In the only study to date that has examined the ERN in relation to substance abuse, Franken and colleagues found that cocaine dependent patients had decreased ERN amplitudes compared to a control group (Franken, van Strien, Franzek, & van de Wetering, 2007). The relation between substances of abuse and error monitoring has also has also been studied by acutely administering alcohol to healthy volunteers. Both low and moderate doses of alcohol decrease ERN amplitude in healthy individuals (Easdon, Izenberg, Armilio, Yu, & Alain, 2005; Ridderinkhof et al., 2002). However, no studies to date have looked at state-related ERN changes in substance abusers.
