The frontal cortex, especially the anterior cingulate cortex area (ACA), is essential for exerting cognitive control after errors, but the mechanisms that enable modulation of attention to improve performance after errors are poorly understood. Here we demonstrate that during a mouse visual attention task, ACA neurons projecting to the visual cortex (VIS; ACAVIS neurons) are recruited selectively by recent errors. Optogenetic manipulations of this pathway collectively support the model that rhythmic modulation of ACAVIS neurons in anticipation of visual stimuli is crucial for adjusting performance following errors. 30-Hz optogenetic stimulation of ACAVIS neurons in anesthetized mice recapitulates the increased gamma and reduced theta VIS oscillatory changes that are associated with endogenous post-error performance during behavior and subsequently increased visually evoked spiking, a hallmark feature of visual attention. This frontal sensory neural circuit links error monitoring with implementing adjustments of attention to guide behavioral adaptation, pointing to a circuit-based mechanism for promoting cognitive control. Display omitted •Top-down frontal sensory projections are selectively recruited after error trials•30-Hz optogenetic stimulation of top-down neurons promotes post-error performance•Post-error performance adjustment requires anticipatory top-down activity•30-Hz optogenetic top-down stimulation promotes a hallmark feature of attention Norman et. al found that behavioral errors recruit frontal sensory projections in mice. 30-Hz optogenetic stimulation of this pathway modulates performance following errors in behaving mice and recapitulates neurophysiological hallmarks of attention in anesthetized mice. Frontal sensory projections therefore link error monitoring with attention adjustments for behavioral adaptation.