ERP evidence of adaptive changes in error processing and attentional control during rhythm synchronization learning

作者：Padrao Goncalo; Penhune Virginia; de Diego Balaguer Ruth; Marco Pallares Josep; Rodriguez Fornells Antoni^*

来源：NeuroImage, 2014, 100: 460-470.

DOI：10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.06.034

The ability to detect and use information fromerrors is essential during the acquisition of newskills. There is now a wealth of evidence about the brain mechanisms involved in error processing. However the extent to which those mechanisms are engaged during the acquisition of new motor skills remains elusive. Here we examined rhythm synchronization learning across 12 blocks of practice in musically naive individuals and tracked changes in ERP signals associated with error-monitoring and error-awareness across distinct learning stages. Synchronization performance improved with practice and performance improvements were accompanied by dynamic changes in ERP components related to error-monitoring and error-awareness. Early in learning when performance was poor and the internal representations of the rhythms were weaker we observed a larger error-related negativity (ERN) following errors compared to later learning. The larger ERN during early learning likely results from greater conflict between competing motor responses leading to greater engagement of medial-frontal conflict monitoring processes and attentional control. Later in learning when performance had improved we observed a smaller ERN accompanied by an enhancement of a centroparietal positive component resembling the P3. This centroparietal positive componentwas predictive of participant%26apos;s performance accuracy suggesting a relation between error saliency error awareness and the consolidation of internal templates of the practiced rhythms. Moreover we showed that during rhythm learning errors led to larger auditory evoked responses related to attention orientation which were triggered automatically and which were independent of the learning stage. The present study provides crucial new information about how the electrophysiological signatures related to error-monitoring and error-awareness change during the acquisition of new skills extending previous work on error processing and cognitive control mechanisms to a more ecologically valid context.

• 出版日期2014-10-15