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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 16, 2026

Automatic Detection of Highly Organized Theta Oscillations in the Murine EEG

Automatic Detection of Highly Organized Theta Oscillations in the Murine EEG

Published on: March 10, 2017

Not all errors are alike: theta and alpha EEG dynamics relate to differences in error-processing dynamics.

Joram van Driel¹, K Richard Ridderinkhof, Michael X Cohen

¹Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, 1018 XA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. j.vandriel@uva.nl

The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience

|November 24, 2012

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Performance errors stem from action impulses or attention lapses. This study reveals distinct brain activity patterns for each error type, suggesting separate monitoring mechanisms are engaged during cognitive tasks.

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Automatic Detection of Highly Organized Theta Oscillations in the Murine EEG

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EEG Mu Rhythm in Typical and Atypical Development

EEG Mu Rhythm in Typical and Atypical Development

Published on: April 9, 2014

Area of Science:

Cognitive Neuroscience
Neurophysiology

Background:

Performance errors in conflict tasks are often attributed to motor control failures or attentional lapses.
Distinguishing between these error sources is crucial as they can occur together and may require different adaptive responses.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the distinct neural mechanisms underlying performance errors arising from attentional lapses versus motor control failures.
To differentiate the brain activity associated with adaptation following different types of errors in cognitive tasks.

Main Methods:

Electroencephalography (EEG) was used to record brain activity in healthy subjects performing three variants of the Simon task designed to elicit errors due to attentional lapses, motor control failures, or both.
Time-frequency analyses and phase synchronization measures were applied to EEG data.
A control experiment using the Sustained Attention to Response Test (SART) was conducted.

Main Results:

Behaviorally, tasks emphasizing sustained attention showed fewer conflict effects and impulsive errors compared to other conditions.
EEG analysis revealed distinct neural signatures: sustained attention errors were associated with reduced theta power and synchronization in medial frontal cortex (MFC) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), alongside enhanced alpha power suppression and synchronization in parieto-occipital and frontal regions.
The SART control experiment confirmed that adaptation to attentional lapses involves posterior alpha suppression and frontal theta activity.

Conclusions:

At least two distinct cortical mechanisms support performance monitoring.
Different tasks and task settings differentially recruit these monitoring mechanisms.
Post-error brain dynamics are heterogeneous, reflecting the interplay of multiple neurocognitive processes.