Error-Related Brain Activity Indicates Immediate Auto-Cancellation of Action Slips.

ABSTRACT: The error-related negativity (ERN) is a classic electrophysiological index of error detection. However, the present study challenges its classical functional interpretation by analyzing the ERN relative to the termination of erroneous actions (response offsets), a behavioral marker of error cancellation. Our findings reveal that the ERN reflects immediate auto-cancellation of ongoing erroneous behavior. Specifically, our findings corroborate that erroneous responses come with significantly shortened response durations (RDs) compared to correct responses, pointing to an immediate and active cancellation of ongoing motor activity. Crucially, ERN amplitude and latency varied with RDs, indicating that the ERN may reflect not only passive error detection but also the autonomous implementation o

SUBMITTER: Pfister R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12501828 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature