The Anterior Cingulate and Error Avoidance

Overview

Journal J Neurosci

Specialty Neurology

Date 2006 May 5

PMID 16672649

Citations 82

Authors

Elena Magno

John J Foxe

Sophie Molholm

Ian H Robertson

Hugh Garavan

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The precise role of the anterior cingulate cortex in monitoring, evaluating, and correcting behavior remains unclear despite numerous theories and much empirical data implicating it in cognitive control. The present event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging study was able to separate monitoring from error-specific functions by allowing subjects to reject a trial so as to avoid errors. Cingulate and left dorsolateral prefrontal activity was greatest on rejection trials but comparable for correct and error trials, whereas an error-specific response was observed in bilateral insula. A dissociation was also observed between the cingulate and the nucleus accumbens with the latter more active for error than reject trials. These results reveal that the functional role of the cingulate is not particular to errors but instead is related to an evaluative function concerned with on-line behavioral adjustment in the service of avoiding losses.

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