The neural alarm system: behavior and beyond.Reply to Ullsperger et al.

In a recent review, we suggested that the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) could be thought of as a component in a ‘neural alarm system’ [1]. Ullsperger, Volz and von Cramon have responded by suggesting that the purpose of this alarm is signaling the need for behavioral change [2]. In their words, ‘an alarm signal makes sense only when it is used for subsequent actions leading to desired consequences.’ They go on to suggest that the dACC activity observed during social exclusion [3] may be a consequence of button presses and vocalizations on the part of participants trying to be re-included, akin to what might occur in a face-to-face analogue of the experiment.