Electrical brain events associated with awareness of errors.
OBJECTIVE
The neurophysiological correlates of mental activity and awareness are important to define, as they permit the objective study of these psychological phenomena.


METHODS
In a choice reaction task, subjects were asked to respond to tone pips by extending their fingers and to make non-semantic vocalizations as soon as they became aware of any errors.


RESULTS
In motor response-synchronized averages of instances in which subjects were aware of making errors, a biphasic cerebral potential occurred over the frontocentral scalp region 170 ms after the incorrect motor response and about 500 ms prior to any vocalization. It occurred 100 ms after the so-called error negativity (Ne), from which it was therefore distinguished.


CONCLUSIONS
The recording of such activity may therefore provide an electrophysiological signature of perceptual awareness related to making errors.


CONCLUSIONS
Recording this potential may facilitate the objective study of awareness to errors in other experimental contexts.
Ralph
Jeffrey W
JW
Department of Neurology, Rm. M-794, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143-0114, USA.
Goodin
Douglas S
DS
Long
James M
JM
Aminoff
Michael J
MJ
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology; D001364:Awareness / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D002755:Choice Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D004193:Discrimination Learning / Q000502:physiology; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005385:Fingers / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D021641:Recognition, Psychology / Q000502:physiology; D014705:Verbal Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult