Online self-evaluation of fMRI-based neurofeedback performance

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Science
• Neuroimaging

Background:

• Real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging neurofeedback (fMRI-NF) enables individuals to learn self-regulation of brain activity.
• Subjective self-evaluation, including performance predictions and confidence, plays a role in neurofeedback learning.
• The supplementary motor area (SMA) is a key region targeted in some neurofeedback protocols.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate subjective self-evaluation of performance and confidence during supplementary motor area (SMA) regulation using fMRI-NF.
• To examine how performance predictions and confidence change with learning in an fMRI-NF task.
• To explore the relationship between performance predictions, confidence, and actual neurofeedback performance.

Main Methods:

• Participants underwent three sessions of SMA regulation using a mental drawing task in a 7 Tesla fMRI scanner.
• During each trial, participants predicted their performance and confidence before receiving delayed blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) feedback.
• Two distinct target levels of SMA activation were used to guide self-regulation.

Main Results:

• Participant performance predictions significantly improved across the three training sessions.
• Improvements in performance predictions were not solely based on prior performance knowledge.
• Confidence reports remained stable throughout training and did not correlate with prediction accuracy.

Conclusions:

• Self-evaluation mechanisms in fMRI-NF involve dissociable components of performance prediction and confidence.
• Learning in fMRI-NF is associated with evolving performance predictions, independent of simple feedback recall.
• The findings offer insights into internal self-evaluation processes during endogenous neuromodulation via neurofeedback.