Abstract
Behavioral adaptation and cognitive control are crucial for goal-reaching behaviors. Every creature is ubiquitously faced with choices between behavioral alternatives. Common sense suggests that errors are an important source of information in the regulation of such processes. Several theories exist regarding cognitive control and the processing of undesired outcomes. However, most of these models focus on the consequences of an error, and less attention has been paid to the mechanisms that underlie the commissioning of an error. In this article, we present an integrative review of neuro-cognitive models that detail the determinants of the occurrence of response errors. The factors that may determine the likelihood of committing errors are likely related to the stability of task-representations in prefrontal networks, attentional selection mechanisms and mechanisms of action selection in basal ganglia circuits. An important conclusion is that the likelihood of committing an error is not stable over time but rather changes depending on the interplay of different functional neuro-anatomical and neuro-biological systems. We describe factors that might determine the time-course of cognitive control and the need to adapt behavior following response errors. Finally, we outline the mechanisms that may proof useful for predicting the outcomes of cognitive control and the emergence of response errors in future research.
Highlights
Errare humanum est, sed in errare perseverare diabolicum (Seneca)
We suggest that error likelihood is a dynamic process that depends on the functional and temporal properties of brain regions that influence prefrontal-basal ganglia networks
Unlike other reviews of cognitive control and error processing, the review presented here describes the possible mechanisms that lead to the commission of an error and the identities of the functional neuroanatomical and neurobiological systems that may play roles in this process
Summary
Richard Ridderinkhof, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands Michael B. Several theories exist regarding cognitive control and the processing of undesired outcomes. Most of these models focus on the consequences of an error, and less attention has been paid to the mechanisms that underlie the commissioning of an error. We present an integrative review of neuro-cognitive models that detail the determinants of the occurrence of response errors. We describe factors that might determine the time-course of cognitive control and the need to adapt behavior following response errors. We outline the mechanisms that may proof useful for predicting the outcomes of cognitive control and the emergence of response errors in future research
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