Activation of Inhibition: Diminishing Impulsive Behavior by Direct Current Stimulation over the Inferior Frontal Gyrus

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (11) ◽  
pp. 3380-3387 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liron Jacobson ◽  
Daniel C. Javitt ◽  
Michal Lavidor
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Direct Current ◽  
Brain Stimulation ◽  
Response Inhibition ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Brain Lesion ◽  
Angular Gyrus ◽  
Stop Signal Task ◽  
Direct Current Stimulation ◽  
The Right

A common feature of human existence is the ability to reverse decisions after they are made but before they are implemented. This cognitive control process, termed response inhibition, refers to the ability to inhibit an action once initiated and has been localized to the right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG) based on functional imaging and brain lesion studies. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a brain stimulation technique that can facilitate as well as impair cortical function. To explore whether response inhibition can be improved through rIFG electrical stimulation, we administered focal tDCS before subjects performed the stop signal task (SST), which measures response inhibition. Notably, activation of the rIFG by unilateral anodal stimulation significantly improved response inhibition, relative to a sham condition, whereas the same tDCS protocol did not affect response time in the go trials of the SST and in a control task. Furthermore, the SST was not affected by tDCS at a control site, the right angular gyrus. Our results are the first demonstration of response inhibition improvement with brain stimulation over rIFG and further confirm the rIFG involvement in this task. Although this study was conducted in healthy subjects, present findings with anodal rIFG stimulation support the use of similar paradigms for the treatment of cognitive control impairments in pathological conditions.

Language Learning without Control: The Role of the PFC

2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 814-821 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela D. Friederici ◽  
Jutta L. Mueller ◽  
Bernhard Sehm ◽  
Patrick Ragert
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Direct Current ◽  
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation ◽  
Learning Effects ◽  
Learning Mechanisms ◽  
Learning Session ◽  
Sham Stimulation ◽  
Direct Current Stimulation ◽  
The Right

Learning takes place throughout lifetime but differs in infants and adults because of the development of the PFC, a brain region responsible for cognitive control. To test this hypothesis, adults were investigated in a language learning paradigm under inhibitory, cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation over PFC. The experiment included a learning session interspersed with test phases and a test-only session. The stimulus material required the learning of grammatical dependencies between two elements in a novel language. In a parallel design, cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation over the left PFC, right PFC, or sham stimulation was applied during the learning session but not during the test-only session. Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were recorded during both sessions. Whereas no ERP learning effects were observed during the learning session, different ERP learning effects as a function of prior stimulation type were found during the test-only session, although behavioral learning success was equal across conditions. With sham stimulation, the ERP learning effect was reflected in a centro-parietal N400-like negativity indicating lexical processes. Inhibitory stimulation over the left PFC, but not over the right PFC, led to a late positivity similar to that previously observed in prelinguistic infants indicating associative learning. The present data demonstrate that adults can learn with and without cognitive control using different learning mechanisms. In the presence of cognitive control, adult language learning is lexically guided, whereas it appears to be associative in nature when PFC control is downregulated.

scholarly journals Increasing propensity to mind-wander with transcranial direct current stimulation

2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (11) ◽  
pp. 3314-3319 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vadim Axelrod ◽  
Geraint Rees ◽  
Michal Lavidor ◽  
Moshe Bar
Keyword(s):  
Direct Current ◽  
Brain Stimulation ◽  
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation ◽  
Occipital Cortex ◽  
Frontal Lobes ◽  
Mind Wandering ◽  
Cognitive Behaviors ◽  
Direct Current Stimulation ◽  
Dorsolateral Prefrontal ◽  
The Right

Humans mind-wander quite intensely. Mind wandering is markedly different from other cognitive behaviors because it is spontaneous, self-generated, and inwardly directed (inner thoughts). However, can such an internal and intimate mental function also be modulated externally by means of brain stimulation? Addressing this question could also help identify the neural correlates of mind wandering in a causal manner, in contrast to the correlational methods used previously (primarily functional MRI). In our study, participants performed a monotonous task while we periodically sampled their thoughts to assess mind wandering. Concurrently, we applied transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). We found that stimulation of the frontal lobes [anode electrode at the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), cathode electrode at the right supraorbital area], but not of the occipital cortex or sham stimulation, increased the propensity to mind-wander. These results demonstrate for the first time, to our knowledge, that mind wandering can be enhanced externally using brain stimulation, and that the frontal lobes play a causal role in mind-wandering behavior. These results also suggest that the executive control network associated with the DLPFC might be an integral part of mind-wandering neural machinery.

