A distinct electric signature in the brain that predicts that an error is about to be made has been found by UC Davis and Donders Institute neuroscientists by analyzing recorded magnetoencephalographic (MEG) brain activity.

About a second before errors were committed, alpha wave activity was about 25 percent stronger in the back of the head (the occipital region), and in the middle region, the sensorimotor cortex, there was a corresponding increase in the brain’s mu wave activity.

Practical applications could include a wireless EEG deployed at an air traffic controller’s station to trigger an alert when it senses that alpha activity is beginning to regularly exceed a certain level.