Task 6

Question 1

What are the two successive decisions in goal-directed action based on ACC and MPFC roles?

Answer 1

Which of the presented options do I prefer? (ACC - affective part, value-based, self-centred)

What action will I select to obtain that option? (MCC - motor part, based on previous action outcome monitoring)​

Question 2

What did the study by Camille demonstrate about stimulus-value and action-value learning in humans with OFC or dACC damage?

Answer 2

OFC damage disrupts the ability to sustain the correct choice of stimulus, while dACC damage leads to difficulties in making adaptive choices between actions​

Question 3

What were the results for patients with OFC and dACC damage in the stimulus-value and action-value tasks?

Answer 3

OFC damage patients made more errors in stimulus-value tasks but not in action-value tasks, while dACC damage patients made more errors in action-value tasks but not in stimulus-value tasks

Question 4

How does ACC function in decision-making regarding actions and stimuli?

Answer 4

ACC plays a critical role in value-based choices between actions, not stimuli, while OFC is essential for choices between stimuli, not actions​

Question 5

What regions are involved in motor functions of the medial PFC, and what are their roles?

Answer 5

MCC is involved in updating outcomes of actions

superior frontal gyrus (SFG) includes pre-SMA and SMA, which are important for making acute decisions about actions in ongoing situations

Question 6

What role does the medial superior frontal gyrus (SFG) play in action selection?

Answer 6

SFG is involved in the selection of action sets and is necessary when action selection rules are changed or first selected, especially in task switching

Question 7

How do ACC lesions affect task switching?

Answer 7

ACC lesions cause a slight increase in errors but are not directly related to task switching. ACC is more involved in monitoring performance for mistakes

Question 8

What is the role of the ACC sulcus in error detection?

Answer 8

The ACC sulcus is involved in error detection but not in conflict monitoring, indicating a role in encoding response conflict

Question 9

What is Error-Related Negativity (ERN) and its significance?

Answer 9

ERN is a negative electrical potential occurring in the medial frontal region 50-100ms after making an error, indicating the brain’s response to mistakes​

Question 10

Does ERN occur when subjects lack awareness of an error?

Answer 10

ERN does not occur when subjects lack awareness of an error, suggesting that subjective awareness is not necessary for medial frontal changes

Question 11

What is the role of the medial frontal cortex in performance monitoring?

Answer 11

The medial frontal cortex, particularly the dACC/pMFC, is involved in evaluating behavioral progress, adjusting behavior as needed, and adapting to changing contingencies

Question 12

What does the conflict theory suggest about error-related signals?

Answer 12

Error-related signals are a special occurrence of cognitive conflict where strong response tendencies compete with intended responses, requiring increased cognitive control​

Question 13

How does reinforcement learning theory relate to ERN?

Answer 13

Reinforcement learning theory suggests that ERN reflects an evaluative function signifying “worse than expected” events, guiding future decisions

Question 14

Besides ERN, what other medial frontal negativities are implicated in performance monitoring?

Answer 14

Medial frontal negativities, including those recorded in error and feedback conditions, suggest a broader role of medial frontal regions in evaluative processes beyond just error detection

Question 15

How does the ACC contribute to adaptive decision-making?

Answer 15

ACC is crucial for linking outcome value to actions, guiding decisions about whether the expected value of a reward justifies the effort required to obtain it​

Question 16

What is the effect of lesions in ACC and VS on cost-benefit decisions?

Answer 16

Lesions in ACC disrupt reward-related action selection, while both ACC and VS neurons encode the position in a series of actions, affecting persistence in goal accomplishment

Question 17

How does the habenular complex influence the dopaminergic system in reward processing?

Answer 17

The habenular complex inhibits midbrain nuclei, playing a crucial role in determining errors in reward prediction and influencing dopamine release

Question 18

How does the rCMA react to error feedback?

Answer 18

The rCMA shows increased activity in response to errors followed by informative (negative) feedback, indicating its role in self-detection of errors​

Question 19

What functional dissociation exists between rCMA and pre-SMA?

Answer 19

rCMA is most activated during errors, while pre-SMA is more engaged by response conflict and uncertainty, reflecting different roles in performance monitoring​

Question 20

How do performance monitoring and reward processing interact in the brain?

Answer 20

Through the VS and habenular complex, which respond to positive and negative feedback respectively, modulating dopamine release

Question 21

How does the ACC encode the relationship between actions and their outcomes?

Answer 21

ACC encodes the relationship between actions and reinforcement value, including positive rewards and errors, guiding adaptive behavior

Question 22

What is the role of pre-SMA in movement sequencing and task switching?

Answer 22

Pre-SMA is involved in selecting and changing action sets, crucial for initiating movement sequences and task switching, with activity occurring before any movement is made​

Question 23

What structures are involved in the error monitoring network?

Answer 23

The error monitoring network includes the rCMA, pre-SMA, anterior inferior insula, and habenular complex, all playing roles in detecting and responding to errors

Question 24

How is error processing affected in schizophrenia?

Answer 24

Patients with schizophrenia show smaller ERNs and diminished MFC BOLD signals in response to errors, likely reflecting motivational deficits and impaired performance monitoring

Question 25

What characterizes error processing in OCD patients?

Answer 25

OCD patients exhibit larger ERNs, excessive ACC activity, and increased task-related error signals, indicating heightened error monitoring and performance concerns​

Question 26

How are emotional responses to errors processed in the brain?

Answer 26

The rACC processes the emotional component of error signals, with greater activity in response to errors involving monetary loss, indicating the salience and value attached to errors​

Question 27

How does the ACC contribute to reward-based learning and adaptive behavior?

Answer 27

ACC integrates feedback over several trials to predict the value of choices, facilitating adaptive, context-specific behavior beyond simple good or bad outcomes​

Question 28

What does the conflict monitoring hypothesis suggest about ACC activation?

Answer 28

It reflects monitoring competition between different response representations, crucial for adaptive decision-making and error detection​

Question 29

How does the ACC contribute to value comparison in decision-making?

Answer 29

ACC activity increases when the difference between the values of choices decreases, making value comparison more difficult and guiding the selection of the most valuable option​

Question 30

What role does the medial frontal cortex play in task control?

Answer 30

The medial frontal cortex, including SFG and pre-SMA, is involved in task switching and the selection of action sets, essential for adapting to changing task rules and response demands​