Performance monitoring, as indexed by the error-related negativity (ERN) and feedback-related negativity (FRN), is assumed to show systematic developmental changes across childhood and adolescence. While the ERN amplitude increases, reflecting enhanced internal error processing, the FRN amplitude decreases, suggesting a diminished role of external feedback. These trajectories are thought to reflect the maturation of anterior cingulate and dopaminergic systems which support the internal modeling of task demands and autonomous behavioral adjustments. However, electrophysiological studies vary considerably in methodology and sample characteristics. The present meta-analytical review synthesizes cross-sectional evidence on developmental changes in ERN and FRN amplitudes. It investigates whether these changes are robust across tasks or modulated by methodological variables to clarify whether developmental trajectories of performance monitoring reflect task-general neurocognitive maturation or task-specific factors.

A preliminary meta-regression of k = 19 studies including 49 samples (n = 1243) does not reveal significant overall changes in ERN amplitude among minors. The inclusion of the interaction between age and task reduces residual heterogeneity (LRT(6) = 16.78, p = .010), but no individual interaction term is significant. Similarly, an analysis of k = 7 studies comprising 12 samples (n = 378) does not confirm an overall FRN amplitude change, and the age trend is not moderated by task. Overall, these results do not provide clear evidence for developmental changes in ERN or FRN amplitudes. Yet, the preliminary analyses remain inconclusive, as the models do not fully account for the multilevel data structure and between-study heterogeneity, more advanced modeling approaches will be discussed.