scholarly journals Oscillatory Mechanisms of Response Conflict Elicited by Color and Motion Direction: An Individual Differences Approach

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 468-481 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marlies E. Vissers ◽  
K. Richard Ridderinkhof ◽  
Michael X. Cohen ◽  
Heleen A. Slagter
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Phase Synchronization ◽  
Simon Task ◽  
Response Conflict ◽  
Large Individual ◽  
Theta Band ◽  
Motion Direction ◽  
Stimulus Color ◽  
Theta Power ◽  
Feature Dimension

Goal-directed behavior requires control over automatic behavior, for example, when goal-irrelevant information from the environment captures an inappropriate response and conflicts with the correct, goal-relevant action. Neural oscillations in the theta band (∼6 Hz) measured at midfrontal electrodes are thought to form an important substrate of the detection and subsequent resolution of response conflict. Here, we examined the extent to which response conflict and associated theta-band activity depend on the visual stimulus feature dimension that triggers the conflict. We used a feature-based Simon task to manipulate conflict by motion direction and stimulus color. Analyses were focused on individual differences in behavioral response conflict elicited across different stimulus dimensions and their relationship to conflict-related midfrontal theta. We first confirmed the presence of response conflict elicited by task-irrelevant motion and stimulus color, demonstrating the usefulness of our modified version of the Simon task to assess different sensory origins of response conflict. Despite titrating overall task performance, we observed large individual differences in the behavioral manifestations of response conflict elicited by the different visual dimensions. These behavioral conflict effects were mirrored in a dimension-specific relationship with conflict-related midfrontal theta power, such that, for each dimension, individual midfrontal theta power was generally higher when experienced response conflict was high. Finally, exploratory analyses of interregional functional connectivity suggested a role for phase synchronization between frontal and parietal scalp sites in modulating experienced conflict when color was the task-relevant visual dimension. Highlighting the importance of an individual differences approach in cognitive neuroscience, these results reveal large individual differences in experienced response conflict depending on the source of visual interference, which are predicted by conflict-related midfrontal theta power.

scholarly journals Biophysical and Architectural Mechanisms of Subthalamic Theta under Response Conflict

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prannath Moolchand ◽  
Stephanie R. Jones ◽  
Michael J. Frank
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Response Conflict ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Theta Band ◽  
Cortical Input ◽  
Theta Power ◽  
Cortical Motor ◽  
Selection Dynamics ◽  
Rhythmic Burst ◽  
Globus Pallidus Externus

The cortico-basal ganglia circuit is needed to suppress prepotent actions and to facilitate controlled behavior. Under conditions of response conflict, the frontal cortex and subthalamic nucleus [STN] exhibit increased spiking and theta band power, which are linked to adaptive regulation of behavioral output. The electrophysiological mechanisms underlying these neural signatures of impulse control remain poorly understood. To address this lacuna, we constructed a novel large-scale, biophysically principled model of the subthalamopallidal [STN-Globus Pallidus externus (GPe)] network, and examined the mechanisms that modulate theta power and spiking in response to cortical input. Simulations confirmed that theta power does not emerge from intrinsic network dynamics but is robustly elicited in response to cortical input as burst events representing action selection dynamics. Rhythmic burst events of multiple cortical populations, representing a state of conflict where cortical motor plans vacillate in the theta range, led to prolonged STN theta and increased spiking, consistent with empirical literature. Notably, theta band signaling required NMDA, but not AMPA, currents, which were in turn related to a triphasic STN response characterized by spiking, silence and bursting periods. Finally, theta band resonance was also strongly modulated by architectural connectivity, with maximal theta arising when multiple cortical populations project to individual STN "conflict detector" units, due to an NMDA-dependent supralinear response. Our results provide insights into the biophysical principles and architectural constraints that give rise to STN dynamics during response conflict, and how their disruption can lead to impulsivity and compulsivity.

scholarly journals Glutamatergic facilitation of neural responses in MT enhances motion perception in humans

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael-Paul Schallmo ◽  
Rachel Millin ◽  
Alex M. Kale ◽  
Tamar Kolodny ◽  
Richard A.E. Edden ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Motion Perception ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Visual Motion ◽  
Large Individual ◽  
Resonance Spectroscopy ◽  
Neural Responses ◽  
Motion Direction ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractThere is large individual variability in human neural responses and perceptual abilities. The factors that give rise to these individual differences, however, remain largely unknown. To examine these factors, we separately measured fMRI responses to moving gratings in the motion-selective region MT, and perceptual duration thresholds for motion direction discrimination within the same group of male and female subjects. Further, we acquired MR spectroscopy data that allowed us to quantify an index of neurotransmitter levels in the region surrounding MT. We show that individual differences in the Glx (glutamate + glutamine) signal in the MT region are associated with both higher fMRI responses and improved psychophysical task performance. Our results suggest that individual differences in baseline levels of glutamate within MT contribute to motion perception by increasing neural responses in this region.SignificanceWhat factors govern the relationship between neural activity and behavior? Our results suggest that one such factor is the level of glutamate, an excitatory neurotransmitter, within a particular region of cortex. By measuring an index of glutamate in vivo using magnetic resonance spectroscopy, we show that human subjects with more glutamate in the visual motion area known as MT also have larger fMRI responses (an index of neural activity) in this region. Further, people with more glutamate in MT can accurately perceive moving images presented more briefly within a behavioral task. Our findings point to an important role for glutamate levels in determining the relationship between neural responses and behavior during visual motion perception.

scholarly journals Individual differences in working memory capacity are unrelated to the magnitudes of retrocue benefits

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chaoxiong Ye ◽  
Qianru Xu ◽  
Xinyang Liu ◽  
Piia Astikainen ◽  
Yongjie Zhu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Significant Positive Correlation ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Capacity Measurement ◽  
Object Based ◽  
Feature Dimension ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Internal Attention

AbstractPrevious studies have associated visual working memory (VWM) capacity with the use of internal attention. Retrocues, which direct internal attention to a particular object or feature dimension, can improve VWM performance (i.e., retrocue benefit, RCB). However, so far, no study has investigated the relationship between VWM capacity and the magnitudes of RCBs obtained from object-based and dimension-based retrocues. The present study explored individual differences in the magnitudes of object- and dimension-based RCBs and their relationships with VWM capacity. Participants completed a VWM capacity measurement, an object-based cue task, and a dimension-based cue task. We confirmed that both object- and dimension-based retrocues could improve VWM performance. We also found a significant positive correlation between the magnitudes of object- and dimension-based RCB indexes, suggesting a partly overlapping mechanism between the use of object- and dimension-based retrocues. However, our results provided no evidence for a correlation between VWM capacity and the magnitudes of the object- or dimension-based RCBs. Although inadequate attention control is usually assumed to be associated with VWM capacity, the results suggest that the internal attention mechanism for using retrocues in VWM retention is independent of VWM capacity.

The Perception of Distances and Spatial Relationships in Natural Outdoor Environments

Perception ◽  
10.1068/p5304 ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 34 (11) ◽  
pp. 1315-1324 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Farley Norman ◽  
Charles E Crabtree ◽  
Anna Marie Clayton ◽  
Hideko F Norman
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Binocular Vision ◽  
Line Of Sight ◽  
Large Individual ◽  
Spatial Relationships ◽  
Outdoor Environments ◽  
Perceptual Distortions ◽  
Base Width

The ability of observers to perceive distances and spatial relationships in outdoor environments was investigated in two experiments. In experiment 1, the observers adjusted triangular configurations to appear equilateral, while in experiment 2, they adjusted the depth of triangles to match their base width. The results of both experiments revealed that there are large individual differences in how observers perceive distances in outdoor settings. The observers' judgments were greatly affected by the particular task they were asked to perform. The observers who had shown no evidence of perceptual distortions in experiment 1 (with binocular vision) demonstrated large perceptual distortions in experiment 2 when the task was changed to match distances in depth to frontal distances perpendicular to the observers' line of sight. Considered as a whole, the results indicate that there is no single relationship between physical and perceived space that is consistent with observers' judgments of distances in ordinary outdoor contexts.

