Anterior cingulate cortex (area 24c) is part of an anatomical loop including ventral striatum, ventral pallidum, and mediodorsal thalamus that is important for generating behavior related to motivationally or emotionally important stimuli. We reported that many neurons in the anterior cingulate have phasic responses to specific events in multitrial reward schedules (SFN abstr, 99). Two rhesus monkeys are taught to release their grip on a bar when a visual target changes from red to green. Then they are exposed to schedules requiring 1, 2, 3, or 4 correct trials to obtain a reward. A rectangle, acting as a cue to the schedule, is located above the target. This cue brightens as the trial comes closer to the rewarded one, being brightest when correct completion of the current trial will leads to reward. Behavioral errors and reaction times decreased as the reward approached. About 80% (52/61) of the recorded neurons responded during specific schedule states. For 33 the responses were related to the cue or bar...