The electrophysiological correlates of action and selection errors in human decision-making (360G-Wellcome-207345_Z_17_Z)

If you lose a point playing tennis, how should you approach your next shot? To respond optimally, we must solve a "credit assignment problem" - was the lack of reward due to wrong shot selection or poor execution? Understanding how the brain responds to these distinct sources of error is important because this information could be used to predict subsequent behavioural responses. To this end, this project will use scalp-recorded EEG and the ERP analysis technique to examine the neural correlates of processing outcomes related to execution and selection error. Specifically, participants will complete a decision-making task involving arm reaches towards targets on a screen with three possible outcomes: (1) Success- when a target is successfully hit and provides a reward; (2) Execution error- when the target is missed; and (3) Selection error- when the movement is accurate but no reward is given. The specific goal is to examine variation in a putative neural marker of reinforcement learning processes in the human brain- the feedback-related negativity (FRN) following selection and execution errors. This will allow us to uncover how the brain discriminates errors of action and selection for reinforcement learning.