Early error detection predicted by reduced pre-response control process: an ERP topographic mapping study

Advanced ERP topographic mapping techniques were used to study error monitoring functions in human adult participants, and test whether proactive attentional effects during the pre-response time period could later influence early error detection mechanisms (as measured by the ERN component) or not. Participants performed a speeded go/nogo task, and made a substantial number of false alarms that did not differ from correct hits as a function of behavioral speed or actual motor response. While errors clearly elicited an ERN component generated within the dACC following the onset of these incorrect responses, I also found that correct hits were associated with a different sequence of topographic events during the pre-response baseline time-period, relative to errors. A main topographic transition from occipital to posterior parietal regions (including primarily the precuneus) was evidenced for correct hits similar to 170-150 ms before the response, whereas this topographic change was markedly reduced for errors. The same topographic transition was found for correct hits that were eventually performed slower than either errors or fast (correct) hits, confirming the involvement of this distinctive posterior parietal activity in top-down attentional control rather than motor preparation. Control analyses further ensured that this pre-response topographic effect was not related to differences in stimulus processing. Furthermore, I found a reliable association between the magnitude of the ERN following errors and the duration of this differential precuneus activity during the pre-response baseline, suggesting a functional link between an anticipatory attentional control component subserved by the precuneus and early error detection mechanisms within the dACC. These results suggest reciprocal links between proactive attention control and decision making processes during error monitoring

Negative affective state mimics effects of perceptual load on spatial perception

Recent electrophysiological evidence has shown that perceptual load and negative affective state can produce very similar, early-attention gating effects in early visual areas, modulating the processing of peripheral stimuli. Here we assessed the question of whether or not these modulatory effects of perceptual load and negative affect (NA) lead to comparable changes in spatial perception abilities, which could be captured at the behavioral level. High perceptual load at fixation impaired the precise spatial localization of peripheral textures, relative to a low perceptual load condition. By contrast, the coarse spatial encoding of these peripheral stimuli was not load-dependent, under neutral affective conditions. The transient experience of NA was induced in an independent sample of participants, who showed decreased performance in the localization task, even at a low perceptual-load level. These results were observed in the absence of any systematic eye movement toward the peripheral textures. These findings suggest that spatial location perception is an attention-dependent, as well as state-dependent process, in the sense that NA, very much like load, can dynamically shape early spatial perceptual abilities. Although NA mimics load during spatial localization, we discuss the possibility that these two effects likely depend upon nonoverlapping brain networks

Top-down effects on early visual processing in humans: a predictive coding framework

An increasing number of human electroencephalography (EEG) studies examining the earliest component of the visual evoked potential, the so-called C1, have cast doubts on the previously prevalent notion that this component is impermeable to top-down effects. This article reviews the original studies that (i) described the C1, (ii) linked it to primary visual cortex (V1) activity, and (iii) suggested that its electrophysiological characteristics are exclusively determined by low-level stimulus attributes, particularly the spatial position of the stimulus within the visual field. We then describe conflicting evidence from animal studies and human neuroimaging experiments and provide an overview of recent EEG and magnetoencephalography (MEG) work showing that initial V1 activity in humans may be strongly modulated by higher-level cognitive factors. Finally, we formulate a theoretical framework for understanding top-down effects on early visual processing in terms of predictive coding

'Why should I care?' Challenging free will attenuates neural reaction to errors

Whether human beings have free will has been a philosophical question for centuries. The debate about free will has recently entered the public arena through mass media and newspaper articles commenting on scientific findings that leave little to no room for free will. Previous research has shown that encouraging such a deterministic perspective influences behavior, namely by promoting cursory and antisocial behavior. Here we propose that such behavioral changes may, at least partly, stem from a more basic neurocognitive process related to response monitoring, namely a reduced error detection mechanism. Our results show that the error-related negativity, a neural marker of error detection, was reduced in individuals led to disbelieve in free will. This finding shows that reducing the belief in free will has a specific impact on error detection mechanisms. More generally, it suggests that abstract beliefs about intentional control can influence basic and automatic processes related to action control