scholarly journals Rapid Modulation of Sensory Processing Induced by Stimulus Conflict

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (9) ◽  
pp. 2620-2628 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence G. Appelbaum ◽  
David V. Smith ◽  
Carsten N. Boehler ◽  
Wen D. Chen ◽  
Marty G. Woldorff
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Sensory Processing ◽  
Flanker Task ◽  
Neural Activation ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Stimulus Input ◽  
Activation Patterns ◽  
Rapid Modulation ◽  
Conflicting Stimulus ◽  
Task Goals

Humans are constantly confronted with environmental stimuli that conflict with task goals and can interfere with successful behavior. Prevailing theories propose the existence of cognitive control mechanisms that can suppress the processing of conflicting input and enhance that of the relevant input. However, the temporal cascade of brain processes invoked in response to conflicting stimuli remains poorly understood. By examining evoked electrical brain responses in a novel, hemifield-specific, visual-flanker task, we demonstrate that task-irrelevant conflicting stimulus input is quickly detected in higher level executive regions while simultaneously inducing rapid, recurrent modulation of sensory processing in the visual cortex. Importantly, however, both of these effects are larger for individuals with greater incongruency-related RT slowing. The combination of neural activation patterns and behavioral interference effects suggest that this initial sensory modulation induced by conflicting stimulus inputs reflects performance-degrading attentional distraction because of their incompatibility rather than any rapid task-enhancing cognitive control mechanisms. The present findings thus provide neural evidence for a model in which attentional distraction is the key initial trigger for the temporal cascade of processes by which the human brain responds to conflicting stimulus input in the environment.

scholarly journals Frontoparietal pattern similarity analyses of cognitive control in monozygotic twins

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rongxiang Tang ◽  
Joset A. Etzel ◽  
Alexander Kizhner ◽  
Todd S. Braver
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Individual Variation ◽  
Control Function ◽  
Research Strategy ◽  
Neural Representation ◽  
Neural Activation ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Activation Patterns ◽  
Pattern Similarity

AbstractThe ability to flexibly adapt thoughts and actions in a goal-directed manner appears to rely on cognitive control mechanisms that are strongly impacted by individual differences. A powerful research strategy for investigating the nature of individual variation is to study monozygotic (identical) twins. Clear evidence of twin similarity effects have been observed in prior behavioral and neuroimaging studies, yet within the domain of cognitive control, the specificity and neural underpinnings of this similarity remains elusive. Here, we utilize a multi-task, within-subjects event-related neuroimaging design (with fMRI) to investigate twin effects through multivariate pattern similarity analyses. We focus on a set of fronto-parietal brain parcels exhibiting consistently increased activation associated with cognitive control demands across four task domains: selective attention, context processing, multi-tasking, and working memory. In these parcels, healthy young adult male and female monozygotic twin pairs had similar activation patterns, reliably in all tasks, a finding not observed in unrelated pairs. Twin activation pattern similarity effects were clearest under high control demands, were not present in a set of task-unrelated parcels, and were primarily observed during the within-trial timepoints in which the control demands peaked. Together, these results indicate that twin similarity in the neural representation of cognitive control may be domain-general but also functionally and temporally specific in relation to the level of control demand. The findings suggest a genetic and/or environmental basis for individual variation in cognitive control function, and highlight the potential of twin-based neuroimaging designs for exploring heritability questions within this domain.Significance StatementCognitive control is indispensable to human adaptability. A critical goal for basic and translational research is to discover the brain basis of the individual differences that clearly characterize this domain. Neuroimaging studies of twins enable exploration of this issue, by identifying similarity and variation in task-evoked neural activity, and testing whether such effects are domain general, but also functionally specific to cognitive control demands. Here, we provide the first evidence of twin similarity in neural activation patterns within fronto-parietal regions, which is present in multiple cognitive control tasks, and selective to peak periods of control demand. These results confirm the domain-generality of neural representations of cognitive control, and support the genetic and/or environmental basis of this source of individual variation.

scholarly journals Uncertainty Tolerance & Cognitive Control

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philipp A. Schroeder ◽  
David Dignath ◽  
Markus Janczyk
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Flanker Task ◽  
Behavioral Performance ◽  
Bayesian Analyses ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Cognitive Closure ◽  
Need For Cognitive Closure ◽  
Sequence Effects ◽  
Conflicting Stimulus ◽  
Goal Directed Behavior

