The cerebellum monitors errors and entrains executive networks

Abstract

Frontal midline θ (Fmθ) activity occurs in medial prefrontal cortices (mPFC), when expected and actual outcomes conflict. Cerebellar forward models could inform the mPFC about this mismatch. To verify this hypothesis we correlated the mPFC activation during a visuomotor tracking task (VM) with performance accuracy, in control and cerebellum-lesioned participants. Additionally, purely visual (V), motor (M) and a motor plus visual tasks (V + M) were performed. An Independent Component, with a mid-frontal topography scalp map and equivalent dipole location in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex accounted for Fmθ. In control participants Fmθ power increased during VM, when the error level crossed a threshold, but not during V + M, M and V. This increase scaled with tracking error. Fmθ power failed to increase during VM in cerebellar participants, even at highest tracking errors. Thus, in control participants, activation of mPFC is induced when a continuous monitoring effort for online error detection is required. The presence of a threshold error for enhancing Fmθ, suggests the switch from an automatic to an executive tracking control, which recruits the mPFC. Given that the cerebellum stores forward models, the absence of Fmθ increases during tracking errors in cerebellar participants indicates that cerebellum is necessary for supplying the mPFC with prediction error-related information. This occurs when automatic control falters, and a deliberate correction mechanism needs to be triggered. Further studies are needed to verify if this alerting function also occurs in the context of the other cognitive and non-cognitive functions in which the cerebellum is involved.

Keywords: Action monitoring; Cerebellum; Frontal midline cortex; Prediction error; Visuomotor tracking; θ rhythm.