Trinity College Dublin, Ireland.
Hum Brain Mapp. 2010 Mar;31(3):458-69. doi: 10.1002/hbm.20879.
Reacting appropriately to errors during task performance is fundamental to successful negotiation of our environment. This is especially true when errors will result in a significant penalty for the person performing a given task, be they financial or otherwise. Error responses and monitoring states were manipulated in a GO/NOGO task by introducing a financial punishment for errors. This study employed a mixed block design alternating between punishment and no punishment (neutral) conditions, enabling an assessment of tonic changes associated with cognitive control as well as trial-specific effects. Behavioural results revealed slower responses and fewer commission errors in the punishment condition. The dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) had equal trial-specific activity for errors in the neutral and punishment conditions but had greater tonic activity throughout the punishment condition. A region of interest analysis revealed different activation patterns between the dorsal and the rostral parts of the ACC with the rostral ACC having only trial-specific activity for errors in the punishment condition, an activity profile similar to one observed in the nucleus accumbens. This study suggests that there is a motivational influence on cognitive processes in the ACC and nucleus accumbens and hints at a dissociation between tonic proactive activity and phasic reactive error-related activity.
对任务执行过程中的错误做出适当反应是成功适应环境的基础。当错误会给执行特定任务的人带来重大惩罚时，尤其是在财务或其他方面，这一点尤为重要。通过为错误引入财务惩罚，在 GO/NOGO 任务中操纵错误响应和监测状态。该研究采用混合块设计，在惩罚和无惩罚（中性）条件之间交替，从而能够评估与认知控制相关的紧张性变化以及特定于试验的效应。行为结果表明，在惩罚条件下，反应速度较慢，错误较少。背侧前扣带皮层（ACC）在中性和惩罚条件下的错误具有相同的特定于试验的活动，但在整个惩罚条件下具有更大的紧张性活动。感兴趣区域分析显示，背侧和额侧 ACC 之间的激活模式不同，额侧 ACC 仅在惩罚条件下的错误具有特定于试验的活动，其活动模式与伏隔核中观察到的活动模式相似。这项研究表明，ACC 和伏隔核中的认知过程受到动机的影响，并暗示了紧张性主动活动和冲动反应性错误相关活动之间的分离。
