Author(s): Castelhano, João ; Duarte, Isabel C. ; Couceiro, Ricardo ; Medeiros, Júlio ; Durães, João ; Afonso, Sónia ; Madeira, Henrique ; Castelo Branco, Miguel
Date: 2022
Persistent ID: https://hdl.handle.net/10316/103251
Origin: Estudo Geral - Universidade de Coimbra
Subject(s): computer science; connectivity; error-monitoring; fMRI; insula
The neural correlates of software programming skills have been the target of an increasing number of studies in the past few years. Those studies focused on error-monitoring during software code inspection. Others have studied task-related cognitive load as measured by distinct neurophysiological measures. Most studies addressed only syntax errors (shallow level of code monitoring). However, a recent functional MRI (fMRI) study suggested a pivotal role of the insula during error-monitoring when challenging deep-level analysis of code inspection was required. This raised the hypothesis that the insula is causally involved in deep error-monitoring. To confirm this hypothesis, we carried out a new fMRI study where participants performed a deep source-code comprehension task that included error-monitoring to detect bugs in the code. The generality of our paradigm was enhanced by comparison with a variety of tasks related to text reading and bugless source-code understanding. Healthy adult programmers (N = 21) participated in this 3T fMRI experiment. The activation maps evoked by error-related events confirmed significant activations in the insula [p(Bonferroni) < 0.05]. Importantly, a posterior-to-anterior causality shift was observed concerning the role of the insula: in the absence of error, causal directions were mainly bottom-up, whereas, in their presence, the strong causal top-down effects from frontal regions, in particular, the anterior cingulate cortex was observed.
This study was financially supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) [BIGDATIMAGE (CENTRO-01-0145-FEDER, 000016), FCT-UIDP and UIDB/4950/2020, FCT-DSAIPA/DS/0041/2020], the FCT COMPETE FEDER POCI Projects Biofeedback Augmented Software Engineering (BASE; Project no. 031581, POCI- 01-0145-FEDER-031581), FCT-CONNECT.BCI (Effective Brain Connectivity of Decision and Error-Monitoring Circuits in Health and Disease: From Neurocognition to Brain-Computer Interfaces, POCI-01-0145-FEDER-30852, FCTPCIF/ SSO/0082/2018, FCT-CENTRO-01-0145-FEDER-030935 B-RELIABLE).
