Seminar: Multiplicity of Error Centers in Cerebral Cortex

Abstract: The capacity to detect action errors is foundational for cognitive control of behavior. Error monitoring is indexed by a signal found in the electroencephalogram over medial frontal cortical areas known as the error-related negativity (ERN). Theories of cognitive control presume a single error center in the medial frontal cortex, centered on the cingulate cortex. Using neurophysiological samples across medial frontal cortex of macaque monkeys we found that neurons signaling action errors are found in at least three cortical areas—the supplementary eye field (SEF), the dorsal bank of the cingulate sulcus, and the ventral bank of the cingulate sulcus. The error signal was most prevalent, prolonged, and reliable in SEF while error signaling observed in dorsal and ventral cingulate were indistinguishable. Additionally, the ERN has been shown to scale with error significance, and we found that many more error units in SEF that were also modulated by value at the same time. Clarifying the distribution of error signals across the medial frontal areas will eliminate the incompleteness of unitary theories of cognitive control and allow for improved biophysical modeling of the source of ERN. About the Speaker: Dr. Benjamin Corrigan is a neuroscientist studying cognitive control circuits in primates in the lab of Dr. Jeff Schall at York University, focusing on neural responses to error and conflict in the medial frontal cortex, and collaborating with Dr. Ueli Rutishauser and Dr. David Bonda at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center to bridge cognitive control findings between humans and monkeys. The goal of this research is to understand to what extent the research on circuits in monkeys mirrors the processes in humans and verify the efficacy of monkeys as models for future interventional studies for treatments of neurological disorders that affect cognitive control. He completed his PhD at the University of Western Ontario, where he studied eye movements, memory formation and neural coding in the hippocampus and lateral prefrontal cortex of primates performing learning tasks in virtual environments. As usual, there will be snacks and beverages available. #uwneuro

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