ERP measures of anterior cingulate cortex activation

大脑的前扣带回皮质(ACC)是整合注意、情感和内脏信息的中枢，并在几个关键功能中发挥核心作用，包括社会自我调节和自我监控一个人在任务中的表现。ACC激活的唯一最强电生理反应是称为错误相关负波(ERN)的脑电反应。ERN是一种独特的脑电信号，与一个人意识到他们即将犯错误(如按错按钮)有关，它已经成为一种非常受欢迎的衡量标准，因为它与ACC有关，而且因为它相对容易获得。ERN的一个有趣方面是，它与与绩效监测相关的特定人格特征有关，例如与较大的ERN相关的强迫症和高度社会化，以及与较小的ERN相关的冒险和感觉寻求。饮酒和负面影响也会减弱这种影响，但当准确度的值增加时，它就会增加，因为成功的表现会给出更多的分数。它甚至与政治取向有关，可能是通过对错误或信息冲突敏感的特点。这项拟议的研究旨在研究为什么人们产生的ERN的大小不同，ERN与人格特征相关的潜在原因是什么，并通过理解这些关系来更好地理解ACC的功能。这项研究将利用(1)脑波反应的某些方面来反映大脑反应的不一致性和整个大脑皮层网络的相互联系，(2)人对做出错误和正确反应的意识在多大程度上解释了ERN的大小及其与人格特征的关系，(3)遗传学对ACC反应的神经化学基础的贡献，以及(4)多巴胺奖励系统在调节ACC的反应中的重要性，以及这是否是将ERN与人格特征联系在一起的原因。

The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) of the brain is central to the integration of attentional, affective, and visceral information and plays a central role in several key functions, including social self-regulation and self-monitoring of one's performance on tasks. The single strongest electrophysiological reflection of ACC activation is an EEG response called the error-related negativity (ERN). The ERN is a distinctive EEG signal that is associated with a person realizing that they are about to make an error (such as pressing the wrong button), and it has become a very popular measure because of its association with the ACC and because it is relatively easy to obtain. One of the interesting aspects of the ERN is that it has been related to specific personality traits associated with performance monitoring, such as obsessive-compulsiveness and high levels of socialization which have been related to larger ERNs, and such as risk-taking and sensation-seeking which have been associated with smaller ERNs. It is also attenuated by alcohol consumption and negative affect but increased when the value of accuracy increases by giving more points for successful performance. It has even been related to political orientation, perhaps through the trait of being sensitive to errors or to informational conflict. The proposed research is designed to examine why it is that people differ on the size of the ERN they produce, what the underlying reasons are for the ERN to be related to personality traits, and to understand the functions of the ACC better through understanding these relations. The research will make use of (1) some aspects of brainwave responses that reflect brain response inconsistency and the interconnectedness of networks across the cortex, (2) the degree to which the person's conscious awareness of making incorrect versus correct responses accounts for ERN size and its relation to personality traits, (3) the contribution of genetics to the neurochemical basis for ACC responses, and (4) the importance of the dopamine reward system in regulating the responses of the ACC, and whether this is what links the ERN to personality traits.