Nature Communications 论文发现岛叶错误编码支持可自我纠错的皮层内脑机接口

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• Open access
• Published: 07 November 2026

• Paul Weger  ORCID: orcid.org/0009-0002-5621-9995¹,
• Sophia Gimple  ORCID: orcid.org/0009-0003-0594-7893¹,
• Maarten C. Ottenhoff  ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-7676-1920^2,3,
• Maxime Verwoert  ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-7581-2850¹,
• Lauren Ostrowski  ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-8377-4751⁴,
• Albert Colon⁵,
• Louis Wagner⁵,
• Johannes P. van Dijk  ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6188-2973^5,6,
• Yasin Temel⁷,
• Pieter Kubben^1,7 &
• …
• Christian Herff  ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-5610-2618¹ 

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Abstract

Error recognition is fundamental to adaptive behavior, enabling rapid compensatory action when outcomes deviate from expectations. Central to this function are neural circuits for performance monitoring, encoding cognitive signals that could support more reliable neural interfaces. Here, we recorded intracranial electroencephalography (iEEG) in epilepsy patients to enable a motor brain-computer interface (BCI) while sampling error-related activity across a distributed network. Our work reveals high-frequency population dynamics emerging in the anterior insula and propagating to the prefrontal cortex as the interface fails to follow the user’s intention. We identify spatially organized insular responses to error processing and movement feedback, highlighting it as a heterogeneous hub linking action and outcome. Frontoinsular recording sites were found to preferentially encode error-related activity, while centroparietal responses were intermixed with compensatory motor signals, making the former a compelling target for real-time error correction. Together, our findings demonstrate a human intracranial BCI harnessing insular brain activity, integrating cognitive processes directly into device control.

Acknowledgements

We sincerely thank all patients and technicians at the Kempenhaeghe epilepsy monitoring unit for their valuable contributions to this study. Their willingness to support the study beyond the regular clinical schedule was essential to its successful completion.

Funding

P.W., M.V., P.K., and C.H. thank the INTENSE consortium for their funding (project number 17619 of the research programme NWO Crossover Programme, which is partially financed by the Dutch Research Council NWO).

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Authors and Affiliations

1. Department of Neurosurgery, Mental Health and Neuroscience Research Institute, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands

   Paul Weger, Sophia Gimple, Maxime Verwoert, Pieter Kubben & Christian Herff

2. School of Engineering, Brown University, Providence, USA

   Maarten C. Ottenhoff

3. Robert J. and Nancy D. Carney Institute for Brain Science, Brown University, Providence, USA

   Maarten C. Ottenhoff

4. Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, USA

   Lauren Ostrowski

5. Academic Center for Epileptology, Kempenhaeghe/Maastricht University Medical Center, Heeze, The Netherlands

   Albert Colon, Louis Wagner & Johannes P. van Dijk

6. Department of Electrical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

   Johannes P. van Dijk

7. Department of Neurosurgery, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, The Netherlands

   Yasin Temel & Pieter Kubben

Authors

1. Paul Weger
2. Sophia Gimple
3. Maarten C. Ottenhoff
4. Maxime Verwoert
5. Lauren Ostrowski
6. Albert Colon
7. Louis Wagner
8. Johannes P. van Dijk
9. Yasin Temel
10. Pieter Kubben
11. Christian Herff

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Paul Weger or Christian Herff.

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Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

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Weger, P., Gimple, S., Ottenhoff, M.C. et al. Insular motor and error encoding supports self-correcting intracranial brain-computer interface. Nat Commun (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-78804-2

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• Received: 06 December 2025

• Accepted: 29 September 2026

• Published: 07 November 2026

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-78804-2