of attentional control on relations between negative affect and action monitoring event related potentials (ERPs) (error-related negativity (ERN) and N2) in a group of healthy adolescents (9 to 17 years old). These ERPs were recorded while participants completed a modified flanker task. Participants also completed the negative affect subscale of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule for Children (PANAS-C) and the attentional control subscale of the Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire-Revised (EATQ-R). Regression analyses revealed negative affect by attentional control interactions, suggesting that youth high in attentional control and high in negative affect show increased N2 amplitude and a trend toward increased ERN amplitude. These findings are discussed with regard to the interface of attention and emotion processes that are implicated in action monitoring and relevance to the study of self-regulation during adolescence.