title: When your error becomes my error: anterior insula activation in response to observed errors is modulated by agency.
abstract: Research on error observation has focused predominantly on situations in which individuals are passive observers of errors. In daily life, however, we are often jointly responsible for the mistakes of others. In the current study, we examined how information on agency is integrated in the error observation network. It was found that activation in the anterior insula but not in the posterior medial frontal cortex or lateral prefrontal cortex differentiates between observed errors for which we are partly responsible or not. Interestingly, the activation pattern of the AI was mirrored by feelings of guilt and shame. These results suggest that the anterior insula is crucially involved in evaluating the consequences of our actions for other persons. Consequently, this region may be thought of as critical in guiding social behavior.
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, B9000 Ghent, Belgium Ghent Institute for Functional and Metabolic Imaging of the brain, Ghent University, B9000 Ghent, Belgium emiel.cracco@ugent.be.
authors.forename: Emiel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cracco
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, B9000 Ghent, Belgium Ghent Institute for Functional and Metabolic Imaging of the brain, Ghent University, B9000 Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Charlotte
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Desmet
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, B9000 Ghent, Belgium Ghent Institute for Functional and Metabolic Imaging of the brain, Ghent University, B9000 Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Marcel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brass
mesh_terms: D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006167:Guilt; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology; D019370:Observation; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D011930:Reaction Time; D012752:Shame; D012919:Social Behavior; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: agency; error observation; fMRI