Abstract
Humans can self-monitor errors without explicit feedback, resulting in behavioral adjustments on subsequent trials such as post-error slowing (PES). The error-related negativity (ERN) is a well-established macroscopic scalp EEG correlate of error self-monitoring, but its neural origins and relationship to PES remain unknown. We recorded in the frontal cortex of patients performing a Stroop task and found neurons that track self-monitored errors and error history in dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA). Both the intracranial ERN (iERN) and error neuron responses appeared first in pre-SMA, and ∼50 ms later in dACC. Error neuron responses were correlated with iERN amplitude on individual trials. In dACC, such error neuron-iERN synchrony and responses of error-history neurons predicted the magnitude of PES. These data reveal a human single-neuron correlate of the ERN and suggest that dACC synthesizes error information to recruit behavioral control through coordinated neural activity.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 165-177.e5 |
Journal | Neuron |
Volume | 101 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 2 2019 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- anterior cingulate cortex
- cognitive control
- error monitoring
- executive function
- human intracranial
- human single-neuron
- medial frontal cortex
- post-error slowing
- pre-supplementary motor area
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Neuroscience