The Brain's Emotional Response to Errors with Consequence

Scientists have identified a region in the brain that they believe is involved in emotional reaction to mistakes. Using MRI scans, the researchers were able to isolate a region of the brain known as the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC) and discovered that it becomes highly active when a person makes a mistake that carries consequences. The University of Michigan team scanned the brains of 12 healthy adults while they responded to a variety of tests. The participants were told they had $10 credit to start and would receive actual money at the end of the experiment based on their performance. The tasks either carried no reward or penalty, the same size penalty, or a monetary reward ranging from 25 cents to $2. Participants were given immediate feedback regarding their performance. The researchers found that a mistake that cost the participant money elicited the greatest response. They hope to apply this research to future studies concentrating on patients with OCD and depression. The study was published in the Journal of Neuroscience. http://www.jneurosci.org/cgi/content/abstract/26/15/4063