Grant: Research Tools and Instruments - Category 1 (<$150,000)

The simple act of picking up a cop of coffee is supported by multiple neural systems tasked with evaluating potential mistakes that might occur during the movement. For instance, if we fail to pick up the cup of coffee for some reason, we need a neural system that can identify this and generate a learning signal that would be used to modify subsequent behaviour. However, this is not the only type of error we might encounter while reaching for the cup of coffee. Unbeknownst to us, the motor plan - the set of instructions that the brain issues to the motor system to carry out the movement - can contain a variety of errors due to poor planning or noise within the motor system. Additionally, errors in the motor plan can be brought about by unexpected changes in the environment - imagine the cup of coffee is poorly balanced on the table and that it begins to slip just as we reach for it. These types of errors - errors in planning, errors due to noise, and errors due to unexpected changes in the environment need to be rapidly mediated within the movement itself in order for us to successfully achieve our movement goal - successfully picking up the cup of coffee. In my research program I use electroencephalography (EEG) to study the various error processing systems in the human brain. Essentially, the EEG technique uses electrodes placed on a participants scalp to directly measure neural activity. This research proposal is for the purchase of an EEG system that will be the primary piece of equipment in my new laboratory in the Department of Psychology at Dalhousie University. Not only is the purchase of an EEG system critical for starting my research program and furthering my own research interests relating to the how error evaluation occurs in the human brain, but it will also facilitate the training of undergraduate and graduate students with similar interests. Further, the work done in my laboratory is important to the scientific community and general population as a whole as it is furthering our understanding of the neural systems which subserve learning, and the factors which influence these systems.