Guest Speaker

William Gehring, Ph.D.
Research Associate Professor, CHGD;
Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Psychology
University of Michigan, College of LS&A

Abstract

"20 Years of ERN Research: What have we learned, and what is next?"

      When people make an error it is important that they detect it quickly and take appropriate steps to recover. Evidence from studies of the error-related negativity (ERN or Ne), a component of the event-related brain potential, suggests that a rapid evaluation of errors occurs in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). In this talk I review the history of ERN research and assess the current state of ERN theorizing and experimentation, focusing on strengths and weaknesses of the conflict-monitoring and reinforcement-learning theories of the ERN. I suggest that the there is a need for new theories of the ERN and new experimental approaches. In particular, evidence from my lab and others suggests that a reformulation of the classic error-detection theory of the ERN is a viable alternative to the other theories.

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