W8 - Performance Monitoring

Question 1

What is performance monitoring

Answer 1

Identification and correction of differences between an intended and executed response

Question 2

Neuropsych symptoms of performance monitoring

Answer 2

1. ) Unawareness
   - The difference between knowing and doing
2. ) Perseverative behaviour:
   - Persevere in a particular way. Repeated and habitual behaviour that doesn’t achieve intended goal.
3. ) Lack of insight:
   - e.g. denial

Question 3

Cocaine Users during a GO-NOGO revealed by fMRI. What is the caveat

Answer 3

Hypoactivity:

• Lower activity in ACC after mistake.

However, this could be due to a number of different explanations: task is too boring, doesn’t evoke enough emotion when a mistake is made etc.

Question 4

What is the ERN

Answer 4

Negative electrical potential (ERN) occurs in medial frontal region (ACC) approx 50 to 100ms after making an error

Question 5

What is ERN related to?

Answer 5

Amplitude of the ERN = Error awareness

Co-varies with the individual confidence with which an answer was made (higher amplitude in aware errors for confident subjects)

Question 6

What is the “Rabbitt effect” and who shows it

Answer 6

SZ patients show a diminished error-related response,

or “Rabbitt” effect: post-error slowing of response times

Question 7

Hypoactive ERN. Which group ALSO show it

Answer 7

Alzheimer’s disease; alcoholics; borderline personality disorder; medication-naïve adolescents with ADHD

Question 8

What is the group which shows hyperactive ERN

Answer 8

OCD. ONLY CONDITION that heightened error-related ACC and ERN response (in students as well)

Question 9

What does the error-related NEURAL activity represent

Answer 9

1. Motivational/emotional impact of an error
2. Response conflict
3. Reward was less than expected

Question 10

How does ERN represent Conflicting Monitoring and what is the caveat

Answer 10

ACC activity during an error correlates with slowing of response speed on the following trial (Reflect that trials have greater response conflict)

Caveat: Separating the response from accuracy feedback results in greater ACC
activity for the feedback, when compared to response

Question 11

The neural bases of Human Error Processing. What does it mean

Answer 11

Error related activity = decrease in dopemine

Correct responses = increase in dopemine

ACC transmits the value of the response to regions critical to the behaviour (e.g., dlPFC for response inhibition, or hippocampus for learning)

Question 12

What is the underlying principle underlying human behaviour

Answer 12

Prediction error:

The greater the magnitude of prediction error (represented by dopemine cell activity)&raquo_space;> Likely behaviour will be ‘successful’

Question 13

How does ACC relate to prediction error. What is the evidence

Answer 13

ACC activity reflected outcome relative to prediction/expectation

Evidence: Gambling Task

ERN was influenced more by relative loss/gain, than whether a participants was correct/incorrect
(Gain + Correct and Loss + Error > Gain + Error and Loss + Correct)

Question 14

Non-human primates and ACC. What does it suggest

Answer 14

ACC leison = No impair of performance after error = unable to sustain rewarded responses

> Unable to integrate feedback over time, or risk of relative choices
Role of the ACC in integrating the value of outcome information

Question 15

Cognitive reinforcement learning in Parkinsonism

Answer 15

Patients off medication (Low Dopemine): Better learning from punishment than reward

Patients on medication (High Dopemine): Better learning from reward than punishment

Question 16

Genetically difference in learning

Answer 16

Low midbrain dopamine receptors = learn better from reward

whereas ‘typical’ pattern is to learn more from negative feedback

Question 17

What is Error Awareness Task

Answer 17

Colour words printed in congruent or incongruent ink (as in a Stroop Task).

Majority of stimuli were congruent words = Go
Minority of stimuli were (a) incongruent/(b) repeated words = NoGo

Leads to many NoGo errors that subjects are not aware of.

Question 18

Neural mechanisms involved in error processing: a comparison of errors made with and without awareness. What is the region found/neural correlates of awareness

Answer 18

ACC activity was necessary but not sufficient for awareness. Insula and parietal activity predicted awareness

ACC was part of error awareness, the insula cortex was critical to awareness (shown by GSR)

Question 19

What do experience of alien control in SZ patients reflect

Answer 19

Reflect a disorder in central monitoring

Question 20

Why do drug addicts not seek help

Answer 20

It is partly due to lower awareness = don’t realize need for help

Question 21

What do chronic cocaine users show in the presence of intact performance adjustments

Answer 21

• Poorer inhibitory control performance
• Significant poorer awareness of inhibitory failures

Cocaine users only show reduced error awareness in repeated trial errors, not incongruent stimuli

Question 22

Drug addicts and error awareness. what has been found and what is the underlying biology

Answer 22

Demonstrate poor awareness of errors that was independent of task performance (not by making more errors).

Associated with reduced activity in both ACC and insula

Question 23

Which groups show low error awareness

Answer 23

ADHD, Schizophreina, Traumatic Brain Injury, Alzheimer

Question 24

Why do cocaine users show hypoactive ERN

Answer 24

• ERN is associated with reduced insight into effects of drug use
• ERN predicted likelihood of relapse

Question 25

What happened to smokers when the insula is damaged. Why

Answer 25

Likely to quit.

Insula critical to awareness of cravings > lost cravings

Question 26

How does the insula and ACC work together

Answer 26

Insula: Limbic sensory. Site of awareness on basis of afferent representaitons
ACC: Motor cortices. Initiation of behaviour.

Question 27

What drug enhances ERN

Answer 27

Noradrenergies (Yohimbine)

Question 28

What drug enhances both IC and ERN

Answer 28

Methlyphenidate (MPH) or Ritilin

Underpinned by both dACC and IPL changes

Question 29

What is the basics of learning. Neural mechanisms in a nutshell

Answer 29

Remember = Reactivate synapses use for previous encoding = Open initial plasticity (reinforce/weaken)

Meaningful encoding in a broader framework + Frequent retrieval = Durable Representations.

Question 30

What are the results of the monetary GnG Task - Control vs Cocaine Dependent

Answer 30

Punishment = Significant improved performance for both groups, though controls were significantly more sensitive to punishment then CD

CD failed to show post error adaptive behaviour
- Only during the punishment condition

Question 31

Neurally, explain the CD participants response in the monetary GnG task.

Answer 31

Dminshed behavioural response to punishment was associated with hypoactive error-related response to punishment in key regions: dACC and Insula

dACC and right insula correlated with post-error slowing

Question 32

What does the paired-associative learning task show

Answer 32

Tease apart whether gamblers in gambling task is due to failed learning / impulse

Question 33

What were the results of the associative learning task - Neural results. What is the implication

Answer 33

• ACC activity predicts mistake learning
• High mPFC activity during corrected error associated with high hippocampus activity level

ACC encodes the degree which resulting information should influence future decision

Question 34

What were the results of the associative learning task when punishment is involved - Neural results. What is the implication

Answer 34

• ACC not modulated by punishment/size of penalty

- Insula and pMFC modulated by punishment/size of penalty

Question 35

(No Money) Paired-associative learning in cannabis users - Behavioural results

Answer 35

Reduced ability to correct

Question 36

(No Money) Paired-associative learning in cannabis users - Neural results

Answer 36

Right dACC. Low activation. Does not increase in corrected mistake

Hippocampus. Low activation. does not increase in corrected mistake (Probably related to ACC’s connection to hippocampus)