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Monitoring antisaccades: inter-individual differences in cognitive control and the influence of COMT and DRD4 genotype variations

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Abstract

Conscious monitoring of behavior is an essential control function for adaptation and learning. Antisaccade performance was investigated in a large sample of young healthy men in two tasks, one that required conscious error monitoring and one that did not. Conscious error monitoring did not lead to changes in error rate between the two tasks, while other antisaccade parameters were significantly modulated. Application of signal detection theory showed a large inter-individual variability in error detection sensitivity: the majority of individuals were unable to monitor antisaccade errors (chance error detection group), while a minority that successfully monitored their errors (non-chance error detection group) were worse in antisaccade performance in both tasks. These results were explained by the hypothesis of two modes of antisaccade processing favored by each one of the two groups: a mode of conscious cortical cognitive control leading to error monitoring, worse performance and no post-error adaptation and a mode of non-conscious subcortical control leading to chance error monitoring, post-error slowing and better performance of the antisaccade task. This hypothesis was corroborated by the results of the genotype analysis. Error-monitoring sensitivity in the non-chance error detection group was modulated by COMT genotype variations that in turn did not have an effect on error rate. On the other hand, DRD4 genotype variations were related to differences in antisaccade error rate while not affecting error-monitoring sensitivity.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the grant “EKBAN 97” to Professor C.N. Stefanis from the General Secretariat of Research and Technology of the Greek Ministry of Development.

Conflict of interest statement

“Intrasoft Co” provided the technical support for this project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cognition and Action Group, Neurology Department, School of Medicine, Eginitio Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece

    Emmanouil Kattoulas, Ioannis Evdokimidis & Nikolaos Smyrnis

  2. 1st Psychiatry Department, School of Medicine, Eginitio Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 74 V. Sofias Ave., 11528, Athens, Greece

    Nicholas C. Stefanis & Nikolaos Smyrnis

  3. University Mental Health Research Institute, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece

    Emmanouil Kattoulas, Nicholas C. Stefanis & Costas N. Stefanis

  4. School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Dimitrios Avramopoulos

Authors
  1. Emmanouil Kattoulas
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  2. Ioannis Evdokimidis
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  3. Nicholas C. Stefanis
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  4. Dimitrios Avramopoulos
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  5. Costas N. Stefanis
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  6. Nikolaos Smyrnis
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Correspondence to Nikolaos Smyrnis.

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Kattoulas, E., Evdokimidis, I., Stefanis, N.C. et al. Monitoring antisaccades: inter-individual differences in cognitive control and the influence of COMT and DRD4 genotype variations. Exp Brain Res 203, 453–463 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-010-2250-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-010-2250-2

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