Learned predictions of error likelihood in the anterior cingulate cortex.
In a rapid event-related fMRI design with a modified version of the change-signal task, a cue incidentally predicting error likelihood was encoded into working memory by participants in order to perform a secondary delayed match-to-sample task.
Collectively, these findings suggest that individuals with schizophrenia have a disturbance in the evaluation of outcomes that is the result of a primary deficit in the prediction of error likelihood in MPFC.
Here we investigate, in individuals with schizophrenia, two specific effects associated with this role: the error likelihood effect (occurring on trials with correct performance, but features that predict a high probability of errors), and the error unexpectedness effect (occurring on trials with an error, but features that predict errors are of low probability).
For the given investigation we would like to focus on the error likelihood model for two reasons.
Moreover, it should be noted that other interpretations of the functional role of ACC/dMPFC have been developed, such as error likelihood [48], [49], regret [50], action value [51], [52], response evaluation [53], and uncertainty [54], [55], [56].
Moreover, the magnitude of PFC activity and task-relevant adjustments in behavior was found to relate positively to activity in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) [19], [20], which, together with bordering sections of the medial PFC, is associated with monitoring response conflicts [21], and predicting error likelihood [22], hence serving a supporting role in the engagement of cognitive control.
The hypothesis that musicians recruit more resources for cognitive control is also supported by our observation of greater activity in musicians in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), which, together with bordering sections of the medial PFC, has been assigned a central role in monitoring response conflicts [21], and predicting error likelihood [22].
According to the error likelihood model (Brown and Braver 2005) ACC activity predicts the probability of making a response error in a given behavioral context.
As this pattern of results suggests a speed accuracy trade-off (SATO), additional univariate analyses of covariance (ANCOVA) were conducted to evaluate the relation of RT and error likelihood.