Controlled Exertion of Force by Developmentally Delayed Young Men and Women

2005 ◽  
Vol 101 (2) ◽  
pp. 487-497
Author(s):  
Yoshinori Nagasawa ◽  
Shinichi Demura
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Young People ◽  
Voluntary Movement ◽  
Large Individual ◽  
Developmentally Delayed ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Function Test ◽  
Delayed Group ◽  
Movement Function

Present purposes were to examine the characteristics of controlled force exertion in 28 developmentally delayed young people (14 men, 14 women), and sex differences compared to 28 normal young students (14 men, 14 women). The subjects matched their submaximal grip strength to changing demand values displayed in a bar chart on the display of a personal computer. The total sum of the differences between the demand value and grip exertion value for 25 sec. was used as an evaluation parameter for the test. The controlled force exertion was significantly poorer for the developmentally delayed group than for controls, and there were large individual differences. The developmentally delayed men scored poorer than women in coordination. Like the controls, the means between trials did not decrease significantly. For these developmentally delayed subjects, performance did not improve after only a few trials. The controlled force-exertion test is useful as a voluntary movement-function test for developmentally delayed subjects.

Kinaesthesis: Its Measurement, Training and Relationship to Motor Control

1983 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 411-421 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. I. Laszlo ◽  
P. J. Bairstow
Keyword(s):  
Motor Control ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Motor Skills ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Large Individual ◽  
Motor Behaviour ◽  
Perceptual Training ◽  
Developmental Trends ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Improved Accuracy

This paper reviews studies which demonstrate the importance of kinaesthesis in the acquisition and performance of motor skills. A method of measuring kinaesthetic sensitivity in children and adults (recently developed) is briefly described. Developmental trends in kinaesthetic perception are discussed and large individual differences found within age groups. It was shown that kinaesthetically undeveloped children can be trained to perceive and memorize kinaesthetic information with greatly improved accuracy. Furthermore perceptual training facilitates the performance of a drawing skill. On the basis of these results an argument is made for the importance of kinaesthesis in skilled motor behaviour.

Does the error negativity reflect response conflict strength? Evidence from a Simon task

2007 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 579-585 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroaki Masaki ◽  
Michael Falkenstein ◽  
Birgit Stürmer ◽  
Thomas Pinkpank ◽  
Werner Sommer
Keyword(s):  
Simon Task ◽  
Response Conflict

Operators' Monitoring Patterns and Fault Recovery in the Supervisory Control of a Semi-Automatic Process

1992 ◽  
Vol 36 (15) ◽  
pp. 1143-1147
Author(s):  
John D. Lee ◽  
Neville Moray
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Supervisory Control ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Normal Operation ◽  
Large Individual ◽  
Automatic Process ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Control Actions ◽  
Integrate Control ◽  
And Control

Although technological innovations have changed the role of operators from active participants to supervisors of semiautomatic processes, an understanding of the cognitive demands of supervisory control has not kept pace. In particular, little is known about when, and how well, operators might intervene and switch control from automatic to manual. This research addresses this issue by monitoring the information use and control actions of operators of a simulated semiautomatic pasteurization plant. The results of this experiment shows that individual differences in operators” monitoring patterns during the normal operation of the plant correspond to differences in their ability to mitigate the effects of faults. Specifically, an operator who controls the plant well during both normal and fault conditions tends to observe the plant frequently, integrating control actions with other control actions, and does not fixate on narrow sub-systems of the plant. On the other hand, an operator who performs poorly when exposed to faults tends to observe the plant less often, fails to integrate control actions, and fixates attention on a narrow subset of plant variables. Although all operators interacted with the plant using the same interface and automation, large individual differences in the operators” monitoring patterns, and the associated differences in performance suggest that individuals” attitudes, motivation, and training may play a critical role in the successful implementation of automation.

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