SPP 1107; Project: Spatial and temporal imaging of human error monitoring

To adapt their behavior to constantly changing environmental conditions, people must be able to systematically monitor their behavior and detect and correct any errors. Error monitoring is thus a core function of the executive function system. The aim of this project is to characterize the neural mechanisms underlying error processing in humans. Using a combined temporal (ERP) and spatial (fMRI) neuroimaging approach, it will be possible to identify the neuroanatomical components of the error-processing network and analyze their temporal interplay. Two target structures emerge from the literature: the anterior part of the cingulate gyrus and the lateral frontal cortex. Within the framework of this project, experiments will be conducted that will allow the dissociation of the neural correlates of error detection, error correction, and error compensation.
Furthermore, the neural effects of internal error detection will be systematically compared with those of external error information (feedback). The resource requirements of the various error processing mechanisms (detection, correction, compensation) will be examined using a resource allocation experiment. Normal subjects and those with obsessive-compulsive disorder will be compared in a further study that provides both unambiguous and ambiguous feedback about their own behavior. Taken together, these studies aim to significantly improve our knowledge of the human error processing system.