Cognitive control refers to the ability to make correct decisions concurrent to distracting information, and to adapt to conflicting stimulus configurations, eventually promoting goal-directed behavior. Previous research has linked individual differences in cognitive control to psychopathological conditions such as anxiety. However, a link with uncertainty tolerance (UT) has not been tested so far, although both constructs describe cognitive and behavioral performance in ambiguous situations, thus they share some similarities. We probed cognitive control in web-based experimentation (jsPsych) with a simple flanker task (N = 111) and a version without confounds in episodic memory (N = 116). Both experiments revealed two well-established behavioral indices: congruency effects (CEs) and congruency-sequence effects (CSEs). Only small-to-zero correlations emerged between CEs, UT, and need for cognitive closure (NCC), a personality trait inversely related to UT. A subtle correlation (r = .18) was noted in Experiment 2 between NCC and CSE. Throughout, Bayesian analyses provided anecdotal-to-moderate evidence for the null-hypotheses.

scholarly journals The Dynamics of Proactive and Reactive Cognitive Control Processes in the Human Brain

2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 1021-1038 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Gregory Appelbaum ◽  
C. Nicolas Boehler ◽  
Lauren A. Davis ◽  
Robert J. Won ◽  
Marty G. Woldorff
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Color Word ◽  
Word Identification ◽  
Irrelevant Stimulus ◽  
High Temporal Resolution ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Identification Task ◽  
Late Positive Component ◽  
Color Identification ◽  
Conflicting Stimulus

In this study, we leveraged the high temporal resolution of EEG to examine the neural mechanisms underlying the flexible regulation of cognitive control that unfolds over different timescales. We measured behavioral and neural effects of color–word incongruency, as different groups of participants performed three different versions of color–word Stroop tasks in which the relative timing of the color and word features varied from trial to trial. For this purpose, we used a standard Stroop color identification task with equal congruent-to-incongruent proportions (50%/50%), along with two versions of the “Reverse Stroop” word identification tasks, for which we manipulated the incongruency proportion (50%/50% and 80%/20%). Two canonical ERP markers of neural processing of stimulus incongruency, the frontocentral negative polarity incongruency wave (NINC) and the late positive component (LPC), were evoked across the various conditions. Results indicated that color–word incongruency interacted with the relative feature timing, producing greater neural and behavioral effects when the task-irrelevant stimulus preceded the target, but still significant effects when it followed. Additionally, both behavioral and neural incongruency effects were reduced by nearly half in the word identification task (Reverse Stroop 50/50) relative to the color identification task (Stroop 50/50), with these effects essentially fully recovering when incongruent trials appeared only infrequently (Reverse Stroop 80/20). Across the conditions, NINC amplitudes closely paralleled RTs, indicating this component is sensitive to the overall level of stimulus conflict. In contrast, LPC amplitudes were largest with infrequent incongruent trials, suggesting a possible readjustment role when proactive control is reduced. These findings thus unveil distinct control mechanisms that unfold over time in response to conflicting stimulus input under different contexts.

scholarly journals Bilingual Language Control and General Purpose Cognitive Control among Individuals with Bilingual Aphasia: Evidence Based on Negative Priming and Flanker Tasks

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tanya Dash ◽  
Bhoomika R. Kar
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Negative Priming ◽  
Flanker Task ◽  
General Purpose ◽  
Interactive Systems ◽  
Cumulative Distribution ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Reactive Control ◽  
Language Control ◽  
Bilingual Aphasia

Background. Bilingualism results in an added advantage with respect to cognitive control. The interaction between bilingual language control and general purpose cognitive control systems can also be understood by studying executive control among individuals with bilingual aphasia.Objectives. The current study examined the subcomponents of cognitive control in bilingual aphasia. A case study approach was used to investigate whether cognitive control and language control are two separate systems and how factors related to bilingualism interact with control processes.Methods. Four individuals with bilingual aphasia performed a language background questionnaire, picture description task, and two experimental tasks (nonlinguistic negative priming task and linguistic and nonlinguistic versions of flanker task).Results. A descriptive approach was used to analyse the data using reaction time and accuracy measures. The cumulative distribution function plots were used to visualize the variations in performance across conditions. The results highlight the distinction between general purpose cognitive control and bilingual language control mechanisms.Conclusion. All participants showed predominant use of the reactive control mechanism to compensate for the limited resources system. Independent yet interactive systems for bilingual language control and general purpose cognitive control were postulated based on the experimental data derived from individuals with bilingual aphasia.

scholarly journals Individual Differences in Uncertainty Tolerance Are not Associated With Cognitive Control Functions in the Flanker Task

