Prediction about event timing plays a leading role in organizing and optimizing behavior. We recorded anticipatory brain activities and evaluated whether temporal orienting processes are reflected by the novel prefrontal negative (pN) component, as already shown for the contingent negative variation (CNV). Fourteen young healthy participants underwent EEG and fMRI recordings in separate sessions; they were asked to perform a Go/No-Go task in which temporal orienting was manipulated: the external condition (a visual display indicating the time of stimulus onset) and the internal condition (time information not provided). In both conditions, the source of the pN was localized in the pars opercularis of the iFg; the source of the CNV was localized in the supplementary motor area and cingulate motor area, as expected. Anticipatory activity was also found in the occipital-parietal cortex. Time on task EEG analysis showed a marked learning effect in the internal condition, while the effect was minor in the external condition. In fMRI, the two conditions had a similar pattern; similarities and differences of results obtained with the two techniques are discussed. Overall, data are consistent with the view that the pN reflects a proactive cognitive control, including temporal orienting.

中文翻译：

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提示未来事件：临时提示和时间对任务对大脑动作准备的影响。

关于事件时间的预测在组织和优化行为中起着主导作用。我们已经记录了预期的大脑活动，并评估了时间定向过程是否由新颖的前额叶负（pN）组件反映出来，如偶然性负变异（CNV）所示。14名年轻健康参与者在单独的会议中接受了脑电图和功能磁共振成像记录；他们被要求执行“去/不去”任务，其中操纵了时间定向：外部条件（指示刺激发生时间的视觉显示）和内部条件（未提供时间信息）。在这两种情况下，pN的来源都位于iFg的视镜。如预期的那样，CNV的来源位于辅助运动区和扣带运动区。在枕顶叶皮层中也发现了预期的活性。任务时间的脑电图分析在内部条件下显示出明显的学习效果，而在外部条件下效果很小。在fMRI中，两种情况具有相似的模式。讨论了两种技术获得的结果的异同。总体而言，数据与pN反映了一种主动的认知控制（包括时间定向）的观点一致。