Welcome

Welcome to Professor Bill Gehring's Human Brain Electrophysiology Laboratory at the University of Michigan. We are a group of researchers interested in how the human brain monitors itself and the outside world to detect errors and other bad events. The technique we use is called the "Event-Related Brain Potential" or "ERP". The ERP consists of voltage changes that can be recorded by electrodes placed on the scalp. Subjects participate in cognitive reaction time tasks and guessing tasks, and we examine the brain activity that occurs while subjects process stimuli and make responses.

Our research focuses on an electrical event known as the "Error-related negativity," which occurs when people make errors. Other related electrophysiological phenomena occur when people encounter monetary losses in simple gambling tasks. We are concerned with understanding the basic cognitive processes that cause these brain waves. We are also trying to understand how the ERN is disrupted in individuals with brain injuries and psychiatric disorders, and how the activity develops through childhood.

You can read our papers to find out more, or you can listen to Professor Gehring's interview on NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday (Real Audio).