2018 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 245-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philipp Alexander Schroeder ◽  
David Dignath ◽  
Markus Janczyk
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Flanker Task ◽  
Bayesian Analyses ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Control Functions ◽  
Need For Cognitive Closure ◽  
Sequence Effects ◽  
Conflicting Stimulus ◽  
Goal Directed Behavior

Abstract. Cognitive control refers to the ability to make correct decisions concurrent to distracting information, and to adapt to conflicting stimulus configurations, eventually promoting goal-directed behavior. Previous research has linked individual differences in cognitive control to psychopathological conditions such as anxiety. However, a link with uncertainty tolerance (UT) has not been tested so far, although both constructs describe cognitive and behavioral performance in ambiguous situations, thus they share some similarities. We probed cognitive control in web-based experimentation (jsPsych) with a simple flanker task (N = 111) and a version without confounds in episodic memory (N = 116). Both experiments revealed two well-established behavioral indices: congruency effects (CEs) and congruency-sequence effects (CSEs). Only small-to-zero correlations emerged between CEs, UT, and need for cognitive closure (NCC), a personality trait inversely related to UT. A subtle correlation (r = .18) was noted in Experiment 2 between NCC and CSE. Throughout, Bayesian analyses provided anecdotal-to-moderate evidence for the null-hypotheses.

scholarly journals Urgency forces stimulus-driven action by overcoming cognitive control

eLife ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian H Poth
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Time Window ◽  
Saccadic Eye Movements ◽  
Frontal Eye Field ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Intelligent Behavior ◽  
Stimulus Features ◽  
Manual Tasks ◽  
Conflicting Stimulus

Intelligent behavior requires to act directed by goals despite competing action tendencies triggered by stimuli in the environment. For eye movements, it has recently been discovered that this ability is briefly reduced in urgent situations (Salinas et al., 2019). In a time-window before an urgent response, participants could not help but look at a suddenly appearing visual stimulus, even though their goal was to look away from it. Urgency seemed to provoke a new visual–oculomotor phenomenon: A period in which saccadic eye movements are dominated by external stimuli, and uncontrollable by current goals. This period was assumed to arise from brain mechanisms controlling eye movements and spatial attention, such as those of the frontal eye field. Here, we show that the phenomenon is more general than previously thought. We found that also in well-investigated manual tasks, urgency made goal-conflicting stimulus features dominate behavioral responses. This dominance of behavior followed established trial-to-trial signatures of cognitive control mechanisms that replicate across a variety of tasks. Thus together, these findings reveal that urgency temporarily forces stimulus-driven action by overcoming cognitive control in general, not only at brain mechanisms controlling eye movements.

scholarly journals Error-related cognitive control and behavioural adaptation mechanisms in the context of motor functioning and anxiety

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Topor ◽  
Bertram Opitz ◽  
Hayley C. Leonard
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Flanker Task ◽  
Healthy Adults ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Motor Proficiency ◽  
Motor Functioning ◽  
Behavioural Adaptation ◽  
Motor Processes ◽  
Adaptation Mechanisms ◽  
The Impact

AbstractPrevious research suggests that there is an interaction between cognitive and motor processes. This has been investigated throughout development and in different conditions related to motor impairment. The current study addressed a gap in the literature by investigating this interaction in the general population of healthy adults with different profiles of motor proficiency by focusing on error-related cognitive control and behavioural adaptation mechanisms. In addition, the impact of these processes was assessed in terms of experienced anxiety. Forty healthy adults were divided into high and low motor proficiency groups based on an assessment of their motor skills. Using electroencephalography (EEG) during a flanker task, error-related negativity (ERN) was measured as the neural indicator of cognitive control. Post-error slowing (PES) was measured to represent behavioural adaptation. Participants also completed an anxiety assessment questionnaire. Participants in the high motor proficiency group achieved better task accuracy and showed relatively enhanced cognitive control through increased ERN. Contrastingly, individuals in the lower motor proficiency group achieved poorer accuracy whilst showing some evidence of compensation through increased PES. Anxiety was found to be associated with motor functioning, but the study could not provide evidence that this was related to cognitive or behavioural control mechanisms. The interaction between cognitive and motor processes observed in this study is unique for healthy and sub-clinical populations and provides a baseline for the interpretation of similar investigations in individuals with motor disorders.

