The role of the medial frontal cortex in the development of cognitive and social-affective performance monitoring

Adolescence is a time of many cognitive and social-affective changes that are important for rapid behavioral adjustment to a variety of environmental demands and social contexts. Performance monitoring is one of the most important processes for behavioral adjustment; it allows individuals to evaluate outcomes of actions and change behavior accordingly. Neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that dorsal and ventral subregions of the medial frontal cortex are differentially engaged in performance monitoring, depending on the cognitive or social-affective dimensions of a task. Based on a review of neuroimaging, ERP, and heart rate studies, the implications of these modality-dependent contributions are discussed for the development of performance monitoring in adolescence.