To achieve these aims, we needed to overcome the problem of component overlap for the FRN and P300 within the time domain. The approach we used was time-frequency analysis, a method that considers the differing spectral characteristics of overlapping brain potential components in order to separate them. This technique proved to have interesting implications for the time-domain FRN and P300 measures. The two time-frequency components of the feedback response, theta-FRN and delta-P300, were found to reflect relatively independent processes that were differentially sensitive to the primary Gain and Loss components of feedback (with theta-FRN increased for Loss, and delta-P300 increased for Gain). In contrast, the time domain FRN and P300 components represented somewhat complex mixtures of theta and delta activity, consistent with the idea that these processes overlap substantially in time.