Exploring an Emotional Basis of Cognitive Control in the Flanker Task

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Motonori Yamaguchi ◽  
Jack Dylan Moore ◽  
Sarah Hendry ◽  
Felicity Wolohan
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Facial Expressions ◽  
Mood Induction ◽  
Flanker Task ◽  
Emotional Stimuli ◽  
Emotional Facial Expressions ◽  
Flanker Effect ◽  
Sequential Modulation ◽  
Emotional Basis ◽  
Negative Stimuli

The emotional basis of cognitive control has been investigated in the flanker task with various procedures and materials across different studies. The present study examined the issue with the same flanker task but with different types of emotional stimuli and design. In seven experiments, the flanker effect and its sequential modulation according to the preceding trial type were assessed. Experiments 1 and 2 used affective pictures and emotional facial expressions as emotional stimuli, and positive and negative stimuli were intermixed. There was little evidence that emotional stimuli influenced cognitive control. Experiments 3 and 4 used the same affective pictures and facial expressions, but positive and negative stimuli were separated between different participant groups. Emotional stimuli reduced the flanker effect as well as its sequential modulation regardless of valence. Experiments 5 and 6 used affective pictures but manipulated arousal and valence of stimuli orthogonally The results did not replicate the reduced flanker effect or sequential modulation by valence, nor did they show consistent effects of arousal. Experiment 7 used a mood induction technique and showed that sequential modulation was positively correlated with valence rating (the higher the more positive) but was negatively correlated with arousal rating. These results are inconsistent with several previous findings and are difficult to reconcile within a single theoretical framework, confirming an elusive nature of the emotional basis of cognitive control in the flanker task.

scholarly journals Inhibitory Mechanisms in the Processing of Negations: A Neural Reuse Hypothesis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Beltrán ◽  
Bo Liu ◽  
Manuel de Vega
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Response Inhibition ◽  
Cognitive Functions ◽  
Functional Relation ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Inhibitory Effects ◽  
General Domain ◽  
Inhibitory Mechanisms ◽  
Neural Reuse ◽  
Theoretical Foundations

AbstractNegation is known to have inhibitory consequences for the information under its scope. However, how it produces such effects remains poorly understood. Recently, it has been proposed that negation processing might be implemented at the neural level by the recruitment of inhibitory and cognitive control mechanisms. On this line, this manuscript offers the hypothesis that negation reuses general-domain mechanisms that subserve inhibition in other non-linguistic cognitive functions. The first two sections describe the inhibitory effects of negation on conceptual representations and its embodied effects, as well as the theoretical foundations for the reuse hypothesis. The next section describes the neurophysiological evidence that linguistic negation interacts with response inhibition, along with the suggestion that both functions share inhibitory mechanisms. Finally, the manuscript concludes that the functional relation between negation and inhibition observed at the mechanistic level could be easily integrated with predominant cognitive models of negation processing.

scholarly journals Neural Dynamics of Cognitive Control over Working Memory Capture of Attention

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (7) ◽  
pp. 1079-1090 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter S. Whitehead ◽  
Mathilde M. Ooi ◽  
Tobias Egner ◽  
Marty G. Woldorff
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Visual Search ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Attentional Capture ◽  
Search Display ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
High Temporal Resolution ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Attentional Orienting ◽  
Behavioral Studies

The contents of working memory (WM) guide visual attention toward matching features, with visual search being faster when the target and a feature of an item held in WM spatially overlap (validly cued) than when they occur at different locations (invalidly cued). Recent behavioral studies have indicated that attentional capture by WM content can be modulated by cognitive control: When WM cues are reliably helpful to visual search (predictably valid), capture is enhanced, but when reliably detrimental (predictably invalid), capture is attenuated. The neural mechanisms underlying this effect are not well understood, however. Here, we leveraged the high temporal resolution of ERPs time-locked to the onset of the search display to determine how and at what processing stage cognitive control modulates the search process. We manipulated predictability by grouping trials into unpredictable (50% valid/invalid) and predictable (100% valid, 100% invalid) blocks. Behavioral results confirmed that predictability modulated WM-related capture. Comparison of ERPs to the search arrays showed that the N2pc, a posteriorly distributed signature of initial attentional orienting toward a lateralized target, was not impacted by target validity predictability. However, a longer latency, more anterior, lateralized effect—here, termed the “contralateral attention-related negativity”—was reduced under predictable conditions. This reduction interacted with validity, with substantially greater reduction for invalid than valid trials. These data suggest cognitive control over attentional capture by WM content does not affect the initial attentional-orienting process but can reduce the need to marshal later control mechanisms for processing relevant items in the visual world.

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