Dissociable Mechanisms of Cognitive Control in Prefrontal and Premotor Cortex

2007 ◽  
Vol 98 (6) ◽  
pp. 3638-3647 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher D. Chambers ◽  
Mark A. Bellgrove ◽  
Ian C. Gould ◽  
Therese English ◽  
Hugh Garavan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Response Inhibition ◽  
Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Flanker Task ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Premotor Cortex ◽  
Response Competition ◽  
Stop Signal ◽  
Stop Signal Task ◽  
The Right ◽  
Stimulation Of

Intelligent behavior depends on the ability to suppress inappropriate actions and resolve interference between competing responses. Recent clinical and neuroimaging evidence has demonstrated the involvement of prefrontal, parietal, and premotor areas during behaviors that emphasize conflict and inhibition. It remains unclear, however, whether discrete subregions within this network are crucial for overseeing more specific inhibitory demands. Here we probed the functional specialization of human prefrontal cortex by combining repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) with integrated behavioral measures of response inhibition (stop-signal task) and response competition (flanker task). Participants undertook a combined stop-signal/flanker task after rTMS of the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) or dorsal premotor cortex (dPM) in each hemisphere. Stimulation of the right IFG impaired stop-signal inhibition under conditions of heightened response competition but did not influence the ability to suppress a competing response. In contrast, stimulation of the right dPM facilitated execution but had no effect on inhibition. Neither of these results was observed during rTMS of corresponding left-hemisphere regions. Overall, our findings are consistent with existing evidence that the right IFG is crucial for inhibitory control. The observed double dissociation of neurodisruptive effects between the right IFG and right dPM further implies that response inhibition and execution rely on distinct neural processes despite activating a common cortical network.

scholarly journals Response inhibition is driven by top-down network mechanisms and enhanced with focused ultrasound

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin M. Fine ◽  
Maria E. Fini ◽  
Archana S. Mysore ◽  
William J. Tyler ◽  
Marco Santello
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Response Inhibition ◽  
Focused Ultrasound ◽  
Control Function ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Causal Modeling ◽  
Stop Signal Task ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Inhibitory Mechanisms

AbstractResponse inhibition is necessary for humans to safeguard against undesirable action consequences. Inhibitory control consistently recruits the prefrontal right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG) and pre-supplementary motor area. Yet, whether inhibitory control is a defining function of rIFG, distinct from attentional orienting, remains widely debated. The issue emerges from previous studies reporting inhibitory and attentional demands both elicit rIFG activation. Here, we address this issue based on the proposition that inhibitory and attentional control are predicated on different network mechanisms. We derived and causally tested network mechanisms using EEG, dynamic causal modeling (DCM) and focused ultrasound stimulation in humans performing a Stop-Signal task. rIFG stimulation increased inhibitory performance and speed. DCM of evoked responses linked behavioral inhibition to rIFG top-down gain modulation of pre-SMA inhibitory populations. These results reconcile competing accounts of prefrontal cognitive control function, by identifying rIFG-based inhibitory mechanisms as distinct from other top-down cognitive control processes.

scholarly journals Influence of Anodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) over the Right Angular Gyrus on Brain Activity during Rest

PLoS ONE ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. e95984 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Clemens ◽  
Stefanie Jung ◽  
Gianluca Mingoia ◽  
David Weyer ◽  
Frank Domahs ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Direct Current ◽  
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Angular Gyrus ◽  
Direct Current Stimulation ◽  
The Right
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